Dragon Chronicles: Race to the Edge
by Optimus524
Summary: Hiccup, Toothless and the others will travel outside of Berk to find the Dragon Eye, a "mysterious artefact" that will lead them to discover new lands and new dragons. But the dragon riders much watch out for marauding dragon hunters who want the Dragon Eye for themselves.
1. Dragon Eye of the Beholder Part I

**I'll be going on holiday soon so I won't know when the next update with be.**

* * *

 _Dragon Chronicles: Race to the Edge_

 _By Ragnar the All Knowing._

It was been three years since your victory over the Berserkers and peace has rained all over the Archipelago, but it was not to last.

In the prison cells of Outcast Island a certain Berserkers was plotting his revenge. The cells had traitorous Outcasts and Dagur's loyal Berserkers that were captured during the Battle of Outcast Island.

"Meal time, maggots," a guard said tossing food into the cells.

After he tossed food the man inside the last cell, the prisoner next to him began to complain.

"But that's not bread!" the prisoner yelled in protest. "Why does he always get special treatment? Oh, Mr. Big Shot! Mr. Berserker Chief."

Indeed in side that cell was Dagur the Deranged. He had a scar across his cheek, grown a bread and had gain some muscle from the push-ups he did in his cell. His clothes here filthy and torn, but most of all since his improvement he had gotten even more deranged.

Dagur got up and approached the bars of his cell. "Oh, hey, you want some? Come here, I'll give you some," he said extending his hand with the bundle of food in it.

The prisoner looked at his sceptically, but against his better judgment he reached out for it. Only for Dagur to grab it and slam his face into the bars of his cell.

"I've been meaning to tell you something for the last three years," Dagur growled. "Your voice is really annoying!"

He then slammed the prisoner hard against the bars knocking him out cold. "Gosh, that felt good," he said cracking his neck.

He then removed the cloth around the bundle of food and found a key. He chuckled and unlocked his prison cell.

He then approached the nearest guard and took him from behind and then made his way to two other guard, who were talking.

"A woolly igloo?" one of them said laughing.

"Where did you hear that?" the other guard asked laughing.

Then Dagur knocked their heads into each other, knowing them out cold. He was about to approach the exit, but a guard noticed his escape.

"He's escaping! Dagur's got out!" the guard yelled.

Dagur groaned and charged at the guard and hit him with a bludgeon.

However, the alarm had already been sounded and more guards appeared. But instead of being worried, Dagur saw this as an enjoyable challenge.

"Oh, goodie. A challenge! " he said picking up a second bludgeon.

He then charged at them knocking out the first two with ease. He then tripped the next two with his bludgeons and kicked a third in the face.

As he was doing this the other prisoners cheered.

"Get him, Dagur!" a prisoner yelled.

"Show 'em who's boss!" yelled another prisoner.

Another guard appeared and swung his mace at him, but Dauger dodged. The guard raised his mace again and swung it at Dagur, but he dodged again and the mace knocked out the guard behind him.

"Oh, that's not good," said the guard.

Dagur then slammed the two bludgeons across his head knocking him out cold. He then stepped over the guard while whistling and approached the guard guarding the exit, who was quivering.

"No, no, Dagur, don't!" the guard begged. "I'm the one that gave you the key."

"Which makes you a traitor," said Dagur smiling dropping his bludgeons. He then punched the guard across the face. "I hate traitors."

He then removed the metal bar over the door and walked out. He ignored the yells from the other prisoners, including the ones from his own men. He saw an unmanned ship in the distance and smiled evilly.

"It's a new day, Hiccup," he said. "Hope you're well rested."

* * *

At Berk things were peaceful and a lot of things had changed. They had started work on a landing pad for dragons at the eastern side of the island and they built feeding baskets for the dragons.

Also with every dragon on the Archipelago discovered most of the Dragon Riders had moved on.

Snotlout was now working at the armoury, Gobber had named him _Official Weapons Tester_ which meant that he was lunched out of a catapult about three times day.

The twins, much to the annoyance of everyone, decided to devote their lives to Loki the God of Tricks. There planks either scared pull to Helheim or send them there.

Fishlegs had truly found his calling and it was less dangerous than the others. He was now teaching the children of Berk the _History of Dragons_.

Hiccup was flying on Toothless across the open sea.

"Okay, bud, let's try the new move," he said.

Toothless nodded and at once shot up into the air.

"Yeah, baby!" Hiccup yelled as they broke through the clouds. "That's it, Toothless! Push it." They began to climb higher and higher and Toothless gave one of his famous Toothless' smiles. "You've got it! Climb higher." Then suddenly he heard a click. "What the—"

His harness had detached and Hiccup began falling back towards the ground.

"Oh, no, not again!" He yelled. He looked up at Toothless, who was still flapping his wings. "Uh, hey, Toothless!"

Toothless turned around and flew up close to Hiccup, who looked at him casual as if everything was normal.

"Hey!" he said. Toothless growled. "So just plummet or, uh… any ideas?"

Toothless then shot passed and seconds later Hiccup landed on his back. "I seriously have to get my own pair of wings," he said as he reattached his harness. Toothless just grumbled crossly. "Oh, quiet, you. Don't even start."

They then flew back to Berk and people cheered as he flew over the village. To think four years ago he was the local loser and now he was on of Berk's greatest heroes and that wouldn't have been possible if he hadn't met Toothless.

He flew over the armoury and witnessed Snotlout climbing into a catapult again. He was then lunched into the air and cheered.

"It works!" he yelled.

However, the twins appeared pushing a cart full of sharp weapons. They then placed the cart in the exact place where Snotlout was landing.

"Uh, Hookfang! Hookfang!" Snotlout yelled.

Fortunately Hookfang grabbed him and flew him to safety, but he wasn't so grateful.

"You just have to cut it close, don't you?" he said ungratefully. Hookfang then tossed him onto his saddle. "Hookfang!"

He then glared down at the twins. "There will be repercussions for this. Repercussions!" he said.

The twins just hi fived each other and went off to plan their next prank.

He then flew over the plaza where Fishlegs was giving one of his lecturers to a group of kids, which were riding on Meatlug's back.

"And if you look closely at the walls of the Great Hall, you'll still see puncture marks where the Speed Stingers attacked," he said gesturing to the Great Hall. "Interesting fact about those dragons—" he stopped just as Stoick and Gobber walked the steps. "Oh! Oh, look kids! We're in luck. Here come two of Berk's most famous heroes."

Both Stoick and Gobber looked down proudly.

"Ho ho! Heroes?" said Stoick. "I've got some chiefing to do, but I guess I could spare a moment—"

"Hiccup and the amazing Toothless!" Fishlegs yelled.

Stoick looked up and saw Hiccup and Toothless flying overhead. The children cheered as they did a loop de loop.

"—eh, to introduce my son and his Night Fury," said Stoick trying to save his embarrassment.

Hiccup then flew out to see and soon met up with Astrid and Ragnar flying on their dragons Stormfly and Skull.

"Hey, there you are," said Hiccup.

"Hiccup, we've been chasing you since the armoury," said Astrid.

"And you're not exactly easy to keep up with," Ragnar pointed out.

"Well, I thought we'd try out far north today," said Hiccup.

"Uh, can we talk about something first?" Astrid asked.

"Yeah, sure, if you can catch me," said Hiccup and zoomed away.

Astrid and Ragnar looked at one another.

"We need to tell him," said Ragnar.

When they finally caught up to Hiccup they saw him looking around the area with his spyglass with a very confident look on his face.

"You know what?" he said. "I'm just gonna say it. I have a really good feeling about today, guys."

"You say that every time we go searching for new dragons," Astrid pointed out.

"And you've always been disappointed when we fail to find one," Ragnar added.

Hiccup ignored their comments and kept on looking around with his spyglass. Ragnar gestured to Astrid to keep going.

"Hiccup, while we have a second, me and Ragnar wanted to talk to you about—"

"Oh, look, look, look, look!" Hiccup interrupted tossing Astrid the spyglass. "You see it? There's definitely some movement up ahead. Long neck, large head. Behind that rock formation."

"Yeah, anyway, we wanted to tell you—" Hiccup then zoomed towards the rock formation and Astrid and Ragnar sighed in annoyance.

Hiccup flew closer towards the rock formation like a kid at Snoggletog.

"This is it, Toothless. A new species of dragon, bud," he said excitedly.

However, when they flew around the rock formation it turned out to be the twins riding on Barf and Belch. They had just played a trick on Hiccup.

"Loki'd!" they yelled.

"Ha! You totally thought 'Barch' was a new dragon," Tuffnut laughed.

"Oh, come on! Did not," Hiccup yelled in frustration. He looked down at Toothless. "Let's go, bud."

They then flew off.

"Wow, who yanked in his mutton?" said Tuffnut.

Hiccup and Toothless had landed on another rock formation looking out to sea. Toothless was nudging Hiccup, who petted him.

Soon Astrid and Ragnar landed and hopped off their dragons to join him. They could tell that the twins prank had hit him hard.

"Hiccup, those guys are muttonheads," said Astrid.

"Yeah, they think agonising death is fun," said Ragnar.

"But you have to admit, we've visited every island, every sea stack and every rock in the archipelago," said Astrid.

"Twice," Ragnar added. "And we haven't spotted a new dragon in a long time."

"This can't be all there is," said Hiccup. "There has to be something more out there." He looked at Ragnar. "You've seen different species of dragon in your visons.

"Like I told you before I can't tell if their dreams or not and I don't know when they'll happen," Ragnar reminded. "For all I know they'll happen from a hundred years from now."

"He's right, Hiccup," said Astrid. "What if there isn't? What if we're do? What is the search is over?"

"It can't be," said Hiccup firmly.

Astrid sighed and looked at Ragnar, who nodded. "Well, it's over for us," she said.

"We've been trying to tell you," said Ragnar uneasily.

"Stormfly and I, we're joining the Berk Guard," said Astrid.

"And Gothi has asked me to be her apprentice," said Ragnar.

Hiccup stared at them. "Oh. That's great," he said. "I'm happy for you guys."

They both knew Hiccup was anything, but happy.

"Look, maybe you should give so thought to what's next for you and Toothless," Astrid suggested.

"Yeah, you can't just fly around forever," said Ragnar.

Then he and Astrid got on their dragons and flew off. Leaving Hiccup behind to ponder on their words.

* * *

Later that night he entered the arena with Toothless and closed the empty pen. He looked at Toothless, who was watching him closely.

"Guess it's just you and me from now on, bud," he said smiling.

He walked out of the arena, though he could forget Astrid and Ragnar's words.

* * *

The next morning, Bucket and Mulch were out fishing. Bucket was trying to pull a net full of fish onto the ship.

"Oh, come on," he grunted. "Mulch, I can't get it!"

Normally Bucket wouldn't have a problem with the fishing net.

"What's the problem, Bucket?" Mulch asked confused.

"I'm not sure, Mulch. I can't raise the net. Something's pulling at it." Then they looked at each other. "Do you think—"

"Sea Monster!" they both yelled.

Suddenly something rose out of the water and sprayed them with water. They both screamed, but stopped when they saw it was the twins on top of Barf and Belch.

"Loki'd!" the twins yelled in triumph.

"Gah, you—" Bucket stopped and realised that the twins were carrying an extra passenger. "Johann?"

Indeed Johann was lying on Belch's neck. He was damp, weak and barely unconscious. The twins hadn't noticed him at all. "Help me," he said weakly.

"Aw, man you should have seen the looks on your faces. Priceless," said Tuffnut, who was totally oblivious to the fact that Johann was right behind him.

"Full Loki!" the twins yelled.

"Bet you never saw a full Loki coming, am I right Johann?" said Tuffnut looking back at Johann. He then realised who was behind. "Johann?"

Johann responded by spitting water out.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the chief house, Stoick was having lunch. Then he saw Hiccup entering and looked quite surprised.

"Hiccup, what are you doing home so early?" he asked.

"Oh, I was just… wanted to spend some time with my dear old dad," said Hiccup. Stoick didn't look convinced as Hiccup leaned against the wall. "Yeah, you know, we never get to talk anymore. So…"

Stoick could tell something was bothering his son. "All right, what is it?" he asked.

"What's what? 'What is it?' Can't a son spend some quality time with his father?" Hiccup asked.

"Not this one," said Stoick pointing his tankard at him. "Not usually, at least. So let's hear it."

Hiccup sighed and sat down in the chair opposite him. "All right. Did you know Astrid joined the Berk Guard? And Ragnar is taking up the position of Gothi's apprentice?"

"I'd heard that," said Stoick taking a sip of mead. "Good for them."

"And the other riders have got their different things going on," Hiccup added.

"What are you saying, son?" Stoick asked curiously.

"I'm saying, I don't know. Maybe it's time for me—"

They were then interrupted when the twins burst open the door carrying Johann under each arm.

"Johann!" said Stoick getting up. "What happened to you?"

"Ooh, Dagur!" he said weakly.

"What about Dagur?" said Hiccup getting up as well.

"He's out," said Johann. "He's more berserk more than ever. And from the way he was talking, Hiccup… you're number one on his revenge list."

He then passed out and everyone looked at each other.

* * *

Half an hour later, Hiccup had gathered the other Dragon Riders and had filled them in about Dagur's escape. They were standing in front of the map of the Archipelago.

"All we got out of Johann before he passed out was this: Dagur escaped from Outcast Island by commandeering his ship. He threw Johann overboard about here," Hiccup explained pointing at the sea just outside of Outcast Island.

"So what you're saying is Dagur could be anywhere by now," said Snotlout.

"Well, technically, yes," Hiccup agreed.

"Oh, great! Great, great, great," Snotlout muttered. "So that just leaves—I don't know, let me think about this—the entire ocean so search! No, thank you."

"Hey, nobody said it was going to be easy," said Ragnar.

Then Johann entered the arena looking a lot healthier. "Master Hiccup," said he joyfully.

"Johann, you awake," said Hiccup.

"And feeling much better. Thank you for asking," said Johann. "More importantly, I have more than a strong suspicion where ore nefarious foe may be heading."

Hiccup noticed that he was gesturing to the fog bank in the north. "Outside the archipelago?" he said.

"No! Just inside the fog bank on our outer group of islands," said Johann.

"We've been out that far," said Hiccup looking troubled.

"When Dagur commandeered mu precious ship, he also came into possession of a very important map—one that leads to a graveyard of ships hidden in that fog bank."

"Wow! That's the first place I'd go," Snotlout muttered.

"If I may be allowed to finish?" said Johann impatiently.

"Johann, last time we allowed you to finish, we ended up on Breakneck Bog," Snotlout reminded. "So, no—No finishing."

"Enough!" Hiccup yelled. He then looked at Johann. "What so special about the graveyard and why would he go there?"

Johann just smiled. "Well, you see—"

"The short version, please."

Johann looked disappointed, but continued. "It's where I store all my treasure and wares," he said.

Everyone just stared at him.

"Wow, concise, to the point. Who know he had it in him?" said Tuffnut stunned.

However, Johann couldn't contain himself. "Which reminds me of the first time I was labeled 'concise'! He was a young man, very ugly, actually—"

"Johann," Hiccup cut in.

"Yes?"

"Forces. Is there anything else?"

"As a matter of fact there is one ship you most avoid at all cost," Johann said firmly. "It's called… _the Reaper_." Everyone just stared at him. "Riddled with booby traps from stem to stern. Barely made it out with my life the only time I dared venture aboard. Oh, wow!"

Hiccup looked at Toothless. "Okay, Toothless, let's go," he said and then faced everybody else. "Unless, of course, any of you can make time out of your busy schedules to capture a dangerous maniac?"

* * *

Later that evening, all of them were flying north to the fog bank. Even though they were after maniac, Hiccup couldn't help to enjoy flying with the other riders.

"This is pretty great, huh, bud?" he said.

Toothless growling in agreement.

"Seems like forever we flew as a group. Let's see how rusty they are," he said smirking. "V formation!" At once the riders performed a perfect V formation. "Not that. Diamond formation!"

At once they took up the diamond formation.

"How rusty does this guy think we are?" Tuffnut asked.

Turned out they were a bit rusty, because the twins had flew Bard and Belch a bit too low and they were squashing Fishlegs.

"Uh, guys, little tide on the diamond, aren't we?" Fishlegs wheezed.

Hiccup chuckled as they flew out of formation. "Just like old times," he said.

At once Hookfang ignited and flew past Hiccup. "5,000 pounds of flaming muscle coming through!" Snotlout yelled.

"Ever a class act," said Hiccup shaking his head.

* * *

It was night when they finally reached the fog bank once they found a graveyard of ships just as Johann described. There were so many some Berserker, Outcast, there were even some Hooligan ships and several other ships that Hiccup didn't recognised.

"I knew it. I knew there was more," he said.

"Some of the ships? I've never seen anything like them before," said Astrid in wonder.

"Some of the ships may come from outside the Archipelago," said Ragnar.

"Okay, everyone fan out. If you see any trace of Dagur, send a signal," Hiccup ordered.

They all then split up and began searching for Johann's stash, but it was like finding a needle in a haystack and dragons were extremely nervous.

This was proven when Stormfly looked around nervously.

"It's all right, Stormfly. Nothing to worry about," Astrid assured.

Ragnar was having the same problems.

"Easy, boy," he said patting Skull on the side. "Just a bunch of broken down ships.

Elsewhere Fishlegs was having similar problems with Meatlug.

"Don't be nervous, girl," said Fishlegs. "We don't want you to…" Meatlug then spewed up lava, "do that. Ugh!"

Snotlout, however was totally oblivious to this and was more interested in the ships.

"Ha! Hookfang, these guys were awful sailors," he said. He then slammed into one of the sunken ships masts and was knocked off Hookfang's saddle. "Oh! A little help here." Hookfang just looked at him and stuck his tongue out. "Hookfang! Hey! I saw that look! What did we talk about?"

Hiccup meanwhile had found the ship the ship that Johann had described… _the Reaper_. It indeed look menacing and it was more the dreadnought than a ship, there were strange markings across the bow and on its sail and on the deck he saw cages made of a strange metal.

"That's got to be the _Reaper_ ," he said.

A few hours later landed on the ship opposite to the _Reaper_.

"No sign of Dagur," said Hiccup.

"Looks like we got here first," said Astrid. "What's the plan?"

"We wait," said Hiccup.

"Wait—wait a minute. For how long?" Fishlegs asked. "This book really gives Meatlug the willies."

"He's got point. We can't wait around here forever," said Astrid.

"I'm more concerned about the treasure on board," said Ragnar.

"Ragnar's right. Dagur will just steal them," said Hiccup.

"And use the profits to build a new armada," Astrid finished.

"And with the amount of treasure Johann has I'm willing to bet it's going to be a huge one," said Ragnar.

"Not if we steal them first," said Ruffnut.

"That's the dumbest idea I've ever heard," said Tuffnut. "I hereby disown you!"

"Actually, you know what? I sort of like it," said Hiccup.

Tuffnut looked back at his sister. "Welcome back to the family."

"Here's the plan: we set the ships, gather Johann's treasure and take it back to Berk," Hiccup explained. "But keep your eyes open for Dagur. He could show up at any time."

Suddenly they heard hissing noises all around them.

"What is that?" said Astrid.

"Eh, has Dagur's voice changed?" Tuffnut asked.

Hiccup looked over the bow of the ship and store giant eels surrounding them. He then turned and looked at the other riders.

"Eels! Everybody, get your dragons before they get spooked and take off!" he ordered.

Fishlegs was hiding underneath Meatlug. "Oh, hold me, Meatlug!" he whimpered.

However, all the dragons took off, apart from Toothless, who couldn't fly without Hiccup.

"Hookfang!" Snotlout yelled.

"Stormfly!" Astrid cried.

"Skull!" Ragnar yelled.

Suddenly one of the eels managed to get on board and at once Toothless began growling fearfully. Hiccup had a rush over to calm him down.

"Calm down, bud. It's only a couple of eels," Hiccup assured as he climbed onto his back. "Really big, screaming, mean eels."

They then took off.

The eels began warping themselves around the bow of the ship, pulling it down and the other riders were still aboard.

"The eels are pulling the ship down!" Fishlegs yelled.

Then all of them slipped and began sliding down towards the eels infested waters. Snotlout managed to grab the stump that used to be the mast of the ship

"Fishlegs, grab my foot!" Snotlout yelled. Fishlegs grabbed, but as soon as he did Snotlout regreted saying it. "Oh, you ate a full breakfast. You ate everybody's breakfast.

Ruffnut grabbed hold of Fishlegs, Tuffnut grabbed hold of her, Ragnar grabbed hold of him and Astrid grabbed hold of him.

"We're gonna live!" Tuffnut cheered.

However, Astrid lost her grip and fell towards the sea.

"Astrid! No!" Hiccup yelled and flew down towards her.

"Most of us are gonna live!" Tuffnut corrected.

"Hiccup!" Astrid yelled before she hit the water.

In the water Astrid saw the eels moving towards her and at once she pulled out her battle-axe. If she was going to die, she was going to die fighting.

Suddenly a plasma blast shot passed her and hit the eels. Astrid turned and saw Hiccup and Toothless, they had dived down after her. Once he was close enough Hiccup grabbed Astrid's hand and Toothless swam back to the surface.

At once the eels realised the ship and retreated back into the water. Toothless landed on the deck of the ship and Astrid hopped off his back.

"Thanks, Hiccup," Astrid said weakly.

"Pardon me, does anyone else think that Johann could have warned us about—I don't know, the giant screaming eels?!" Snotlout yelled.

"Snotlout, would you relax? The dragons will be back," said Hiccup. He then looked at the other riders. "In the meantime, we stick with the plan. We find Johann's treasure, quietly."

Snotlout stormed off and Hiccup sighed.

He then looked towards the _Reaper_ and this didn't go unnoticed by Astrid and Ragnar.

"Why are you staring at that ship?" Astrid asked curiously.

"Because he wants to explore it," said Ragnar shaking his head.

Astrid stared at Hiccup. "The _Reaper_? The ship Johann warned us about?"

"And the ship covered from stem to stern with booby traps," Ragnar added.

"Exactly. I'm thinking, what is on there they don't want people to find out?" said Hiccup.

"Well, since I know that when an idea pops into your head there's no stopping you, I'll accompany you," said Ragnar.

Hiccup stared at Ragnar. "Rag, it could be dangerous—"

"Which is why you'll need a healer if something went wrong and an extra set of eyes," said Ragnar.

Knowing there was no talking him out of it, Hiccup decided to let him join him. They rode to the _Reaper_ on Toothless' back and landed on the deck.

"This boat is definitely not from the Archipelago," said Hiccup as they explored the ship.

"You're right look at those carvings, the design of the sail," said Ragnar. "I've never seen anything like this."

Hiccup then examined the cages on the deck. They were made by an unknown metal and had strange writing on them.

"Look at this metal," said Hiccup. Toothless sniffed the cage and growled. "Come on, bud it's just an empty cage."

He then jumped when something shot out of the cage. It was a seagull which flew off. Toothless looked at Hiccup smugly.

"Okay, now—now it's an empty cage," said Hiccup.

* * *

Meanwhile, the other dragon riders were exploring the nearby ships from Johann's treasure.

The twins had found chest full of jewels.

"Jewels, jewels!" Tuffnut yelled carrying as many jewels as he could. "You know what we're going to do? We're bringing them back for the family. Mum will be so happy." He then realised that there was problem and looked at his sister. "Wait, but how are we going to carry all these back to Berk?"

Ruffnut opened her mouth revealing a mouth full of jewels.

"Great idea, sis!" said Tuffnut excitedly. "I can't believe I didn't think about that. Here, I may do it too." However, instead of putting the jewels in his mouth he forced them down Ruffnut's. "I'm also gonna put jewels in your mouth. Yeah, I gotta keep mine empty so I can talk."

Despite this Ruffnut egged him on. "Keep comin'. Keep 'em comin'," she said with her mouth full of jewels.

Tuffnut did what he was told and kept on putting jewels in her mouth.

Meanwhile in another ship, Fishlegs found something that made him felt he was in Valhalla. He found a room full of old books, maps and charts.

"Whoa! Oh, yeah! Oh, yeah! Fishlegs!" he yelled excitedly. He began looking around hardly able to contain himself. "Maps, old books, charts!"

He then began dancing around.

"Oh ho ho ho! There's no greater treasure than knowledge," he said.

In another ship, Snotlout was hoping to find something valuable.

"I'm gonna be rich!" he yelled as he danced around. "I'm going to be rich! Rich, rich, rich, rich, rich!" He then saw a large chest across the room. "Hmm, well, hello, Mr. Ornate Box. What treasure do you hold? Ha ha ha ha ha! Rich! Ho! Rich!"

However, when he opened the chest he found it was full of fake hair.

"Hair! Ew! Who keeps hair in a box?" he said confused. "There's got to be more." However, the only thing that was inside the chest was more fake hair. "More hair? Ech! Man, what a rip-off." He then saw a picture of two ugly Viking women with excitedly long hair and got an idea in his head. "Or is it?"

Seconds later he placed the fake hair in front of his face, pretending it was a beard and then pretended to be Stoick. "I'm Stoick the Vast! Hiccup, you're such a disappointment! Why can't you be more like Snotlout?"

He then placed the fake hair beside his head pretending to be either Ruffnut or Tuffnut. "Eh, I'm Ruffnut—or am I Tuffnut? Who could tell? Ha ha ha!"

He then placed the fake hair on top of his helmet. "I'm—oh, actually, this is kind of nice."

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup and Ragnar were still exploring the _Reaper_ and reached the hatch that would lead them below deck. Toothless looked as though he wanted to anywhere, but here.

"Come on, bud. Don't you want to see what's down below?" Hiccup asked.

Toothless just growled at the hatch.

"That's not a good sign," said Ragnar.

"All right, fine," Hiccup sighed as he bent down to the hatch. "Guess I'm going alone."

However, the moment he touch the hatch he tripped a trick wire and a rope tired around his leg. Before he knew it the rope was pulling him across the deck with the attention of throwing him over board.

Fortunately, Toothless fired a plasma blast that burnt the rope, freeing Hiccup.

"You all right?" Ragnar asked.

"I'm fine," Hiccup assured and looked over the side. "But nobody goes to this much trouble unless there's something on this boat that they don't want found."

"Agreed, but let's be careful," said Ragnar as they walked back to the hatch.

They opened the hatch and looked down the dark room below them. They saw a ladder that lead below deck and Hiccup grabbed a lamp and Toothless lit it.

"Okay, guys, watch your step," said Hiccup.

Hiccup climbed the ladder down first, which was a good thing, because the moment he placed his metal leg on the floorboard a bear trap sprung.

"Glad you went first," said Ragnar relieved.

"Hey, one of the benefits of a metal leg, I suppose," said Hiccup pulling the bear trap open.

They then walked down the dark corridor with only Hiccup's lamp for light. They soon reached the brig and found the prison cells made of the same metal from the cages above.

Toothless sniffed the air and felt slightly uneasy.

Hiccup looked at Ragnar and Toothless. "Okay, let's just take this nice and…"

Toothless then then approach one of the prison cells and for some strange reason looked upset. Hiccup and Ragnar approached the cell to see what was up. And once they saw what was bothering him, because inside the cell was the bones of a dragon.

They looked at the other cells and found they were for dragon bones as well. Toothless whimpered and Hiccup bent down to comfort him.

"I'm sorry had to see this, bud," he said patting Toothless' head. "Whoever commanded this ship was certainly no friend of dragons."

"Why capture them?" said Ragnar confused. "Why not just kill them?"

"That's a good question, I don't think will find the answer here," said Hiccup getting up.

However, the moment Ragnar set foot on one of floorboards they could hear metal clinking. Ragnar had just set off a booby trap, they looked up and saw crossbows aiming towards them and before they knew it there you were firing arrows at them.

Hiccup raised his Gronckle Iron shield, which he created three years ago just before the Berserker War, to shield them, but Toothless protected them with his wing. The arrows just bounced off, leaving Toothless unharmed.

"All right, come on! Toothless! Ragnar! Let's go!" Hiccup yelled.

They ran for their lives as more arrows shot towards them, but once they reach the other side of the room the arrows stopped firing. Hiccup uses shield to block them and Ragnar knocked a few away with his Gronckle Iron twin swords, which he also made during the Berserker War.

Then they noticed a bright shiny door directly in front of them.

"The commander's quarters," said Hiccup. "Stay close, guys."

Once they reached the door, Hiccup looked at them.

"Okay, so here's the plan—" Toothless tin way to hear it, he blast open the door with a plasma blast and Hiccup just added him. "I like yours better."

They entered into the commander's quarters and found the command is still there or what was left of him, he was nothing more than a power bones. In his quarters they noticed more Dragon scores decorating the room and on the desk in front of them they saw the commander clutching a strange cylinder and a book which the guest was the ships logbook.

"What is that thing?" said Hiccup staring at the strange cylinder.

"Maybe the logbook and give some ideas," said Ragnar and grabbed the logbook. He opened it up found that it was written in a strange language.

"Anything useful?" Hiccup asked walking over.

"Hard to tell not written in Norse," said Ragnar studying the strange letters. "It's not Latin neither whoever the commander was semi wasn't a Viking."

"Well whatever it is, if it's on the ship, it's no good for dragons. Which means when not leaving it for Dagur."

"Agreed," said Ragnar placing the logbook in his satchel.

Hiccup removed the commander's hand of the strange cylinder, as quickly and as less contact as possible. He lifted it off its pedestal carefully, having a feeling he was about to sent off another booby trap, but nothing happed.

Hiccup looked relieved. "Huh. Well, that wasn't too—" Next second a large axe stuck the table where his right hand had been a second ago. "Giant axe! Guys, run!"

They didn't need to be told twice, but their path was blocked when spikes popped out of the floor ahead of them. Toothless grabbed the two boys and jumped over the spikes.

At once arrows fired upon them again, but Hiccup shield them with his shield and they managed to get to the ladder and climbed back onto the main deck. They then quickly slammed the hatch shut.

However, then they noticed they were alone. Dagur was on the deck with a couple of Berserkers, both of whom were holding crossbows. Toothless prepared to fire a plasma blast, but Hiccup placed his hand out in front of him.

"Toothless, hold," he said as he hid the strange cylinder behind is back.

"Hiccup! Did you miss me?" Dagur asked. "'Cause I sure missed you. Every day for three years. I thought about you."

He then stepped aside to reveal the other Dragon Riders trapped in one of the _Reapers'_ cages.

"Astrid!" Hiccup gasped.

Dagur then looked at Toothless and Ragnar. "And you too, Mr. Night Fury. And you as well Raggy"

"Sorry, Hiccup," said Astrid apologetically. "He got the drop on us while we were searching—"

"Uh, quiet!" Dagur roared. "Can't you see my brother and I are having a moment?"

"I'm not your brother and we are definitely not having a moment," said Hiccup glaring.

"Oh, well I was," said Dagur sadly. He then noticed Hiccup's growth spurt. "Look at you, all grown up! And quite the ladies' man I'd wager. Hmm? Hmm?"

"Boy, Johann was right, he has lost it," said Ragnar. "Well, more than usual."

"Dagur, what do you want?" Hiccup demanded.

"Duh, he wants the jewels," said Snotlout, who was still wearing fake hair.

"He's not getting my family's jewels," said Tuffnut. "No way! And I'll protect them at all costs!" He then noticed the hair on Snotlout's helmet. "Also, what is with that hair?"

"Ha! It's royal hair, I'll have you know," said Snotlout brushing the hair from side to side as if he was royalty himself.

"Haven't gotten rid of the Greek chorus I see," Dagur noted. He then turned and faced the cage with his arms crossed behind his back. "Anyway, yes, I'll take the jewels. His too."

One of the Berserkers then slammed his crossbow into Ruffnut's stomach. At once she spat the jewels out of her mouth.

"Watch it, pal!" she warned.

The Berserker laughed, but stopped when she Ruffnut spat a jewel right into his mouth. She giggled as he choked on it.

"Oops, thought that was the guy. Never can tell with those two," said Dagur.

The Berserker finally managed to spit out the jewel, which hit Dagur. However, instead of being cross, Dagur turned to Hiccup.

"And I'll also take whatever it is you're hiding behind your back." Toothless growled at him, but Dagur wasn't afraid. "Come on, hand it over like a good boy." The two Berserkers aimed their crossbows at him and Dagur outstretched his hand. "Brothers share, you know."

Hiccup reluctantly handed over the strange cylinder to Dagur, who snatched it. "You know you're not going to get very far with that thing, right?" he said.

"Yeah, you might as well let us keep it," said Ragnar.

"Oh, boy, here we go," Dagur sighed and pulled Hiccup towards him. "Must we always do the same dance, Hiccup, you and I? Not that you're not a fabulous dancer."

Toothless growled and Ragnar had to hold him back so he wouldn't endanger the others. The Berserker aimed their crossbows at them and Hiccup rushed over to help Ragnar.

"Easy, bud, not yet," he said.

"That's right, Mr. Night Fury," said Dagur. "Today is not the day, but it's coming! And soon." He then got up promptly. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I've got people to see, an army to build, revenge to plot. Ooh, so much to do and so little time. Isn't this exciting, Hiccup? You—you must have been so bored over the last three years."

"Yeah, he's got a point about that," said Tuffnut. "Not enough explosions."

Dagur ignored him and grasped Hiccup's shoulders. "Alas, my time here has come to an end. Farewell for now, brother," he said pulling him closer. "Until we meet again on the field of battle."

He and his Berserkers then jumped off ship and climbed down onto theirs, which was anchored down next to it. Hiccup and Ragnar rushed over and watched them sail away.

They then ran to the cage where the other Dragon Riders were trapped it.

"Forget about us! Go after him," said Astrid.

"What are you waiting for?" said Snotlout.

"Their right," said Ragnar. "You go after Dagur, I'll get them out."

"Are you sure," said Hiccup.

"We're fine! Go!" Astrid ordered.

Hiccup nodded and jumped onto Toothless' back and they chased after Dagur's ship. But the Berserkers on the ship saw them coming.

"Here they come, sir, just like you said," said a Berserker looking at Dagur.

"Still predictable aren't you, brother," Dagur mused.

At once the Berserkers armed a catapult and aimed it at Hiccup and Toothless.

"Fire!" Dagur ordered.

The Berserkers fired the catapult, but Toothless dodged the boulder with ease.

"You missed, _brother_!" Hiccup mocked.

"Hiccup, you should know by now, I never miss," Dagur smirked.

Hiccup then realised that Dagur wasn't aiming at him, he was aiming at the _Reaper_. "Oh, no!" he yelled.

He turned and saw the boulder slammed through the deck of the _Reaper_ at once the ship began to sank and the other Dragon Riders were still trapped on it. He could hear their screams coming from the cage as Ragnar desperately tried to get them out.

"What's it going to be, Hiccup?" Dagur asked smirking. "Catch me, save your friends? Ooh, tough one! Glad I'm not in your shoe."

Dagur and his Berserkers began to laugh.


	2. Dragon Eye of the Beholder Part II

Hiccup was flying over the ship graveyard, he was stuck between chasing after Dagur, who held a dangerous artefact from a dragon hunter and saving his friends, who were trapped on a sunken ship.

Dagur was enjoying this immensely. "In this exciting?" he yelled. "What will he choose, ladies and gentlemen? Saving his friends or capturing his mortal enemy, his brother?"

Hiccup then steered Toothless towards the _Reaper_. Dagur looked extremely disappointed. "Hmm. Disappointing, but oh, so typical Hiccup," he said as they sailed to safety.

When Hiccup reached the Reaper, he saw that are trying to pry open the cage, but with very little success.

"Move back from the door!" Hiccup warned.

They then jumped down onto the deck and Ragnar saw what he was planning and moved away from the cage.

"Toothless, plasma blast," Hiccup ordered.

Toothless fired a plasma blast at the door, but it had no effect the door remained shut.

"Dragon-proof bars? Oh, fascinating," said Fishlegs studying the lock.

"Clearly these things were built for holding dragons," said Ragnar.

"Whoever built this ship really knew what they were doing," said Hiccup.

The Reaper then shock as the bow entered the water.

"Oh, you know what would be more fascinating?" said Snotlout. The ship then shook again and Fishlegs slammed into Snotlout pressing him against the bars. "Getting is out of here!"

"Toothless, now!" Hiccup ordered. Toothless kept firing plasma blasts at the bars, but it was having no effect. "We need more firepower. Guys, dragon calls."

At once the Dragon Riders performed their dragon calls, but then the giant EU have attacked them before appear out of nowhere.

"Why'd it have to be eels?" Snotlout complained as one of the eels landed on the cage.

Toothless blasted away with one of his plasma blasts and jumped on top of the cage as more eels appeared in the water. The dragons weren't coming and they were getting closer and close to the water, which was now covered with giant eels.

Hiccup and Ragnar try to pry open the cage while Toothless fired plasma blasts keeping the EU was at bay.

"Come on!" Hiccup yelled after a failed attempt.

Suddenly one of the eels grabbed hold of Hiccup metal leg and began dragging him to the water.

"Toothless!" Hiccup yelled. Toothless blasted it away with a plasma blast. "Thanks, bud."

"We can't wait around for the dragons come back," said Ragnar.

Hiccup nodding in agreement and removed his metal leg. He then wasted into the crack in the cage door, and he and Ragnar used it as a lever. Snotlout assisted from inside the cage, but the ship shook again and they lost their balance.

The ship then tipped and they all grab the bars of the cage so they wouldn't fall.

"Uhh! Hookfang, help us! I'm important!" Snotlout yelled.

"Stormfly!" Astrid yelled.

"Barf, Belch, get your butts over here!" Ruffnut ordered.

"Skull, we could use the help!" Ragnar yelled grabbing hold of the bars.

Hiccup tried to pry open the cage, but the _Reaper_ was now pointing vertically and to prevent from falling into the water Hiccup grabbed hold of the bars of the cage.

"Uhh! Toothless!" Hiccup yelled.

Toothless tried firing more plasma blast at the eels, but he had reaches shot limit. Instead he tried roaring for the other dragons, and sure enough they heard and blew down towards them.

Astrid and Ruffnut then lost their grip and with the combined weight of the three boys the cage door opened. Fishlegs was lucky enough to grab hold of the cage door and Snotlout grab hold of a bar with one hand and grabbed Ruffnut with the other, who grabbed Astrid, who had somehow managed to clutch Tuffnut with her legs.

Tuffnut had Hiccup's metal leg in his other hands and was sighing as if the whole experience was some sort of game.

"Ahh. That was great," he said hugging Hiccup's leg.

However, since he was the closest to the water the eels began snapping at him. He hit them back with Hiccup's leg and soon Barf and Belch flew down towards him and blast one of the eels back.

"Oh, so _now_ you decide to show up," said Tuffnut crossly.

Soon they all got back onto the dragons and flow away from the sinking _Reaper_. Tuffnut had managed to give Hiccup's leg back and he reattached to his leg.

"That was way too close," said Fishlegs.

"Hiccup, what are we doing?" Astrid asked.

"You guys go back to Berk. I'll go after Dagur," said Hiccup. "Whatever that cylinder-looking thing is, I know one thing for sure—it shouldn't be in his hands."

"I'll try and translate the logbook when I get back to Berk," said Ragnar. "It may hold some answers."

With that they all in their separate ways, Astrid and the others headed towards Berk and Hiccup and Toothless followed the direction Dagur's ship was heading.

* * *

Dagur was sailing through a fog bank, but he was more focused with the strange cylinder in his hands.

Also on the ship was Savage, who was shaved off his beard in the last three years, since he had betrayed Alvin he couldn't come back as his second-in-command so we had to remain loyal to Dagur.

"Amazing," he said. "I've never seen anything quite like this."

"Me neither," said Savage. "What do you suppose it is?"

Dagur then turned around and glared at him angrily. "Don't ask ridiculous questions, Savage! Just know this—it's mine now, all mine!" He then looked at the strange cylinder curiously. "Now, what exactly is it that you do? Tell Dagur, now. That's it. Don't be afraid. Tell Daddy Dagur."

Savage just stared at him, but then noticed Hiccup and Toothless emerging out of the fog bank. Dagur was so busy with the strange cylinder he hadn't noticed them.

"Uh, Dagur?" he said pointing.

"Uhh! What now?!" Dagur yelled turning to him angrily. "Another stupid question?!"

"More of an observation," said Savage.

Then while he back was turned Toothless performed a barrel and Hiccup snatched the strange cylinder right from Dagur.

"Thank you kindly," said Hiccup, before flying off.

Dagur looked at his bare hands and screamed in frustration. Berserkers then began firing their cross bows at Hiccup and Toothless, but they were out of range. In anger Dagur tossed on of the Berserkers overboard and glared at the other one, who jumped overboard in fright.

Dagur then turned to Savage with a mad look in his eye. "Aah! See what you did?" he snarled as he approached him. "You distracted me. And now my pretty, cylindrical, mysterious object is gone."

He then looked up into the sky. "Good for you, Hiccup! Good for you! But I got all the gold! You hear me? All the gold! All… the… gold!"

He then laughed manically.

He then stopped and walked away. "You can never have nice things around that guy," he said walking all over Savage.

* * *

A few hours later at Berk, Hiccup had shown the strange cylinder to Gobber, who was trying to open it, but with ever little success.

Now they had a better look they saw the strange cylinder resembled a tube-like device with metal rings around it. The one closest to the opening is shaped like a dragon's mouth. The rest of the device is woody brown in colour and it has small ancient scribbles and symbols on it.

The Dragon Riders watched at Gobber struggled to get it open.

"Have you ever seen anything like this Dragon Eye before?" Hiccup asked.

"Dragon Eye?" said Tuffnut puzzled. "How do you know it's called a Dragon Eye?"

"Because I named it," Hiccup said simply.

"You have to admit it's a lot better than _strange cylinder_ ," said Ragnar.

"Whoa, whoa. Aren't we supposed to vote on stuff like that?" Snotlout asked.

"Fine," Hiccup sighed. "All those in favour, say 'Dragon Eye'."

"Dragon Eye," said the twins raising their hands.

"Dragon Eye," said Astrid, Ragnar and Fishlegs raising their hands.

Snotlout just blinked. "Just wanted to make sure we voted," he said.

Hiccup shook his head and turned back to Ragnar. "Have you measure translate the logbook yet?" he asked curiously.

"No, it's very tough to decipher," said Ragnar, "but from what I have translated it seemed like the commando was selling dragons to someone."

"To who?" Hiccup asked.

"I'm afraid that's the only thing I've been able to decipher," said Ragnar.

Hiccup sighed and turned to Gobber, who was still struggling trying to open the newly named Dragon Eye.

"Can you open it, Gobber?" Astrid asked.

"Ha Ha! Can I open it? I once opened a 500-year-old giant clam at the bottom of the ocean with my bare hook," he scoffed. "Can I open it? Ha!" He then looked back at the Dragon Eye. "I think it's gonna to be—"

Suddenly they heard clicking sounds from Dragon Eye telling them that Gobber had activate some kind of mechanism. Before they knew what a dart shot out from one of its ends and struck Tuffnut.

"Ugh. What is that?" he asked staring down at the dart. "That looks like a—" He then collapsed face first on the ground and Ruffnut laughed.

"Well, that was… something, maybe," Gobber shrugged and continue to pry open the Dragon Eye.

Ragnar looked quite worried and Hiccup had the same thought. "Dad, maybe you shouldn't—"

"Trust me. I'm—"

Before they knew it gas began to leak out of the Dragon Eye and at that moment Tuffnut woke.

"It's all right, I'm okay," he said as the gas headed towards him. "I got hit with something, but now—" He then sniffed the gas. "No, scratch that."

He then collapsed back onto the floor and began to shake ferociously.

"Yeah, I'm thinking we should probably go get Gothi," said Hiccup.

* * *

Moments later they were at Gothi's hut. She created a potion and had forced it down Tuffnut, who stopped shaking instantly, but now he felt terrible itch on his teeth.

"My teeth are itching. My teeth are itchy," he said scratching his teeth.

Gothi then wrote something in the dirt and Gobber began to translate.

"She says: ' _That's a good sign. Means it's working_ '," he read.

Tuffnut wasn't too happy as he constantly scratching his teeth.

"Thank you, Gothi," said Hiccup. "We really appreciate this."

Gothi then noticed Gobber, who was still fiddling with the Dragon Eye. She then saw what looked like a keyhole embedded in it and recognised the marking. At once she backed away as though she seen a ghost.

"Gothi, are you okay? What is it?" Hiccup asked looking concerned.

Gothi then showed her the scar on her forearm, it was identical to the slot in the Dragon Eye. Before Hiccup could say anything, she walked away.

"Her—her scar—it matches the keyhole," Hiccup gasped.

"Yeah, and it looked like a dragon bite mark to me," Fishlegs noted.

"But it didn't get any bite mark I've ever seen," said Ragnar.

"Yeh both right. But she does not talk about it," said Gobber.

"She doesn't like to talk about anything," Fishlegs reminded.

"Oh, _that's_ why she writes in the dirt with a stick," said Tuffnut, who was still scratching his teeth. "I thought that was just, like, her thing."

"Yeah, like Snotlout being a woman repellent," said Ruffnut.

"Maybe we could use the stick to itch the teeth," said Tuffnut.

Gobber then saw Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs leaving. "Were you going?" he asked.

"After her," said Hiccup. "We have to find out what kind of dragon made that scar. It could be the key to open the Dragon Eye."

"Hold on," said Gobber. "I have ways of making her talk. Well… scribble, anyway."

* * *

Later that night at Gothi's hut, Gobber opened a cooking pot in front of Gothi containing his homemade yak noddle soup. Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs just stared bewildered as Gothi looked her lips.

"It's the old bats weakness, isn't it?" said Gobber smoking weaving the steam towards. "Come on. Ya know yeh can't resist Gobber's homemade yak noodle soup."

A minute later Gothi began gulping down the entire pot and sat on a chair rubbing her stomach.

"I've never seen her eat something so fast," said Ragnar stunned.

"Yeah, she drowned that like a yak in a heatwave," said Fishlegs. He then looked at his two friends. "That makes sense, right?"

Hiccup however was more focused on Gothi. "Now, tell me about this bite mark," he said.

Gothi began to write in the dirt and Gobber read aloud:

" _I was a turkey neck_ —" Gothi then whacked him with her staff. "Ow! ' _Teenager_.' Sorry." Gothi continue to write. "' _I had a longing ter climb Glacial Island ter find pure glacial water known for its healing properties. So, I went with two vegetables._ '" Gothi whacked him again with a staff. "Ow! ' _Vikings._ ' Sorry. I'm a bit rusty." Gothi shook her head and continued to write. "' _We had only been at the summit for a few hours, when were hit by a terrible snowstorm. That's when it attacked. It was vicious, relentless and impossible ter see in the white-out. The Snow Wraith. It bite my arm and tossed me into a snow bank, but then it left me alone, I was the only survivor._ '" Gothi had paused stuck in her memory and then continue to write. "' _I'll never know why it didn't finish me off that day. I left knowing only one thing—that I never wanted ter smooch that dragon again._ ' Smooch—" Gothi whacked him on the head again. "Ow! _'See! Never wanted ter see it again._ '"

Gobber then looked at Gothi. "You know, yeh drawing ain't what it used ter be, old woman," he said. Gothi raised her staff again and Gobber quickly added, "but yeh swing, as strong as ever."

"Gothi, at two from the Snow Wraith is the key to unlocking the Dragon Eye," said Hiccup. "You have to help us find it."

Gothi wrote something in the dirt and Gobber looked at it and then stared at her. "I can't say that ter him. He is the chief's son," he said.

Gothi rubbed out her previous message and wrote a new one, one that Gobber was willing to translate.

"' _She says, no way she's ever going back. And besides, Berk needs her'_ ," Gobber read. He then looked back at them. "It's true. She's the best healer we've got. No offence son."

"None taken," Ragnar shrugged. "I could always cover for you."

"No," said Hiccup, "I need you with us in case things go bad. Gobber could take over."

"Hiccup, Gobber is great thing, good parental figure, good dragon dentist, good weapon-maker," said Ragnar counting them off his fingers.

"So you're saying he be a good healer." Hiccup said.

"Nope, not even a little. I don't even need a vision to tell you that Gobber as a medic won't end well." Ragnar stated.

"Well, I'm afraid were going to have to take that risk." Hiccup said.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Gobber grumbled. "I've watched Gothi work so many times, I know this place like the back of my hand." Raising his hook prosthetic. The moment he realised his mistake he quickly traded it with his proper hand.

Gothi didn't look convinced, Hiccup was about to say something, but Ragnar stopped him.

"Maybe it's better if you let me do the talking," he suggested. Hiccup nodded knowing that Ragnar had much better experience with Goth than he did.

Ragnar bent down to Gothi. "Gothi, I consider you like my grandmother and I know that you still remember the viciousness of the Snow Wraith. But you also remember how it was to be my age, to want to explore, to need to see what else is out there. To get answers to questions we haven't even asked yet."

Hiccup then picked up the Dragon Eye. "And this will help us do all that," he said. "But only—only if you help us unlock it."

Gothi looked at the two boys pondering and then nodded in agreement.

* * *

The next morning, they set off to Glacial Island. It took a while, but finally the island came into the distance, and it was massive.

"Look at the size of that island," Hiccup gasped.

"Oh! The _Book of Dragons_ mentions the Snow Wraith, but doesn't have any information on it," said Fishlegs.

"The only thing we do know is that at its part of the Strike Class," said Ragnar.

"Can you believe this? A brand-new dragon," Fishlegs said excitedly. "It's been so long, I've forgotten what this feeling is." The twins just stared at him. "Sorry. Excited about the new dragon."

"You mean the Dragon that single-handedly wiped out Gothi's entire search party," Astrid reminded.

"That would be correct. So worth the long flight."

"Speak for yourself!" Snotlout roared. Snotlout had been volunteer to carry Gothi, who was asleep and lying against his back with drool pouring out of her mouth. "Your back hair's not covered an old lady drool!" He then glared at Ragnar. "Why aren't you carrying her? You're her apprentice!"

"She insisted that she rode alongside you," said Ragnar.

"Okay, here we are," said Astrid quickly.

"Oh, thank Thor," Hiccup sighed.

They soon landed on the island where Gothi's expedition was attacked. It was in the centre of the island, where a large lake of pure glacial water resided.

Snotlout got off Hookfang and extended a hand for Gothi, but as she reached for it he pulled out the way. The instant he did Gothi fell face first into the snow.

"Oh! Yak hands," Snotlout smirked. He then tried to look sorry. "Oh, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

Gothi got back onto her feet and used her staff to trip Snotlout up.

"You know, we should bring along more often," said Astrid looking impressed.

Gothi then looked around the area and look to roll them, and shrugged.

"Great, just great. She's got nothin'," Snotlout muttered. "Someone else is wearing that bag of bones home. She's all knees and elbows."

"I'd advise you watch what you say," said Ragnar. "I wouldn't get Berk's healer on your backside."

Suddenly the wind began to pick up and snowflakes began to fall. The wind then got a lot stronger and the temperature began to drop.

"Can we please do something?" Snotlout asked shivering. "My mouth is starting to freeze shut."

"Don't get our hopes up," said Astrid.

"Well, then we should work fast to find this Snow Wraith. Because we're not leaving until we do," said Hiccup firmly.

"Let's split up so we can cover more ground," Astrid suggested.

"Good idea," Hiccup agreed. "Dragon call if you come across anything."

"And don't engage in to what all there," Ragnar added.

"Quick, Hookfang, before she sees us!" Snotlout yelled turning quickly, hoping to avoid carrying Gothi around. However, Gothi was already sitting on top of Hookfang's saddle, she patted the saddle gesturing him to climb aboard. "Hi. I was just talking about you."

Soon all the Riders were on their dragons and took off, not noticing that a drag with ice blue eyes was staring at them as they left.

* * *

Meanwhile, there was a long line of Vikings at Gothi's hut hoping to get treatment. Gobber was setting up all of Gothi's herbs, books and potions, and was having a quick go over before tending to the injured.

"Okay, ya got this, Gobber," he said looking at the number of vials on the table. "Just follow the steps." He then opened Gothi's medical book. "Listen, diagnose, heal. Just like riding your first wild yak." He then inhaled a jar and once regretted it. "Ohh, ya never forget that first kick."

He then sat down on Gotih's stall, but it broke under his weight and drop a he was holding. The jar was thrown over the veranda and a Viking screen in the distance.

"Ahh. I'll have to heal that later," said Gobber getting to his feet.

He then grabbed another stall, this one being sturdier than the previous one, and sat on it.

"Ahem. Okay, first sick, nasty Viking, Dr. Gobber is in the house," Gobber called.

The first Viking was hobbling along using his axe as a clutch.

"Magnus, what seems ter be the problem?" Gobber asked.

"The problem?! My leg is caught in an old dragon trap, Gobber," Magnus said furiously gesturing to his right leg.

Indeed Magnus' leg was indeed stuck in a small snap trap.

"Oh, yes, of course it is," said Gobber getting up. "Ah, I remember my first leg broken." He then pried open the snapper trap roughly causing Magnus to scream in pain and there was a definite sound of bones cracking. "Let me clean up that room for ya." He then grabbed a jar and spilled its contents over Magnus' leg and he screamed in even more pain.

"Aah! Aah, it burns! It burns!" Magnus screamed.

"Ah, that just means it is working," said Gobber.

However, Magnus' foot was really on fire and Gobber tossed a bucket of water over it. However, he lost grip on the bucket and it slammed Magnus in the head, knocking him out cold.

"Cured," he said as he dragged Magnus away. "Next."

* * *

Things weren't much better at Glacial Island, the Dragon Riders had just returned to the rendezvous spot round finding a single scale and found nothing.

"Anybody find anything?" Hiccup asked hopefully.

"All we found was some scattered yak bones," said Ruffnut.

"I didn't see anything, but I had this weird feeling that something was watching me," said Fishlegs.

"Oh, I had a weird feeling, too. Like this old lady was stuck on my back," Snotlout grumbled.

Gothi then pulled her head towards Snotlout's and at once Tuffnut gasp in horror.

"Aah. Two heads!" he gasped. Then Barf and Belch snarled at him. "Oh, sorry, guys. I mean, on you two, it works. I've seen it before. I'm used to it."

Astrid and Ragnar hopped off their dragons and approached Hiccup. The wind was picking up and the temperature was dropping even faster and they could see a storm was coming.

"Hiccup, maybe we should get out of here," Astrid suggested. "That looks like a huge storm."

"She's right, we could come back another day," said Ragnar.

"No. We should dig in here and wait for the Snow Wraith to show itself," said Hiccup firmly. "Remember, it likes to attack when you can't see it."

"Great. Just great," Fishlegs muttered.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Berk, Gobber was still treating the people of Berk. At the moment he was studying the foot of a Viking with a spyglass.

"My official diagnosis is… a thorn," he said finally.

"Yes, I told you that already!" said the injured Viking annoyed.

"Not to worry, I can remove it right quick," Gobber reassured.

"The thorn?" the Viking asked hopefully.

"The foot," said Gobber turning and began searching for something to lob the Vikings foot off. "Aha! This is what my mother used ter do for me."

He then turned around with an axe in his hand, but he found his patient had mysteriously disappeared without a trace.

"Heh. Some people just don't appreciate the practice of medicine," Gobber grumbled.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Glacial Island, the snow storm had hit its height making it impossible to see anything within a few yards. They had set up tents, but the wind was getting stronger.

"Use your dragons as extra protection from the wind!" Hiccup yelled.

Suddenly one of the tents were destroyed and they heard something that sounded similar to a dragon roar.

"It's the Snow Wraith!" Fishlegs yelled and hid in his tent. "I'm gonna be okay, I'm gonna be okay. I'm gonna be okay."

Suddenly his tent was destroyed.

"Hold your ground and fire back!" Hiccup ordered.

"Fire at what?" Ragnar asked.

"He's right, we can't see it," Astrid pointed out just as another tent was destroyed.

Hiccup could see their point and is not a change of tactics. "Actually, you know what? Take cover!" he yelled.

They all ran in opposite directions and then something lasted Snotlout into the air. It also caused snow to fall on top of Hiccup and Toothless, and Snotlout landed in a snowbank.

Within his snowbank, Hiccup saw the Snow Wraith itself.

"Whoa," he said.

It had snowy white scales with blue highlights, which were mainly around its wing frames, legs, face and tail spikes. It possess two legs and a broad wings. It had two prominent tusks protruding from its lower jaw. Also, it had a long ledge under its chin that seemed to be thick eyebrows. Its long tail was covered with spikes and a thick, fleshy tongue with black bumps on it. It also had two claws on its feet.

It slowly made its way to Snotlout, who was still trapped in the snowbank. It sniffed around and roared in his face, but mysteriously it left him alone.

Hiccup and Toothless had managed to stick their heads out of the snowbank and look directly at the Snow Wraith.

"Toothless, warning shot," Hiccup ordered.

Toothless fired a plasma blast past the Snow Wraith, but it did not look afraid. Stormfly and Skull, who are the riders on top of them, and were assisted with Hookfang, all three of them fired their fire attack straight at it. This caused two things, one of them was that the Snow Wraith flow away and the other was a more snow fell on top of Snotlout.

The three dragons kept on attacking the Snow Wraith with their breath attacks, but their attacks were attacking the snowbank Hiccup and Toothless were trapped in.

"Cease fire! Cease fire!" Hiccup yelled.

The Snow Wraith flew past Stormfly, knocking her over slightly and causing Astrid to fall off. Fortunately, she managed to grab hold of the side of the glacial.

"Stormfly!" Astrid yelled.

Stormfly at once slammed her spiky tail into the side of glacial. This allowed Astrid to climb on her spikes and climb to safety.

Hiccup and Toothless had finally free themselves from the snowbank and turned to face the Snow Wraith.

"All right, I've had just about enough of this dragon, bud," said Hiccup and looked at Toothless. "Do your thing."

Toothless roared in hope to uses his echolocation ability and he spotted the Snow Wraith instantly, which was flying overhead.

"Toothless, now! Multiple blasts!" Hiccup ordered.

Toothless then began firing a barrage of plasma blast that the Snow Wraith, but it was able to dodge them, barely. However, it clearly had enough and flew away, disappearing into the snowstorm.

"I think it's gone," said Hiccup. He then looked around for the other Riders. "Everybody okay? Everybody here?"

Ragnar helped Astrid up, who gave him the thumbs up.

"What do you mean by _here_?" Ruffnut asked.

"I have a question, Hiccup," said Snotlout, who had managed to free himself from the snowbank and was brushing the snow off of him. "What exactly is your plan to get a Snow Wraith tooth? Take it out of one of our cold dead bodies?"

"If all goes well, it'll be Ruffnut's dead body," Tuffnut joked. "And the Wraith tooth."

Hiccup then saw Gothi approaching them. "Hold on, quiet. Gothi want to tell us something," he said.

Gothi then began to write in the snow and Fishlegs approached her to translate. "She says, ' _we should have when left when we had the chance_ '." he read.

Then they heard the Snow Wraith roar in the distance.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Berk, Gobber was treating a Viking called Agnar, who was vomiting in his helmet. Gobber was looking through Gothi's medical book.

"Don't yeh worry, Agnar," said Gobber as he dumped several jars into a cauldron. "I've seen her whip this stomach cure up a thousand times. One dab of eye of yak." He then looked back at the medical book. "Would that be one eye or a dab of an eye?"

As he looked through the medical book, he accidentally knocked a jar over and its contents fell into the cauldron. Fortunately, Agnar's back was turned and Gobber pretended nothing happened. Then he sneezed into the cauldron.

Despite these incidents, Gobber gave Agnar a cup of the medicine. "Drink this three times a day and come back and see me if it doesn't kill ya," he said. Agnar stared at him. "I'm just kidding." Agnar then walked away with the cup in his hand. "Hopefully."

* * *

Meanwhile, at Glacial Island, the snowstorm was still covering the island and Dragon Riders were huddled together discussing their next plan.

"Okay, that thing was gnarly," said Snotlout.

Hiccup looked at Astrid still worried about her fall over the cliff edge. "Astrid, are you okay?" he asked.

"Yep, barely," she said.

"Hiccup, you know I want a shot at this as badly as you, but maybe we should get out of here. We're just sitting ducks in the storm," said Fishlegs.

"He's right, that dragon knows where we are at all times even if we're in a blinding snowstorm," said Ragnar.

"Wait a minute. What did you just say?" Hiccup asked.

"They're saying were sitting ducks," said Snotlout. "And for once, I agree with them."

Hiccup then look to the snowbanks where he, Toothless and Snotlout have been trapped in and began muttering to himself.

"Sitting ducks. Yes, yes! Yes, that's exactly what we need to be," he said excitedly.

"Excuse me?" said Astrid confused.

Hiccup then turned and faced them. "What if we could make the Snow Wraith think it sees us when we are not here?"

"You can make yourself invisible?" Tuffnut gasped in amazement and turned to look at Ruffnut. "Why does he do all the cool stuff? I just have to sit here with you as a sister."

"Will you too be quiet for ten seconds?" Snotlout yelled impatiently.

"Tuff's not that far off," said Hiccup. "Look, the Snow Wraith didn't have any trouble seeing us until Snotlout got buried in the snow. And Gothi said it couldn't find her when she fell into a snowbank."

"I think I know what you're getting at," said Ragnar. "You think it has a similar ability as Toothless."

"Exactly," Hiccup nodded. "I believe it can see body heat in the same way Toothless can find things with sound. We'll use this to our advantage to confuse it. Then, while it's distracted, we'll net it and get that tooth."

"And you are sure it will work?" Astrid asked questionably.

"Uhh…"

"Of course not," Astrid sighed.

"I hate you. You know that?" said Snotlout.

"Yes, I am aware of that," said Hiccup.

"Figures that the first time in years we do and investigate a new dragon that we end up falling one of your crazy plans," said Ragnar crossing his arms.

Hiccup ignored this comment. "All right, gang, let's get to work," he said.

* * *

A few hours later they had set up dummies of themselves. The Dragon Riders themselves were hiding in an ice cave but gave them a perfect view of the dummies.

"Pretty good," said Hiccup. "Now, if I'm right when we light these on fire, the Snow Wraith will think they're us an attack. Then we'll have the drop on it."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Snotlout yelled. "Look at how realistically gorgeous my statue is. I can't in good conscience send that into flames."

Then the dummy's head was blown away and Snotlout stared in horror.

"I'll work through the pain and do it for you," said Astrid.

"Wow, you'd do that for me, Astrid?" said Snotlout smiling at her and causing her to roll her eyes.

"Perhaps we should reuse him instead of the dummy," said Ragnar.

"All right, Toothless, light 'em up," Hiccup ordered.

Toothless then blasted the dummies with his plasma blasts. The moment they made contact base at the dummies alight.

The Dragon Riders just stood there in silence waiting for the Snow Wraith. However, unlike the others, Snotlout took off his helmet and looked as though he was going to cry.

"Somewhere in the world, a silent tear was just cried," he said.

Ten minutes passed and still there was no sign of the Snow Wraith.

Fishlegs then leaned towards Hiccup. "Hiccup, I don't know if this—"

"Wait, look!" Hiccup yelled.

They all stared and saw the Snow Wraith had just appeared. It began to circle around the dummies just as Hiccup predicted.

"Okay, next time it comes in, we go," said Hiccup.

The Snow Wraith then soared over the dummies again, taking out Snotlout's and he took it pretty hard.

"Oh, no, you did not!" Snotlout roared placing is held back on his head.

Then Hookfang ignited, which caused the ceiling of the ice cave to melt. Toothless felt several chunks of ice formed his head and looked up to see the ceiling cracking. At once he grabbed Hiccup and pulled him outside just as the ceiling caved in, trapping the other Dragon Riders.

The Dragon Riders try to dig their way out, but the ice was too thick.

"Hookfang! Get over here now!" Snotlout yelled.

Outside Toothless opened up his wings and found Hiccup unharmed.

"Thanks, bud," Hiccup smiled. Then he saw the Snow Wraith behind Toothless flying down at them. "Toothless, look out!"

Toothless duct as the Snow Wraith passed over them and disappeared in the snowstorm.

"If you can see our body heat, then we are waging an easier target out here," said Hiccup.

They then moved towards the dummies, which was still burning.

"This should even the yard is a little," said Hiccup. "It won't be able to make is out within the heat of these fires." He then looked at Toothless. "Do your thing, bud."

Toothless began roaring in order to track down the Snow Wraith within the snowstorm, but found nothing.

"Easy, bud. Nothing," Hiccup said confused. "Where is he?"

Unknown to them the Snow Wraith was flying down towards them.

"Keep going," said Hiccup as Toothless continue to roar.

They were so busy trying to find the Snow Wraith, but they didn't notice that it landed behind them. With their backs turned the Snow Wraith made its way towards them.

"Keep going, keep going," said Hiccup not knowing the danger behind them. "Keep going. Keep going."

Then they have the Snow Wraith roar and turn to find it right behind them. Suddenly Gothi appeared out of nowhere and charged at the Snow Wraith.

"Gothi, no!" Hiccup yelled.

Gothi then began whacking the Snow Wraith with her staff. Hiccup and Toothless just stared as Gothi gave it a beating, but then it grabbed her staff and began flailing around.

"Toothless, plasma blast!" Hiccup ordered. "And careful not to hit the crazy little woman with the staff."

Toothless fired several carefully aimed plasma blasts at the Snow Wraith, hitting it in the side. It then tossed Gothi away and was about to attack Toothless, when a fire blast appeared out of nowhere.

They turned and found the Snotlout and Hookfang had managed to melt the way out of the caved in ice cave.

"Oh, yeah, that's right," Snotlout cheered excitedly. "Snotlout got us out of the snow."

"Yeah, and you're also the one that got us buried in it to begin with," Astrid pointed out.

"Ah, details," Snotlout said dismissively.

Soon the Dragon Riders and their dragons charged straight towards the Snow Wraith and soon they had it completely surrounded. They then began blasting it with their fire attacks and they slowly closed in on it.

"Okay, we have him surrounded. Let's get that tooth," said Hiccup.

However, the Snow Wraith saw that he could not win this fight and flew off and it disappeared into the snowstorm.

"No! We can't lose him," said Hiccup.

"Actually, _he_ lost _us_ ," said Tuffnut.

Hiccup was about to climb onto Toothless, but Astrid stopped him. "Hiccup, we should get out of here while we can," she said.

"She's right, that thing won't fall for the same trick twice," said Ragnar.

"Not yet. This isn't over," said Hiccup firmly. Gothi then tapped him on his shoulder. "Not now, Gothi." He looked back at the others. "Gang, we came here for a Snow Wraith tooth and—" Gothi kept on tapping him on his shoulder. "I said in the minute, Gothi." He then looked back at the riders. "And were not—" He was starting to get annoyed with Gothi, who continuously tapped on the shoulder. "Gothi! Without—" He stopped when Gothi showed him her staff which had a Snow Wraith tooth embedded in it. "Oh, a tooth. A tooth!"

* * *

It was late in the afternoon when they returned to Berk. They were all standing in front of the Forge, where Gobber was standing.

"So, Gobber, how was it being Gothi?" Hiccup asked.

"Please tell me you didn't kill anyone," Ragnar pleaded.

"Well, I didn't get ter wallop anyone with my staff, but—"

"Gobber! Gobber!" Agnar yelled running to the Forge. "I must have more of a potion you made me earlier."

"So, it killed your stomach ailment, did it?" Gobber said proudly.

Agnar then vomited all over the ground. "Far from it," he wheezed. "But it did cure something else." He then removed his helmet. "It's made my hair grow back!"

Everyone stared and saw a single hair going out of his skull.

"Hey, congrats, Agnar," said Snotlout patting him on the back. "You look so…" He stopped when Agnar vomited again. "Good."

"Well, at least you only got _one_ of the side effects," said Gobber cheerfully.

At that moment Agnar farted and the smell was terrible.

"Well, Gobber, just whip up some more that potion for him," said Hiccup waving the smell away.

Gobber slightly uneasy. "Uh, well, it was very complicated, and I'm retired," he said. "Goith, why don't you take this one?"

Gothi glared at him and then whacked him with a staff, before taking Agnar away.

Ragnar then leant on the table and smirked at Gobber. "You really have no idea what was in that potion, do you?"

"No, not a drop," Gobber admitted. He then gave Hiccup the Snow Wraith tooth. "But here's yeh key."

Hiccup then fitted the tooth into the keyhole in the Dragon Eye and turned the keyhole. Everyone watched in excitement, but nothing happened.

"We almost died for that?" Snotlout grumbled.

"No, there's gotta be more to it than this," said Hiccup examining the Dragon Eye more closely. "It just doesn't make any sense."

"Welcome to _my_ world, sister," said Tuffnut scratching his teeth. "Nothing makes sense and you got itchy teeth."

* * *

Later that night, Hiccup was in his room still fiddling with the Dragon Eye, but still found nothing and he was getting tired.

"All right. That's it, I'm calling it a night," he said yawning and place the Dragon Eye his desk. "Maybe tomorrow."

He went and sat on his bed and Toothless he did his slab, and then he noticed something. The Dragon Eye was reacting to Toothless' fire and it was showing some strange symbols.

He got up and grabbed the stall and the Dragon Eye, and placed in front of Toothless.

"Toothless, come here," he said. Toothless wandered over to him. "Do that again, bud. Give me a low flame."

Toothless shrugged and did what he was told, and created a low flame. The moment he did the Dragon Eye reacted and produced images and strange writing on the wall.

"Whoa," said Hiccup in amazement. "This… changers… everything."


	3. Imperfect Harmony

Hiccup had gotten the other Dragon Riders to show them what he had found.

"Okay, bud, go ahead," he said to Toothless.

Toothless bent down towards the Dragon Eye and casted a low flame in front of it. At once the string symbols and strange writing appeared right in front of them. The other riders just stare at it in amazement.

"Definitely worth getting up for," said Fishlegs.

"Whoever created this sure knew what they were doing," said Ragnar.

"Ragnar, Fishlegs, can you two make any of it out?" Hiccup asked.

The two boys approached the symbols and strange writing to study them.

"There are parts of maps and symbols, nothing I've seen before," said Fishlegs.

"The writing is similar to what's in the logbook, but are not able to decipher it," said Ragnar.

"What's that?" Snotlout asked pointing to the symbol in the centre.

The symbol looks like a burning fist.

"Must be some kind of tribal crest or something," Hiccup surmised.

"Ooh, I like that way better than our tribal crest," said Tuffnut.

"Tuff, we don't have a tribal crest," Hiccup reminded.

"Well, we should," said Ruffnut.

"Yeah, and it should be that," said Tuffnut.

Fishlegs looks back at Hiccup. "Hiccup, this map, you realise it…"

"Goes beyond the boundaries of the Archipelago," said Hiccup. "Oh, I know."

"And I can tell you something else," said Ragnar. "Nobody would go through all this without something to hide."

They all looked at each other not saying a word and then Astrid said, "So, what's next move?"

* * *

The next morning, Hiccup and Ragnar show their findings to the Berk council in hopes that they will give them permission to investigate.

"Look at this! There are maps we've never seen, writing we can't read, dragons we don't recognise. It's—it's incredible!" said Hiccup looking at the council. "This Dragon Eye—this is proof that there is a whole other world out there, a world we must be explored."

Toothless then ceased his flames and the council looked at one another.

"This sure beats normal council business," said Gobber.

"It's all right lads, you can speak your mind. Well council, after all. That's why we're here," said Stoick.

"We've been at peace for three years. Best years of Berk I can remember," said Spitelout. "I think you know as well as I do that when you go looking for trouble, you usually find it."

"I'm with Spitelout," said Sven. "If that Dragon Eye leads to unknown places and new wild dragons, then no good will come from any of that."

"I completely disagree with you, Sven," said Hiccup firmly. "Look around you. How can you say that no good can come from discovering new species of dragons?"

"Yeah, what of those new species come here we'll need to know how to deal with them," Ragnar added. "I mean during the Dragon War we had no information on the Red Death and very little on Night Furies."

"He's right, if they're out there, we have to find them."

"If there's anything you and the other riders should be doing, is hunting down Dagur and putting him back in jail where he belongs," said Spitelout.

"Another reason to go," said Hiccup. "Dagur was heading beyond our borders. He thinks we won't go past them. But that's where we'll find him."

"Also he knows that we have the Dragon Eye, which we took from him, Dagur stop into it in his possession and it would be better if we weren't on Berk so that he could attack us," said Ragnar.

Spitelout shook his head and looked at Stoick. "Stoick, any time you like to chime in, we can put this thing to rest."

"You're right, Spitelout. Let's put this to rest," said Stoick approaching the table much to Hiccup dismay.

"Dad," said Hiccup.

"Let me speak, son," said Stoick raising a hand. "This is as important for you to hear as it is them."

Hiccup sighed knowing that his father will dismiss Hiccup plan.

Stoick turned and looked at the council. "Spitelout, you're absolutely right. These have been some of our best years. Nothing is more important than peace, peace among us, peace with our neighbours and peace with the Dragons," he said and Spitelout looked happy with the result, but then Stoick added, "having said that, let me ask you this, Spitelout: when you and I first had Alvin in our sights and everyone was telling us to leave well enough alone, what did we do?"

"Crushed him, that's what ya did," said Gobber slamming his ham on the table.

"Thank you, Gobber," said Stoick rolling his eyes.

"My pleasure, Chief," said Gobber cheerfully.

Stoick then looked back at the council. "When Valka was taken and I went in search for her could anyone have stopped me?"

"Well, technically you're the chief, so no," Gobber pointed out.

Stoick glared at him. "Yes, Gobber. Fair point," he said, he then turned and faced Hiccup. "But you know where I'm going. Think of the most important thing in the world to each of you. Ask yourself honestly how far would you be willing to go to get it. What would you risk?" He then placed a hand on Hiccup shoulder. "The boy's life has been dragons. His life _is_ dragons and will continue to be. We can stop them from going if we wanted to. So we might as well support him."

Hiccup said his father in disbelief, this was possibly the first time that his father had allowed him to do what he truly wanted.

Stoick then placed his hands on his shoulders and smiled down at him proudly. "Go, lad. Find whatever it is out there that pulling on you. And when you find it, Berk will be right here waiting for you."

Hiccup just smiled at him.

"Ya, better get out of here before all this nostalgia wears off and he changes his mind," Gobber advised.

Hiccup looked at his father one last time and then ran towards the door with Ragnar closely behind.

Stoick then looked at Toothless. "You take care of my boy, dragon," he said.

Toothless nodded and grabbed the Dragon Eye, and then followed Hiccup outside.

* * *

The moment they were outside, Hiccup packed his shield and was riding on Toothless, and the two of them looked at the fog bank.

"You ready for this?" he asked Toothless.

"Blah, blah, blah. Why do you have to make a production out of everything?" said Snotlout's voice.

Hiccup turned and found the other Dragon riders were right behind him.

"Let's just go already," said Snotlout impatiently.

Hiccup looked at them. "Okay, but if anyone has any reservations—" Then the other Dragon Riders blew right past him and into the fog bank.

"Into the great beyond!" Snotlout yelled.

"Yeah, great beyond!" the other riders yelled.

"Okay, no, reservations," said Hiccup and looked down at Toothless. "Let's go, bud!"

They then fold after the other riders into the fog bank.

However, after several hours, their mood changed.

"Into the great beyond," Snotlout said weakly.

"Great beyond," the others said in the same tone.

"Oh, come on, you guys," said Hiccup, who still looked cheerful. "So we've had a couple of tough hours. Nothing that's worth anything comes easy."

"They should have named you Hiccup the Optimist," Ragnar muttered.

"If that one of his riddles? Because now is not the time, my friend. We have to keep on saying ' _great beyond'_ ," said Tuffnut.

"Oh, gods," Hiccup muttered under his breath. He then looked down at Toothless. "Toothless, let's see if there's anything out there."

Toothless roars into the distance, but found nothing.

"Nothing," Hiccup sighed.

Then they heard the sound of thunder in the distance and it began to rain heavily.

"Ugh!" Astrid groaned. "Seems like the further we go in, the worse it gets."

"Hiccup, I think we should turn back. We've been flying for most of the day," said Fishlegs.

"He's right, we need to find a place to land and soon," said Ragnar.

"We just have to keep pushing forward until out of this," said Hiccup.

Then he saw sunlight in the distance breaking through the storm clouds and Astrid noticed it as well.

"Hiccup, is that—"

"Yeah, it is," said Hiccup. He then looked at the other Dragon Riders. "Everybody fly to the light."

He then led them towards the sunlight and they broke through the storm cloud. They stared in amazement as the sore open ocean with several small islands in it.

"Look at this," said Astrid in amazement.

"Guess this proves there's our other lands out there," said Ragnar.

"It's incredible," said Hiccup.

"I know, right? We made it, Hiccup! We made it!" Astrid yelled excitedly.

"Uh, guys, can we slap each other on the backs later? Meatlug's wings are about to fall off," said Fishlegs.

"He's right, the dragons need to rest," said Ragnar noticing the other dragons were getting tired as well.

"Sorry, guys. There's a place to land up ahead down we can set down," said Hiccup.

Suddenly they heard a strange sound in the air and the dragon seem to be attracted to it.

"Whoa, whoa, what is it, girl?" Fishlegs asked looking down at Meatlug, who perked up. "Don't you want to rest?"

Then all the dragons faced against the island below as if they were drawn to it. From the island they could hear strange musical tone.

"Guys, do you hear that?" Hiccup asked.

"What is that?" Snotlout asked.

"I've got no idea, but the dragons are definitely pulled towards it," said Fishlegs.

"They need to rest anyway and it would be preferable to land an island they find relaxing," Ragnar advised.

"Then I guess that's where we're going," said Hiccup.

They then flew down towards the island, not knowing the danger that awaited them.

* * *

They landed on the shore of a beach that was next to a waterfall and overlooked the ocean.

"This place is amazing," said Fishlegs.

They were all relaxing after the long flight and they couldn't have picked a better island to land on.

"Okay! I'm never going back to Berk," said Snotlout, who lying on the white sandy beach.

"For once I agree with you, Snotlout," said Ragnar, who had his bare feet in the water.

"Berk? What's that? 'Cause I forgot," said Tuffnut, who was playing in the water with his sister.

"Well, I guess we don't have to vote on where we're making camp," said Hiccup, who was sitting next to Astrid on a boulder but overlooked the waterfall.

"Ha ha! I'll take out the fire," said Snotlout.

Moments later, Snotlout poured a strange liquid over the sand and to a nearby shrub.

"Hookfang, light it up!" Snotlout ordered.

Hookfang led the liquid and at once a creative patrol fired towards the shrub, the moment it made contact burst into flames.

"Monstrous Nightmare gel," said Snotlout showing them the jar. "Don't leave home without it."

* * *

Later that night all the Dragon Riders were sleeping next to the dragons, apart from Hiccup and Astrid, who was staring at the night sky and the full moon.

"You were right Hiccup," said Astrid. "There's so much more out here. And it's beautiful."

"And this is only the beginning, Astrid," said Hiccup smiling. "Who knows what we'll find out here?"

All they could hear was the distant song that echoed through the island, but they fail to notice that Stormfly woke up as if she was transfixed by the sound.

* * *

Astrid was woken up by Hiccup, who shaken her awake. "Astrid, wake up," he said. "Do you hear that?"

"What? I don't hear anything," said Astrid rubbing the sleepiness out of her eyes.

"Exactly, it's gone. The sound is gone," said Hiccup.

Astrid then realise that Hiccup was right the sound that they heard yesterday was gone.

"The sound isn't the only thing which is gone," said Ragnar's voice.

"Yeah, the dragons are gone," said Fishlegs' voice. "All of them."

They quickly turned and found that they were right, the dragons had disappeared without a trace.

* * *

Once everyone was fully awake they entered into the woods in the hopes to find their dragons.

"Stormfly!" Astrid yelled.

All of them were searching every nook and cranny, but the twins searching methods were not the best. They continued circling around a small boulder that could no way in Asgard hide Barf and Belch.

"Ugh, how many times are you guys gonna check behind that rock?" Astrid asked tiredly. "Barf and Belch cannot hide behind it."

"Clearly, you are not aware of the stealthiness of one Barf and Blech. Or is that 'Two Barf and Belch'?" said Ruffnut looking at her brother.

"Hmm, excellent question," Tuffnut pondered. "One head…"

"One dragon."

"Two brains…"

"One body."

"Two bodies, half a brain," Snotlout added.

"Just humour them," Ragnar advised.

"Nothing," said Hiccup puzzled. "I don't get it. Where would they go?"

"Oh, my Meatlug," Fishlegs sniffed. "She wouldn't do this. She wouldn't leave me. She would never do this on her own."

Then they heard rustling in the bushes behind them. They all stood there preparing for the worst and then suddenly Toothless jumped out of the bushes and tackled Hiccup to the ground. He then licked Hiccup furiously.

"There you are, bud," Hiccup said relieved. "Where did you go?"

Toothless then roared and began to walk around them strangely.

"Okay, I think your dragon ate something weird in the forest, because he is out of his mind," said Snotlout.

"No, no, I think he's trying to tell us something," said Fishlegs.

Hiccup then bent down towards Toothless looking concerned. "What is it, bud?" he asked. "Is it the other dragons?"

Toothless ground Hiccup's metal leg and dragged him deeper into the forest. The other riders just as bewildered as Toothless disappeared into the forest.

"Uh, how far do you think he's going to get before he realises?" Astrid asked.

Hiccup then got up from the ground looking quite stunned. "Hard to say. He seems pretty committed," he said and looked down versus missing leg.

Toothless had grabbed Hiccup's legs so ferociously that he tore it from his body. Seconds later Toothless reappeared, looking quite embarrassed, and dropped Hiccup's leg in front of him.

"That's okay, bud. I like the enthusiasm," Hiccup reassured.

Once he reattached his leg, he climbed onto Toothless' back and looked at the others. "You guys stay here in case they come back. Toothless and I are gonna look for them from above."

They then took off, but didn't get very far when they heard a very loud roar. Hiccup looked down and saw a purple scaled Thunderdrum on the ground and it was approaching the other riders, without them noticing.

Quickly Hiccup made Toothless turn, but Toothless didn't want to, he wanted a fly towards the mountain in the distance.

"No. No, bud. This way," said Hiccup struggling to make Toothless turn.

Finally with great effort, Hiccup was able to make Toothless turn on the full down towards the Thunderdrum.

The other riders had just heard the Thunderdrum jump out of the bushes behind them and they quickly ran towards the nearest rock to hide behind.

"Oh, Thor! Oh, Thor! Thunderdrum!" Fishlegs screamed.

The Thunderdrum then fired a sonic blast straight at them, forcing them to cover their ears. Toothless then fired several plasma blast from the sky, this forced the Thunderdrum to fly away.

"Good job, bud," said Hiccup patting Toothless on the back. "Let's hope that's the last we see of that guy."

They then landed in front of the other Dragon Riders, who emerged from their hiding place or them looking a little dazed from the sonic blast.

"ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO DRAW TOWARDS US? CHANGEWING? OOH, SCREAMING DEATH, MAYBE? I'M SURE THERE ARE ONE OF THOSE AROUND HERE!" Snotlout yelled at the top of his voice.

"Snotlout, you're yelling very loudly," Hiccup yelled.

"OH, REALLY? I CAN BARELY HEAR MYSELF! BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GET ATTACKED BY A WILD THUNDERDRUM!"

"Okay, we need our dragons. I'm gonna go back out there," said Hiccup.

The other Dragon Riders gave them a blank look, they hasn't been able to hear anything Hiccup said.

"I SAID I'M GOING BACK OUT THERE!" Hiccup yelled so they could hear him.

At once the Dragon Riders yelled in protest.

"NO WAY, HICCUP, YOU ARE NOT LEAVING US ALONE!" Astrid yelled.

"WE DON'T HAVE ANY WEAPONS TO DEFEND OURSELVES WITH!" Ragnar yelled.

"YEAH, WE'ER DRAGON-LESS AND DEFENSELESS!" Fishlegs yelled.

"AND WE CAN ONLY COMMUNICATE BY YELLING!" Ruffnut yelled.

"WHICH, ALTHOUGH QUITE ENJOYABLE, IS NOT VERY STEALTHY!" Tuffnut added. "ARE YOU HEARING ANY OF THIS?"

Hiccup had to admit they had a point. "Okay, fine. We'll all go together," he said. The Dragon Riders gave him another blank look. "Oh, for— I SAID WE'LL ALL GO TOGETHER!"

The Dragon Riders nodded an improvement.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST SAY SO? Jeez!" said Tuffnut.

* * *

Moments later they were wandering through the woods on foot. They all had recovered from the Thunderdrum's sonic blast, but that didn't improve the mood as they trudged through the creepy forest.

"Uh, Hiccup?" said Fishlegs nervously.

"I know, Fishlegs," said Hiccup, reading Fishlegs' mind. "No longer amazing."

"Can we get a vote for creepy and weird?" said Snotlout.

At once he and the twins raised their hands.

Once they reach a clearing they stopped engaged in horror, because in front of them they saw a mountain of dragon bones.

"Are those what I think they are?" Fishlegs asked worriedly.

"Weirdly-shaped white rocks," said Tuffnut oblivious.

"Dragon bones," said Hiccup looking concerned.

"Ah, a boneyard. Yes, I like it," said Tuffnut excitedly. Then he saw the other Dragon Riders glaring at him and he looked at them innocently. "I don't like it."

Astrid then noticed a strange amber coloured rock on the ground and picked it up.

"What is this stuff?" she asked.

"No idea," said Hiccup.

"It's fossilised tree resin or more commonly known as amber," said Hiccup.

"Wait, if it's fossilised tree resin to doing on the ground?" Fishlegs enquired.

Then they heard a loud roar in the distance.

"Okay, what was that?" Snotlout asked fearfully.

"That my friend is a dragon in trouble," said Fishlegs.

Toothless then ran towards the sound and the riders quickly followed him. They followed him into a gorge and then found dozens of dragons trapped in the same amber stuff they found on the ground.

"Whoa," Hiccup gasped.

The dragons looked extremely weak, no doubt they hadn't eaten in days and some of them struggled to free themselves, but the amber was too thick.

"You guys do know what's going on here, don't you?" Tuffnut asked.

"Yeah," said Fishlegs studying the trapped dragons. "Something is trapping the dragons in this amber rock substance and immobilising them."

Tuffnut looked at him blankly. "Oh. Oh, I had completely different idea that involved oily fish and bad mutton," he said.

"And that's not even the worst of it," said Ragnar. "Whatever did this is breaking out and—and eating them."

"Ah, come on," Ruffnut said sceptically. "Who would be doing that?"

They then suddenly heard of roar in the distance and looked up to see a dragon flying down towards them.

Its wings and head resemble that of a Thunderdrum with several frills attached to it. It had a tail that is very reminiscent of a Monstrous Nightmare. Its body resembles that of a Timberjack, as it was very thin. Its scales were striking and were bright coloured with blue, yellow and orange on both its wings and its tail. Its spines, which run all along its back, resemble those of a Skrill.

All of them hid behind locked and stared at the Dragon in fear, apart from Ruffnut, who pointed at it and said, "How about that guy? Yeah, he look suspect to me."

Fishlegs quickly grabbed her and they all ducked behind the rock just as the dragon stared in their direction. Hiccup was behind another rock, trying to hold Toothless, who was trying to make his way to the Dragon, still.

The dragon then picked up a Terrible Terror that was encased in amber and flew away. However, Toothless was still trying to head towards the dragon.

"No, Toothless! No, bud!" Hiccup yelled. He then realised what was making Toothless act so funny, it was the sound. "It's the sound. That song—that's what draws the dragons in."

"Songwing," Fishlegs blurted out.

"What?" Astrid said puzzled.

"That's what we should name it," said Fishlegs.

"Now? Really? You want to name it now?" said Hiccup in disbelief.

"This is hardly the time to name new dragons," said Ragnar.

"We have to call it something," said Fishlegs.

"Yeah, I'm thinking Death Song might be more appropriate. You know, 'cause you hear the song, you're dead," said Tuffnut.

"Tell you what he makes a pretty good point," Hiccup admitted.

"Yeah, I do," said Tuffnut proudly. "Wait, what was it again?"

"It doesn't matter what we call it," said Astrid impatiently. "If it's doing it to all these dragons, then it probably did to ours."

"We have to find them," said Fishlegs.

"Fast," Hiccup added.

They all then ran in different directions trying to track down the dragons.

"Stormfly!" Astrid yelled.

"Skull!" Ragnar yelled.

"Hookfang! Hookfang!" Snotlout yelled.

"Snotlout, look!" Astrid yelled. Snotlout turned around and found that Astrid was standing next to Hookfang.

"Hooky! I am getting out of here, Fangster," Snotlout reassured.

"Astrid, I've got Stormfly!" Fishlegs yelled.

Then they heard the Death Song's roar telling them that it was returning. At once Toothless ran off before Hiccup could stop them.

"Toothless, no!" Hiccup yelled.

Toothless jumped on top of a boulder and faced the Death Song just as the returned. Toothless by the plasma blast that it, but it dodged it and then shot a strange kind of liquid at him.

Toothless try to dodge, but without Hiccup working his tail thing he got hit and within seconds he was encased in amber.

"No!" Hiccup yelled running towards him. He looked at the other riders. "You guys, get your dragons free now!"

The riders ran towards the dragons and tried to break the amber surrounding them, but it was too thick and one by one the Death Song shot them with amber and they were stuck fast to their dragons, leaving only Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar left.

"Wha—I can't move! I'm totally stuck!" Fishlegs yelled.

"Me, too," said Snotlout. "I can't believe that thing got me. I'm usually so limber."

"Yeah? Well, at least you got your own cocoon," Tuffnut muttered.

"Oh, yeah, like this is a picnic for me," Ruffnut grumbled.

Suddenly they broke away from Barf and Belch and landed on the sideways.

The Death Song then headed towards Hiccup, who was so busy trying to free Toothless that he didn't noticed it approaching.

"Hiccup, it's coming for you!" Astrid yelled.

Hiccup turned in time to see the Death Song fire amber at him, but in the last second Astrid shoved him aside. However, this meant that the amber landed on her leaving her trapped on the ground.

"Astrid!" Hiccup yelled.

"We gonna get out here!" said Ragnar helping him up.

Hiccup in like the idea of leaving his friends behind, but he knew Ragnar was right. The two then then ran towards an opening in the gorge that was to now for the Death Song to follow.

However, they fail to notice the steep slope on the other side and slid down it. They soon landed on the ground, hard, and looked up to see them face-to-face with the same Thunderdrum that attacked them earlier.

"Oh, hey," Hiccup said nervously. "Remember me?"

The Thunderdrum growled at them and looked as though he was ready to pounce.

"I'm thinking yes," said Ragnar as the two then pulled out their weapons.

Hiccup raises shield and looked at the Thunderdrum trying to remain calm, which was not easy when you're face-to-face with an angry Thunderdrum.

"Hey, I'm thinking we may have gotten off on the wrong foot," he said nervously. The Thunderdrum then roared at them, but Hiccup protected them with his shield. "Note for the _Book of Dragons_ , Thunderdrums carry a grudge."

Suddenly the Thunderdrum tackled them, but then they noticed the blob of amber that was on the ground just where they stood a few seconds ago. They looked up and saw the Death Song flying overhead.

The Thunderdrum then follow up and charge towards it. However, the Death Song slapped him with its tail and pinned the Thunderdrum to the ground.

"Don't worry, I got your back," said Hiccup raising his shield.

He then fired a bola that wrapped around the Death Song's mouth. With a distracted the Thunderdrum flipped it over and faced it.

"That's not gonna hold him for long," said Hiccup.

"There's only one way were gonna get out of this," said Ragnar.

Hiccup was thinking on the same lines and the two Vikings looked at the Thunderdrum, who was ready for another round with the Death Song. They redrew their weapons and approached it carefully.

"Okay, you might not like what were about to do, but trust me, it's gonna work out for the three of us," said Hiccup.

Then without warning he and Ragnar jumped onto the Thunderdrum's back. At once he took off into the sky trying to shake the two Vikings off of him.

"Haven't we gone over this?" Hiccup clinging onto the Thunderdrum with all his might.

"I don't think a mood to listen," said Ragnar clinging onto the Thunderdrum's tail desperately.

"I said I'm trying to help the three of us. Don't you listen?" Hiccup yelled trying to control the Thunderdrum. He then realise what dragon he was talking to. "Of course you don't listen, you're a Thunderdrum, and Thunderdrum's a hard of hearing."

"Makes you wish Stoick was with us," said Ragnar.

Then the Thunderdrum flow downwards at top speed and the two boys screamed as they approached the ground.

Marvellously, the two of them were still alive, winded but alive. They got up and found the Death Song nowhere to be seen.

"At least we lost the Death Song," said Hiccup.

"For all the good it will do us," said Ragnar. "If we don't do something soon our friend can be eaten alive."

"You're right," said Hiccup looking extremely frustrated. "I can't believe this is actually happening. I shall after all you guys back on Berk. Now the cocooned in that crazy rock stuff, where being chased by an angry Death Song, and we're stuck here with a wild Thunderdrum who can't hear thing we say."

Hiccup and Ragnar looked at each other and realise the same thing. They both turned to the Thunderdrum and realise why it had been captured.

"Wait a second. If you guys can hardly hear a thing, then you probably can't hear the Death Song's call," said Hiccup.

"And if you can't hear the Death Song, then it can't lure you in. That explains why it hasn't captured you," said Ragnar.

Hiccup then raised his hand towards the Thunderdrum and slowly approached it. "You know what, Mr Thunderdrum?" he said. "You're gonna help me get our friends back. And we're going to make sure that dragon never bothers you again. What do you say?"

The Thunderdrum snarled at him, but calm down the moment Hiccup placed his hand on its snout. Then he and Ragnar jumped on its back and flew back to the mountain.

* * *

In the gorge, the other riders were trying to break free from their amber prison, but with no success.

"Uhh! Uhh! Where's Hiccup and Ragnar? I knew they'd leave us," Snotlout muttered. "I have to pee."

"They didn't leave us. They'll be back," Astrid assured. She then tried to reach for her knife. "If I could just reach my knife."

"It wouldn't matter, Astrid. This amber, it's really strong," said Fishlegs as he tried to struggle to free himself. "Uhh! I don't think we can cut through it."

"If we can't cut it, then how do we get out of here?" Snotlout asked impatiently.

"Yeah, you can't tell me that the last breath is gonna be inhaling her stinky fish hair," said Tuffnut trying to blow Ruffnut's bags out of his face.

"Oh, yeah, that's real original. You know what? I hope it eats you first," said Ruffnut. "At least I'll have something cool to watch before I die."

"You just stay on your side of the cocoon, missy."

Suddenly something rammed into their cocoon and they landed with their backs facing the ground.

"Whoa! What's going on? Do it again!" said Tuffnut excitedly.

They all turned and saw Hiccup and Ragnar riding on a Thunderdrum. It was clear that they had just round the twins in attempt to free them.

"Okay, so that the negative on plan A—ramming the cocoon open," said Hiccup.

"Please tell me you have a plan B," said Astrid.

"We'll tell you moment we come up with something," said Ragnar.

"If it involves cutting, ramming or ripping, you might as well forget it, guys," said Fishlegs. "Once it cools down, this amber is hard as any rock I've ever seen."

"Cools down?" said Hiccup.

"And hardens," Fishlegs added.

Ragnar looked at Hiccup and recognised that look on his face. "You've got an idea don't you," he said.

"It may work," said Hiccup jumping off the Thunderdrum. "Nobody move."

The Dragon Riders weren't amused by that comment.

"Oh, yeah, that's funny. A real comedian," Tuffnut muttered.

Hiccup took Snotlout's jar of Monstrous Nightmare gel from Hookfang's saddle and began pouring it all over the riders and their dragons.

"What are you doing, Hiccup?" Snotlout asked as Hiccup covered him with the gel.

"Just trust me, Snotlout," said Hiccup.

"Says the man who's about to set me on fire?"

"Well, you said it only stings a little," said Hiccup walking away.

"I was lying. You know I'm a liar!"

"It'll be okay, Snotlout. I promise," Hiccup assured.

Snotlout didn't look completely convinced.

Suddenly they heard the Death Song's roar and Hiccup hide the Thunderdrum behind a rock as it appeared. It looked around trying to decide who to have its next meal and landed next to Fishlegs and Meatlug, who were both quivering. It then grabbed a Gronckle near them and flew off.

"Aah! Hurry up, Hiccup! He just took the appetiser. I think I'm the main course." Fishlegs yelled.

He then broke off from Meatlug and landed on the ground.

"Fishlegs, relax," said Astrid. "It could take hours for him to eat that dragon."

Then the Death Song reappeared and flew down towards Fishlegs.

"Or minutes! Help!" Fishlegs screamed.

The Death Song landed beside him and looked down at him. Fishlegs tried to get out using his legs, which were the only things not encased in amber, however he only achieved by moving around in circles. The Death Song kept on turning its head so to keep an eye on him.

"Hi, sir," said Fishlegs nervously.

The Death Song then tilted it head and roared at him. Then it heard the roar of a Thunderdrum and turned around to see Hiccup and Ragnar riding on the Thunderdrum's back and flew down towards them.

"Hey, remember us!" Hiccup yelled.

At once the Death Song took flight and chased them down. It kept on firing amber at them, but they dodge them with ease. Then they turned around and shot straight at the Death Song, but in several colliding they flew right past it and headed back towards the gorge.

Hiccup then jumped off the Thunderdrum and skidded on the ground on his shield. The sparks from a shield ignited the gel and said a powerful fire towards the Dragon Riders and their dragons. Within seconds one by one the riders and dragons free themselves.

"Yes! It's working!" Astrid yelled getting to her feet.

Toothless at once ran over to Hiccup, who gave her a big hug. "Hey, bud, good to see you," he said.

They looked up and saw Ragnar was having trouble keeping the Death Song at bay.

"I could use some help!" Ragnar yelled.

At once the riders hopped onto the Dragons and flew up to help Ragnar. Hiccup was about to take off, but he then noticed the baby Thunderdrum, blue scaled, in case an amber and realise why the Thunderdrum hadn't left the island, he was trying to rescue his baby.

"It's an adolescent Thunderdrum. No wonder he stuck around," said Hiccup. He then turned to Snotlout, who too had left. "Snotlout, you get the Thunderdrum. I'll handle the Death Song."

In the sky the Thunderdrum fired a sonic blast, but the Death Song dodged it. Then it noticed Hiccup and Toothless joining the fight and began to chase them down.

"Hey, that's relocate this guy… permanently," said Hiccup looking down at Toothless. Hiccup then noticed the cave and got an idea. "And I've got just the place."

He then looked back at the Death Song, which was still following him. "Okay, Mr Death Song, welcome to your new home."

They then flew into the cave and the Death Song followed them. Toothless, been able to navigate the caves and being mean was able to dodge the stalactites and stalagmites, but the Death Song had no such luck. He kept on slamming into this stalactites and stalagmites, but he didn't give up the chase.

"Okay, bud, get us out of here," said Hiccup.

Toothless began navigating the cave and found the point where he could turn around. The Death Song followed him, but turned too quickly and slammed into the cave wall. He quickly recovered and chased down after Toothless.

Toothless shot out of the cave, where Ragnar, who was lying back on top of Skull, and the Thunderdrum were waiting. Then together both dragons fired a massive sonic blast that weakened the rocks above the cave. Toothless and by the plasma blast that caused the cave to cave in, trapping the Death Song inside.

"Yeah! Nice going, guys!" Hiccup yelled. "No one can hear his song in there.

"Well, we can let you have all the fun," Ragnar shrugged.

They then flew back to the other Dragon Riders, who were coming back from the gorge and among them was the baby Thunderdrum. At once the adult Thunderdrum for over to his baby and they nuzzled each other.

"If I were you to, I maybe find another island," Hiccup advised. "I don't know how long that's going to hold."

"Uh, you know they can't hear you, right?" said Tuffnut.

"Yes, Tuff, I know," Hiccup sighed. "Let's get out of here."

They flew off leaving the Thunderdrum alone with his baby.

* * *

Once they were a safe distance away from the island, Hiccup looked at the other riders apologetically.

"Hey, gang, I just want to say I'm sorry for getting you all into this," he said. "If you want to turn back—"

"Are you kidding?" said Astrid.

"There's no way we'd miss this," said Ragnar.

"No way," said Ruffnut.

"That was the most fun we've had in years," said Snotlout.

"There is one thing we need to do, though," said Astrid.

"I'm all ears," said Hiccup.

"We need an island, our own island," said Astrid.

"Astrid's right, Hiccup. We're way too far out to travel back and forth to Berk," said Fishlegs.

"Yeah, and I'm in hopping is in the most ideal idea," said Ragnar.

"What we need is a base of operations," said Hiccup.

"Exactly," Fishlegs agreed. "But this time we don't let the dragons pick it." Meatlug then snarled unhappily. "Sorry, girl, it has to be said."

Hiccup then looked at Snotlout. "All right, Snotlout, you're the man of the hour for bringing the Monstrous Nightmare gel. You choose."

"Seriously?" said Snotlout stunned.

"Yeah, seriously."

"All right! What you say, Fangster?" said Snotlout looking down at Hookfang, who then roared. "Ha! Couldn't agree more. Into the great beyond!"

"The great beyond!" they all yelled.

Snotlout then let them as they began the hunt for an island.


	4. When Darkness Falls

The Dragon Riders were in search of an island to set up as their headquarters, but it was easier said than done.

Hiccup and Snotlout were running from an angry pack of wild boars.

"' _Let's explore the island on foot. Rest the dragon for long trip home. I'm a mutton-head!_ '" said Snotlout doing a terrible impersonation of Hiccup.

They soon stop when they came to a sheer cliff and turned to see the wild boars approaching them.

"Okay, _genius_. What's our next move?" said Snotlout.

"Uh, weapons. We need weapons," said Hiccup.

Snotlout looked down at Hiccup's metal leg. "Got one!" he said and tried to remove it.

"Snotlout, let go!" Hiccup yelled shoving him away.

"What? I called dibs. Gimme!"

"Get off me!" said Hiccup managing to break free from Snotlout's grip.

The boars charged at them, but then Stormfly and Skull appeared out of nowhere scared them off with a stream of fire.

Minutes later, Hiccup and Snotlout were with the other riders and were searching for another island.

"Okay, so check that island off the list," said Hiccup.

"Whoo-hoo-hoo, this is so exciting," said Fishlegs excitedly. "Searching the high seas for an island outpost to call our own."

"Yeah, I like that idea," said Ruffnut leaning back on Barf. "Move away from Berk, get my own place, away from you-know-who." After seeing the last part she looked at Tuffnut, who was totally oblivious to a comment.

"Yeah, you're telling me, sister," he said. "I'm sick of you-know-who. He never knows when to shut up. I want him out of here."

"Guys, let's focus," said Hiccup with a heavy sigh. "We need to find an island that's safe, secure and habitable for both us and the dragons."

"Blah, blah, blah. How many times do we have to hear that?" said Snotlout impatiently.

"Um, until we find what you're looking for," said Hiccup. He then noticed another island below them. "Let's check this one."

The island they landed on looked ideal, there was plenty of freshwater and there was through within the trees. It even had bushes of blue flowers all around.

"Not bad, not bad," said Hiccup scanning the island. "Lots of freshwater, seems like a plentiful food supply."

"And lots of cool blue flowers," said Ruffnut holding a bouquet of very familiar blue flowers and inhaled them. "I'm in!"

Astrid looked at the flowers and recognise them. "Wait, aren't those—"

"Blue Oleanders!" Fishlegs gasped.

"The deadly poisonous to dragons," said Ragnar.

Ruffnut had brought the Blue Oleanders close to Barf and Belch's faces, but quickly drew them away.

"So, when not staying?" said Tuffnut.

Then Barf and Belch sneezed causing a small explosion.

Fortunately, after the Blue Oleanders three years ago they had made sure to carry an antidote at all times and cure the Hideous Zippleback.

Minutes later, they were back searching for another island. Fishlegs then noticed an island below them.

"Oh, this island is beautiful," he said as he flew down towards it. "I even like those weird dots all over the—"

When they got close they realise that they were not dots they were holes.

"Those aren't dots! They're Whispering Death holes!" Hiccup yelled.

Then they saw Whispering Death emerged over the holes.

"Been there, done that," said Snotlout.

"Next!" said Astrid.

Fishlegs led them to another island, but it was the same island Hiccup and Snotlout discovered. So they end up running for the lives with wild boars chasing them.

"My bad! Should've crossed this island off the list!" Fishlegs yelled.

They all jumped off the cliff and landed on the dragons' backs and flew far away from the island.

Finally, after several hours, they found a winner. The island they found was large with forests and mountains and a waterfall.

"This looks pretty good," said Hiccup.

"Those cliffs could work," said Astrid studying the island. "Good site line, easily defendable."

"The location is great," said Fishlegs.

"It's perfect," said Ruffnut.

"Yeah. _Too_ perfect," said Tuffnut sceptically. They all stared at him in confusion. "I'm just saying, in the immortal words of the mighty Thor, 'When something looks too perfect, it probably sucks'."

The other Dragon Riders weren't quite convinced.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure Thor never said anything remotely like that," said Hiccup.

"Oh really? How do you know? Do you know Thor? Have you talked to him recently?" Tuffnut asked raising an eyebrow.

"No, but—"

"Well, because I have, mm-hmm. And I don't recall him mentioning you," said Tuffnut raising an eyebrow. "Look, I just have a feeling about this place, and I think we all know what happens when I get a feeling."

"We ignore it?" said Astrid.

Then they flew down towards the island.

"Mark my words. There will be something wrong with this island, something mysterious, something horrible, something… something…" said Tuffnut fearfully.

Ruffnut just rolled her eyes. "Ya finished?" she asked.

* * *

It was evening when they found a clearing big enough for them to land on, Hiccup began relaying instructions to the other riders.

"Okay, first thing we need to do is setup camp for the night," he said as he reached for his saddle. "We need dry wood for fire, we need freshwater and we need someone on traps."

However the other riders were more focused on building the actual outpost rather than setting up for the night.

"Snotlout what is that?" Astrid asked.

Snotlout was drawing an S on the ground. "It's an 'S' for 'Snotlout'," he said. "I think aesthetically it will look nice flying over."

"That's ridiculous," said Astrid. "It doesn't matter what the outpost looks like. It needs to be functional and operational."

"Well, I think we need a place to study, learn and are pleased to heal our wounded," said Ragnar.

Hiccup try to look over their shoulders in attempt to get their attention. "Uh, guys, what we really need is…"

"A place for rest, relaxation and replenishing after a hard day's work," Fishlegs cut in. He then reached into his saddle. "You're absolutely right, Hiccup. Look, Meatlug and I had some thoughts."

He then pulled out a shield with a model on top of it.

"Is that a hot tub?" Astrid asked pointing to a circle of rocks.

"No, that's the mud bath. The hot tub is over there," said Fishlegs point to the circle rock next to it.

Toothless just growled to tell Hiccup that he was annoyed. "Tell me about," said Hiccup.

The twins and looked at the model. "Wait a minute. Everybody stop. I don't see it," said Tuffnut.

"Me, neither," said Ruffnut.

"See what?" Hiccup asked tiredly.

"Um, the boar pit," said Tuffnut. "Where is it? Where's the boar pit?"

"You see. The centrepiece of any good outpost is a boar pit," said Ruffnut solemnly.

"Why?" said Astrid staring at the twins incomplete confusion.

"Everybody needs a little entertainment now and then, don't they?" said Tuffnut.

Everyone just stared at them in silence, until Fishlegs said, "Well, we do know where to get the boars."

Toothless then fired a plasma blast at Snotlout's S getting everyone's attention.

"Oops, sorry about that," said Hiccup. "Okay, so, now that we have your attention, really need to set up camp for the night."

Tuffnut then said, "Wait, what about the—"

"Ah-da-da-da! Will talk about the dragon outpost design in the morning," said Hiccup firmly. "For now, someone needs to get the water."

"Ugh. I don't know about you, but I would like whiney Berk Hiccup way better than Princess Outpost Hiccup," said Snotlout looking at Astrid.

"I know, right?" she said and gave Hiccup thumps up.

"Well, that went well," said Ragnar.

Both Hiccup and Toothless sighed.

* * *

Later that night they were all sitting by a campfire the dragons were laying down sleeping, but Toothless woke up when he heard a rustling sound.

"What is it, bud?" Hiccup asked.

"I'll tell you what it is. Rats. Rats the size of yaks," said Tuffnut. "No it could also—is yaks the size of rats? Yakrats! Wait, those could be adorable." He laughed. "No, no, I know what it is. It is yaks the size of dragons. Right, Toothless? You feel me, 'T'?"

Toothless groaned and fell back asleep.

"There is no such thing as yaks the side of dragons," said Fishlegs laughing.

Tuffnut then reappeared behind him making Fishlegs jump. "Yakdragons to you, my friend. And when you've heard their cries, you'll believe. Trust me."

He then began shouting strangely causing everyone to cover their ears. "Rakay-ya-na-na-na-ohhhh! Pa-poo!" he yelled. He then stopped and look riders "That's right. Let that roll around in your head for a minute."

"All right, Tuffnut, knock it off," said Hiccup.

"Yeah, you're not scaring anyone," said Snotlout.

"Really?" said Tuffnut moving so that his face was inches away from Snotlout's. "What if there were… snakes out there in the dark? Hmm? Giant snakes? Snakes big enough to swallow a man whole and then barf out his bones?" He then began making faces at Snotlout.

"Ha! Please. Barfing out bones," Snotlout scoffed. He then grabbed Hookfang's wing and plated over him. Everyone just stared at him including Hookfang. "What?"

"Yeah, that's right, go to bed," said Tuffnut. "Sleep… if you can." He then laid down on Belch's neck and began to fall asleep. "Ahh, trolls, demon toads…"

Everyone just rolled their eyes and decided to follow Tuffnut's lead and go to sleep.

* * *

Hours later, Tuffnut was awakened by animal noises.

"Aah! What was that?" he yelled.

He looked around and saw that the other riders and their dragons were still asleep. He then heard rustling coming from the forest.

He got up and entered the forest carefully and quietly, he had the sound of wings fluttering and then jumped when he saw a shadow.

"Aah! Who—" he gasped. "Oh. It's in the trees." He then saw the shadow again. "Yakrats! I knew it."

Then something rushed past behind him, making him jump, he slowly looked behind and then saw it was a chicken clutching at him.

"Oh, it's just a chicken," he said relieved. "It's a tiny chicken. Well… ahem. Hello, breakfast!"

However, before he could grab the chicken, he heard something behind him and it sounded huge. He turned around and saw a massive dragon in the sky, he can make much out, because it was so dark, that he knew it was huge.

"Oh… my… gods," he said stunned.

The other Dragon Riders, were still sound asleep.

"Mmm, Astrid, you look like a pillow. Mmm," said Snotlout in his sleep.

Suddenly they were awakened by Tuffnut who screamed, "Help!"

They saw him running out of the forest looking as if he seen a ghost. He stopped in front of them panting heavily.

"Chicken! Roaring! Roaring huge chicken! Chicken roar!" he wheezed.

"Is he saying he saw a big, roaring chicken?" said Fishlegs puzzled.

"Not a chicken. Dragon. Huge. Massive," said Tuffnut after finally calming down. He then looked at the other riders. "What's another word? Colossal."

"But what happened to the chicken?" said Fishlegs.

"Forget the chicken! We gotta get out of here!" said Tuffnut.

The other riders didn't convinced.

"Is anyone falling for this?" Astrid said yawning.

"I don't know," said Ruffnut. "I haven't seen him this freaked out since he found a leech on his—"

"Okay, I'm gonna stop you there," said Astrid with a disgusted look on her face.

"She still has a point, he must have seen something out there," said Ragnar.

Hiccup sighed. "Okay, fine, let's just check this out so we could all go back to sleep."

They followed Tuffnut to the place he last saw this dragon.

"Okay, when this giant beast rips us limb from limb, I will expect a full apology from each and every one of you. And the handshake," he said. "No, you won't be able to shake hands 'cause your limbs will be gone."

They then heard rustling in the bushes and Tuffnut put his finger to his lip telling them to be quiet. He then jumped into the bush and swing punches an invisible opponent, but instead of finding a huge dragon he found a chicken instead.

"Well, that was underwhelming," said Ragnar.

"No! It was here, and it was huge. I'm not making this up," Tuffnut said firmly. He then looked down at the chicken. "Here, tell them. You are standing right there. Tell them, chicken."

The riders looked at one another finding the whole thing bizarre.

"Uh, you're scaring me, bro, okay?" said Ruffnut. "And we shared a womb."

They all then walked off annoyed that they had been woken up from nothing.

Tuffnut glared at the clocking chicken in annoyance. "I can't even look at you right now," he said looking away. The chicken then crowed and Tuffnut glared back down at her. "What did you just say?" The chicken crowed and satisfied with the answer, he left her. "I didn't think so."

* * *

The next morning, the riders and their dragons woke up.

"Okay, now, let's talk about outpost," said Hiccup.

After quickly rushed over to him. "Since you brought it up, I've been working on my designs," she said and showed her design of the outpost.

Astrid had drawn something that looked like a fort with skulls as its base and flaming spikes surrounding it and on top of the fort was Astrid herself holding a spear with a skull on it.

"We'll, set up lookout posts with interlocking fields of fire and—"

"Never get any rest," Fishlegs finished and then drew their attention to his model outpost. "But here, in my meditation garden—"

Snotlout then walked up looking annoyed. "Neither of those is S-shaped," he said. "Did you not see my design?"

"Boar pit! Boar pit! Boar pit!" Ruffnut yelled.

"Neither of those outposts has any place for us to do any healing or research," said Ragnar.

"Guys, guys, listen to me," said Hiccup calmly. "We need one idea. We can't design six different outposts." He then got an idea. "Or… can we?"

He then looked at the other riders. "You know what? Boar pit. Great idea," he said and everyone just looked at him all structed.

"Whoa. What just happened?" Ruffnut asked.

Hiccup then turned to Snotlout. "Oh. S-shaped? I love it."

"Don't freak me out, Hiccup. It gives me the willies," said Snotlout.

"I'm just saying, let's all come up with a design that we each think is the best, and there we'll vote on it. Does that sound fair?"

They all just stared at him.

"What are you up to?" Astrid asked curiously.

"Nothing, nothing at all," said Hiccup innocently. "Just trying to keep the troops happy. You know what they say. Happy troops are, uh… happy… groups?"

Astrid wasn't convinced, but decided just to go along with it.

Hiccup then noticed they were shot one person. "Hey, speaking of troops, Ruff, where's your other half?" he asked Ruffnut.

"Don asked me," Ruffnut shrugged. "All I know is this boar pit is not digging itself."

* * *

Tuffnut was in the woods with his chicken, trying to track down the dragon he saw last night.

"Okay, giant dragon, you are officially on notice. Oh, you can run, you can't hide," he said. "I guess you can fly. You can also run. You can run fly. But either way, you can't hide. Because nothing escapes the watchful eyes of—"

He was so busy talking he did not notice that he walked off the edge of a cliff and fell down screaming. He tumbled off the rocks and landed hard on the rocky ground.

"Oh! I am hurt! I am very much hurt!"

The chicken to look down the edge of the cliff clucking away happily.

An hour later, Tuffnut managed to climb back up. His helmet was covered in tree branches and he was bruised from head to toe. He then glared at the chicken.

"You could have warned me?" he said angrily.

He then got up to his feet and walked away and the chicken followed him. He then continued his search for the giant dragon, but found nothing.

"Okay, so it's gonna be the hard way. Fine, that's the way I like it. Just ask the chicken," he said clicking his shoulders.

Tuffnut then stop suddenly, this time he saw the cliff right in front of him and saved himself from tumbling down it.

"Ha! See!" he yelled at the sky as he backed away. "Oh, yeah. Tuffnut Thorston is locked in now. He ain't falling off another cl—"

Then just like before, he fell off the edge of a cliff and tumbled down it screaming.

"Multiple ledges!" he yelled in pain. He then landed hard on the ground. "This island is very cliffy!"

The chicken just clucked peering down the cliff.

* * *

Meanwhile, later that afternoon, Hiccup was watching the other riders construct their model outposts. He was leaning against on Toothless enjoying the peace.

"Do you hear that, Toothless?" he said. "That's the sound of peace and quiet. You know, making them work together might be just the best idea I've ever had."

However, this peace did not last long. It all went downhill when Fishlegsgrabbed a stone that Snotlout was reaching for.

"Uh, excuse me? My _rock_ ," said Snotlout glaring at Fishlegs.

"Oh, how do you figure?" Fishlegs asked.

"I need it! That box makes the bottom of my 'S'. And I need my 'S'."

"Really? Your 'S'? Your genius architectural marvel," Fishlegs scoffed.

"Give me the rock," Snotlout demanded.

"Ah, since you put it like that…" Fishlegs outstripped his hand I was holding the rock, but before Snotlout could take it, he threw it at Meatlug, who ate it. "There. There's your rock."

Snotlout then got up and body slammed Fishlegs' model outpost, much to his horror.

"And there's your architectural marvel," Snotlout said smugly.

"And I've spoken to soon," said Hiccup facepalming himself.

"Yeah, I didn't really need the vision to see this coming," said Ragnar.

They both watched as Fishlegs and Snotlout began fighting and for some strange reason Astrid decided to join in.

Ruffnut then walked over to Hiccup with a mysterious grin on my face. "Hey, Hiccup, I'm ready for a dry run. You want to be the boar?" she said.

Hiccup just backed away in disgust.

Then they saw Tuffnut emerge out of the forest looking extremely battered and had about half the forest all over his body.

"Whoa. What happened to him?" Ruffnut asked.

Tuffnut then explained what even doing all day.

"You've really been out there all day looking for that dragon?" said Hiccup.

"And ended up falling down every single cliff in the area," said Ragnar.

"Instead of digging up our boar pit? Priorities, huh," said Ruffnut.

"Or maybe you did see something," said Hiccup.

"Oh, I saw something," Tuffnut panted. He then looked at the chicken. "You did, too, you little backstabber. Tell them." The chicken then clucked. "Oh, save it. You had your chance."

"Or this whole thing is a bunch of stinky yak dung," said Ruffnut crossing her arms.

"You know what? First of all, yak dung, when made in a nice tea, can be quite aromatic," said Tuffnut.

"Agreed. But I still think you're just trying to scare everybody. There's no dragon out there."

"Yeah, there is, Ruffnut. You willing to put your mutton where your mouth is?"

"Oh, you're not suggesting…"

"Oh, I am. I'm suggesting like a hot Gronckle in a lava pit. And you know exactly what that means."

"What's going on with you two?" Hiccup mask looking concerned.

"Yeah, filling in the peanut gallery here," said Ragnar.

"Silence!" Ruffnut yelled.

"I officially declare Thorston challenge," said Tuffnut.

"Thorston what?" Hiccup yelled.

"Oh, this can't be good," said Ragnar.

"Accepted. Usual stakes?" said Ruffnut.

"Of course."

"What stakes?" Hiccup asked looking extremely worried.

"It's very you don't know," said Tuffnut.

They then both spit into the hands and shook. They then walked away mounting on Barf and Belch, leaving a bewildered Hiccup and Ragnar behind.

With the twins' unknown challenge in the wrestling mat for a single stone, Hiccup was at his wits end. Toothless approached Hiccup sighing.

"I know, bud, I'm losing it, too," said Hiccup.

They had two options go after the twins or stay and watch the wrestling match for the walk with the other riders. Hiccup looked at Ragnar and nodded.

"Ruff, Tuff, wait up!" Hiccup yelled as he and Ragnar ran after them. "How about a couple of impartial judges for the Thorston challenge?"

The twins and left on Barf and Belch, and Hiccup and the mountain the dragons not wanting to stay with the other riders.

"For the love of, Thor, take with you!" Hiccup yelled as they flew after them.

"Don't leave us in this madhouse!" Ragnar yelled.

* * *

It was late at night and still they had not found Tuffnut's dragon. Tuffnut himself had fallen asleep and was snoring hugging his chicken.

"Tastes like chicken. Chicken on a stick. Chicken à la mode" he said in his sleep.

He almost fell off Belch, fortunately Hiccup caught him and placed in backup right. "And that's where we should call it a night," he said.

"Chicken and ice cream," said Tuffnut still asleep.

"Sure!" Ruffnut agreed happily. "Since we never found that quote-unquote Yakdragon, declare me the Thorston challenge winner and we can all go home."

"Uh, okay, sure," Hiccup shrugged. "Um, by the power, uh, vested in me, I hereby declare Ruffnut is the—whoa!"

He started when they heard a loud roar in the distance, it was loud enough to awaken Tuffnut. Then they saw merging of the trees a large black scale dragon.

"I don't believe it," said Hiccup and Ragnar at the same time.

"Me, neither," said Ruffnut crestfallen. "Tuffnut wins the Thorston challenge."

"Yes!" Tuffnut yelled in triumph and looked at his sister smugly. "Told you. Now pay up."

Ruffnut then kicked him in the face and the two began fighting one another, until Hiccup for them out of it.

"Guys, focus! Look with its headed! Street for campsite" he said. They turned and saw that he was right, the dragon was heading straight towards the campsite. "If it catches those guys asleep on the ground…"

The twins then took off, much to Hiccup and Ragnar's surprise.

"Guys!" Hiccup yelled.

As they were flying towards the dragon, Tuffnut looked at the chicken and smiled as it clucked.

"I forgive you, too," he said. He then place the chicken on the top of his helmet and yelled, "See you in Valhalla!"

"See you in Valhalla!" Ruffnut yelled.

Before Hiccup or Ragnar could stop them, the twins charge straight towards the dragon, which stopped to face them. However, something unusual happened, when they made contact the dragon separated into several smaller dragons.

"What just happened?" Ragnar asked confused.

"What in the name of—" Hiccup gaped. "It's not one big dragon. It's tons of little ones."

The twins had not noticed this at all and looked at one another.

"If this is Valhalla…" said Ruffnut.

"What are you doing here?" they both said.

"Whoa, check that out," said Tuffnut pointing.

He was pointing at one of the dragons. It was slightly larger than the Smothering Smokebreaths and the Terrible Terrors. It had have small teeth and a rounded tongue. It also have two small horn-like ledges on top of their nose. Its tail was short with four, short, thin spikes on it. However, while the other dragons were black this one was white and was slightly larger than the others.

The dragon retreat and the others seem to respond to it flying back towards it. The dragons encircled a rounded and formed a giant version of themselves.

"They're joining backup around the white one," said Ruffnut.

"He must be the leader," said Hiccup flying beside them looking at them in amazement. "It's amazing."

"I have never seen dragons act like this before," said Ragnar astonished.

Then the twins flew towards the dragons.

"Guys what are you doing?" Hiccup yelled.

The twins then pulled out a net and places around the white one taken prisoner. The moment they did the little dragons separated acting all confused.

"Bam! Problem solved," said Tuffnut as they flew away. "All right, let's head home."

Both Hiccup and Ragnar concern is of little dragons fluttered away in chaos.

"I don't know about you, but I've got a bad feeling about this," said Hiccup.

"Don't worry, I have that feeling too," said Ragnar.

They then flew after the twins heading back to the campsite.

* * *

Minutes later the awakened the other riders and showed them the white dragon they captured, which was struggling trying to free itself from the net.

"Amazing," said Fishlegs.

"It's sort of look like a Terrible Terror," said Astrid as the white dragon screeched loudly. "But bigger and meaner."

"Yeah, but they travel in large packs like Smothering Smokebreaths," said Ragnar.

"And it seems like the nocturnal," said Hiccup. The four them looked at Snotlout, who gave them blank looks. "You know, they come out at night—"

"Yeah, I knew that. Noc-a-turanl. I was gonna explain it to them," said Snotlout gesturing to the twins, who are running around the chicken laughing.

"And guess it's true what they say, 'ignorance is bliss'," said Ragnar.

They then turned their attention to the dragon in the net.

"I say we should call them Night Terrors," said Fishlegs.

"Hey, I saw him first, so I get to name him," said Tuffnut firmly. The chicken then clucked at him. "No! You always say that."

He then turned his attention to the dragon at his feet. "Now, let's think about this logically," he said looking down at the dragon and scrunched up his face in an attempt to think. "They come out at night and they're terrifying. Terror of the night. I've got it! Smidvarg and the Gang."

Everyone then gave them blank looks.

"And Night Terrors it is," said Hiccup.

Then they had a dragon lawn the distance and saw the newly named Night Terror struggling to break free as if his life depended on it.

"What's going on out there?" Astrid asked puzzled.

"I don't know, or whatever it is Smidvarg doesn't like it, and the Gang ain't paying attention," said Tuffnut.

"Let's check it out," said Hiccup.

They then mount the dragons and flew towards the sound.

As they got closer they saw the other Night Terrors being attacked by Changewings.

"Changewings!" Hiccup gasped. Toothless smiled at them as they attacked the defenceless Night Terrors. "I know, bud, not exactly a fair fight, is it? Let's even up the odds."

They then shot straight at the Changerswings and toothless fide plasma blast at a Changewing that was about to devour a Night Terror. It turned the face them and then suddenly vanished.

He then reappeared behind them and was about to attack, but then got blasted by Astrid and Stormfly.

"No bullying on our island!" she said.

Skull then came flying in sending a powerful roar at a Changewing that try to make a move on Astrid.

"Find our own island!" Ragnar yelled.

Snotlout attacked a couple of Chagnewings that attacked some of the Night Terrors.

"Hey! You can't read dragons like that!" Snotlout yelled.

The twins then blasted another Changewing with Barf and Belch gas and spark attack.

"Only _we_ can treat our dragons like that," said Ruffnut.

"That should take care of them," said Hiccup.

They saw the three Changewings retreat, but then they saw all pack of them descending upon them.

"But what about those guys?" Fishlegs asked fearfully.

Hiccup pulled out his spyglass and looked at the incoming Changewings. There were so many of them but they didn't bother camouflaging.

"Incoming!" he yelled.

"How many?" Astrid asked.

"Too many!"

"Why are they all coming here now?" said Fishlegs puzzled.

Hiccup then saw one of the Night Terrors screech him he realised what had changed. "It must be the Night Terrors," he said. "When we captured the white one, they all split up."

"Oh, of course! They flock into a shape of a giant version of themselves as a defence mechanism to scare off predators," said Fishlegs facepalm in himself.

"Makes sense, I've heard tales that fishing oceans have the same sort of defence mechanism," said Ragnar.

"And now they can't…" said Hiccup worriedly.

"They're lunch," Astrid finished.

"Oh, I knew this was gonna be bad," said Hiccup cursing himself for not realising it later. He then looked at the other riders. "We have to help them. Head back for the white Night Terror. He's their leader. You guys hold them off as long as you can."

Hiccup then flew back to camp and the other riders charge at the incoming Changewings.

Seconds later, Hiccup arrived at the campsite and hopped off Toothless. He ran towards the white Night Terror and removed the net. Once it was freed the white Night Terror took off, but before it left it roared loudly in Hiccup's ear.

"Yeah, probably deserve that," said Hiccup rubbing his ear.

The Night Terror then began to fly in the direction of the other Night Terrors, but then two Changewings appeared and began chasing it down. Toothless blasted one with his plasma blast, but the second one was out of range and was closing in on the Night Terror.

Hiccup quickly mounted on Toothless may flew towards the Changewing. However, they will be able to reach in time as it began to close its mouth around the Night Terror.

Then, suddenly, out of nowhere the twins appeared and covered the Changewing in gas and then sparked causing an explosion.

"You leave our Smidvarg alone," said Tuffnut.

"Great job," said Hiccup flying alongside them. "Okay, you cover Smidvarg from behind, Toothless and I will lead the way." He then saw the twin smirk at him. "What? Okay, so it's growing on me."

They then led Smidvarg to wear the other Night Terrors were located.

The riders were holding their own against the Changewings, but they were getting overrun. Which was proven when a Changewing charged at the group of Night Terrors Astrid was guarding and knocked off both her Stormfly down.

The two landed on a rock below them unless recovered quickly to avoid a Changewing from squashing her. She rolled away, but accidentally rolled off the edge of the rock, but she was able to grab hold of the ledge.

However, the Changewing was making its way towards and there was no we should defend off against it while holding onto ledge.

"Lava blast!" Fishlegs voice yelled.

Next second, Meatlug appeared as a nowhere and blasted the Changewing with a lava blast. This angered it and it began to chase after them, causing Fishlegs to panic and fly away.

"Stormfly!" Astrid yelled.

Stormfly had recovered from the fall and was making her way towards Astrid.

Meanwhile, Fishlegs was dodging the acid blasts from the Changewing and would have gone hit by one if Ragnar had flown in and slammed Skull's bone like tail into it.

However, Fishlegs still panicked and flew into a flock of Night Terrors Snotlout was guarding and then slammed into him.

This caused both riders and their dragons to fall onto the ground. They looked up and saw Changewings descending towards them. They both screamed, but then the Night Terrors, which had merged into a larger version of themselves, roared at the Changewings and cause them to fly away.

Both Fishlegs and Snotlout cheered in relief as Hiccup and Toothless circled around the Night Terrors.

* * *

The next morning, the riders were looking down at a diagram that Hiccup had created.

"What's this?" Astrid asked.

"A diagram of a new outpost. I got the idea from Smidvarg," said Hiccup. He then looked at the riders began explaining it to them. "So, see, I combined all your ideas into one giant base. And I was thinking we could call it the Dragon's Edge. What do you guys think?"

The Dragon Riders looked at him and nodded in improvement.

"Okay, I just need to point out that this is the first time that has ever happened. Let's take a look," he said and bent down to the diagram. "Everyone gets to make their section of Dragon's Edge whatever they want it to be. Astrid, you can make yours the most heavily-armed bedroom in the known Viking world. Ragnar, you get to have the spotlight here where loads of healing herbs are grown. And, Fishlegs, your place is quiet and secluded, overlooking the ocean, very serene, very relaxing, with lots of room for your very own rock garden. Snotlout, your spot is up here. Now, it's not S-shaped, but you can go S-crazy and paint them all over it."

"Yeah, I can! Snotlout!" Snotlout cheered.

"Boar pit! Boar pit! Boar pit!" the twins yelled in excitement.

"Yes, yes, aha! Glad brought that up," said Hiccup getting to feet and show them the diagram. "There's a space for one right under your hut. Just do me a favour and lock up the boars after you're done with them."

"You do care," Tuffnut sniffed.

"We'll connect the different sections with bridges, zip-lines and gangplanks. We'll have really cool stables with our own landing strip. And, of course, a dragon training arena. And in the centre, overlooking everything else, will be the clubhouse, the eye of Dragon's Edge."

* * *

Later that night, Hiccup examine the work they did during the day and looked really pleased.

"It's really stand take shape," he said. He then looked at the other riders. "And for one more addition to our new outpost… Tuff?"

Tuffnut doing here, he was too busy playing with his chicken. "That's right," he said tickling the chickens beak as it clucked at him.

He then loaded the other riders were staring at him. "Uh, what?" he said. He then realise what he was supposed to do. "Oh. Smidvarg!"

The trigger man attacked him for some strange reason and Ruffnut laughed. "What? Oh, I can't have friends now?"

The riders then turned and saw Smidvarg flying up into the sky and landing on a perch they had created.

"Well, if we're gonna share this time with them, I thought we should share the outpost, too," said Hiccup.

"Plus, it doesn't hurt that they seem to have a protective instinct to protect," Fishlegs added.

"And with their defence mechanism we don't have the flu about while dragon attacks on the island," said Ragnar.

"They'll be like sentries. Right, Smidvarg?" said Hiccup looking up at Smidvarg.

Smidvarg just squealed and Hiccup took that as a yes. He then turned and looked at the twins.

"Okay, so, the Thorston challenge—" he said. "When is Ruffnut gonna pay up?"

"She already has," said Tuffnut looking at his sister, who looked extremely depressed. "Can't you tell? I mean, look at her. She lost, so she had to switch clothes with me."

"Right. And if you have lost?" Hiccup asked curiously.

"Ugh. I'd have to swap clothes with her."

"Yeah, but you guys are exactly, uh—"

Astrid then placed her hand over his mouth. "Don't go there," she said.

Then, all of a sudden, Smidvarg screeched and all the Night Terrors circled around Toothless.

"What are they doing now?" Hiccup asked puzzled.

"I have no idea," said Fishlegs.

"Neither do I," said Ragnar rubbing his head.

Smidvarg then flew into the air and the Night Terror began to circle around him.

"Hiccup, look," said Fishlegs in amazement.

Before they knew it they could change into a giant Night Fury and they all stared in amazement.

"Whoa! Awesome!" said Ruffnut.

"Amazing," said Hiccup.

"Impressive," said Fishlegs.

Toothless and growled at the giant Night Fury and began to pose right in front of it. They all laughed and then the chicken in Tuffnut's hand began to cluck.

"Aw, chicken, I could have squawked it better myself," said Tuffnut.

They watched as the giant Night Fury flew high into the sky and then with a mighty roar it separated into the hundreds and thousands of Night Terrors that had created it.


	5. Big Man on Berk

The Dragon Riders had returned to Berk in order to help with a Scauldron problem they were having. They were flying over the sea trying to locate the Scauldron.

"All right, gang, we'll buzz pass the Scauldron and draw its attention so Astrid, Ruff and Tuff can net it from behind and dragged out to sea, got it?" Hiccup asked.

"I still think we should blast it!" said Tuffnut.

"You wanna blast everything," said Ragnar rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, because it's fun."

"Stoick just wants us to move the Scauldron out of Berk's fishing lanes, so don't get any crazy ideas," said Astrid.

"Uh, sorry. Crazy is what we do, Astrid. Duh!" said Ruffnut.

"They do have a point," said Ragnar.

"You guys do realise that a Scauldron's hot water blast can the scales right off a Screaming Death," said Fishlegs.

Then they saw the Scauldron raising its head out of the water roaring.

"There it is," said Hiccup and looked back at the Dragon Riders. "Let's focus, guys."

Astrid then tossed the rope of the net to Ruffnut and they flew down towards the water.

"As usual, nobody's listens to Fishlegs," Fishlegs muttered.

They flew down closer towards the Scauldron and Hiccup began counting down for the signal.

"One…" Suddenly Fishlegs snorted like it was going to sneeze. "Two…" Again Fishlegs felt as though he was going to sneeze. "Three!"

At that moment Fishlegs sneezed and it was so powerful that it blew Meatlug backwards. The Scauldron heard this in turn to face them with steam exiting from its nostrils. Then Fishlegs and Meatlug bumped into Snotlout and Hookfang, causing Snotlout to fall off of him and landed in the net that was descending towards the Scauldron.

"Help me!" Snotlout screamed.

"Abort! Abort!" Hiccup yelled just as Fishlegs and Meatlug bumped into him and Toothless.

"I'll get them," said Ragnar flying down after them.

Quickly Astrid and the twins pulled up, but they had descended quite quickly and are having troubles pulling the dragons up.

"I knew I heated this mission!" Snotlout grown as they got closer to the Scauldron.

Fortunately, Ragnar had managed to steady Hiccup and Toothless and they quickly circled around the Scauldron confusing it giving Astrid and the twins more time to pull up.

"Plasma blast, bud," Hiccup ordered.

Toothless fired a plasma blast at the Scauldron and then it sent back down into the water.

"Oh, I see how it is. _You're_ allowed to blast it," Tuffnut muttered.

* * *

When they got back at Berk, Snotlout had a few choice words with Fishlegs.

"You and your snot-rockets almost got me killed!" he yelled.

"Calm down, Snotlout, you lived. Ya us," said Astrid looking slightly depressed.

"No thanks to Itch-legs over here," said Snotlout gesturing to Fishlegs', who was at the moment scratching his legs ferociously.

"It's so weird. I mean, I never… oh… never—" Fishlegs and sneezed all over Meatlug. "…Get sick."

He then began scratching his back ferociously, which was very disconcerting to the other riders, except for the twins.

"Dig deeper, see if you can draw blood," said Tuffnut.

"Well, something is clearly not right with you," said Hiccup.

"Let's see, sneezing, uncontrollable scratching… Its clear allergy," said Ragnar.

"I'm not allergic to anything," said Fishlegs firmly. "And I don't see what the big deal is, okay. Everyone sneezes and scratches sometimes."

"Not like a honey-covered yak on an anthill," said Tuffnut. Everybody then stared at him. "What? You've never seen a honey-covered yak on an anthill? Well, those things scratch. It's terrifying. The horrors can't my dreams"

"I really don't feel sick, okay?" said Fishlegs as he continue to scratch. "I promise, I'm fine."

He then scratches back against Meatlug.

"Ugh," said Hiccup looking away. "Well, maybe Ragnar is right and you are allergic to something."

"That's impossible," said Fishlegs as he continued to scratch himself. "Allergies don't run in the Ingerman family. I'm clean, serene and—"

"And an itching machine," Ruffnut finished.

"Might I interject? We at the Thorston house have a very simple allergen detection system. It never fails," said Tuffnut.

"Then how come I've never heard of it?" Ragnar asked.

"Because we haven't tried it on anyone," said Tuffnut.

And before anyone could stop the twins, they took Fishlegs away.

* * *

Moments later, they were all at the arena and Tuffnut presented Fishlegs with a very rotten egg.

"Thousand-year-old egg," he said giving it to Fishlegs. "Slam this down your gullet."

"Can I interject," said Ragnar.

"No!" the twins yelled.

Before Ragnar could stop them, Fishlegs took the bite out of the egg and for some strange reason seemed to have liked it.

"Oh, it could use a little sea salt," said Fishlegs.

Tuffnut sighed with disappointment.

"What about this?" said Ruffnut and then slapped him across the face with some yak hair. "Yak hair." She then began rubbing it across his face. "Takes itchy to a whole new level."

When she was finished Fishlegs' face was covered in yak hair, but didn't stretch it at all. "Not really," said Fishlegs. "Feels kind of like my old Aunt Gerta. You know, she used to—"

"No, I'd like to be able to sleep at night," Hiccup said quickly.

Tuffnut then walked over to him, handing him a mug of what looked like goat milk that had a very pogoed oder.

"Spoiled, coagulated goat milk with just a pinch of hoof jam," he said. "I find it changes the whole experience."

Then, much to the disgust of the other riders, Fishlegs lifted the mug up and slipping out of it was a block of goat milk. He swallowed the entire thing and at once made some fun looking faces.

"Oh, that is…" he then paused and liked his lips, "cheesy and delicious!"

All the Dragon Rider looked as if they were going to throw up.

"He must a stomach made of iron," said Ragnar with disgusted look on his face.

Fishlegs then walked over to Meatlug. "I'm telling you, I've never been allergic to anything," he said tossing her a rock, which she ate happily. He then sneezed all over her.

Hiccup and Ragnar looked at each other, then to Fishlegs, to Meatlug and then back to each other.

"You don't think," said Ragnar bewildered.

"It's seems so," said Hiccup.

"What? What is it?" Fishlegs asked worriedly.

"Fishlegs? We think you might be allergic to… Meatlug," said Hiccup.

Everyone just started at them.

"Why, all of a sudden would he be allergic to Meatlug?" Astrid asked puzzled.

"Perhaps it's just a simple case of adult-onset allergies," Tuffnut suggested.

"Ah, I concur with you diagnosis, Dr. Nut," said Ruffnut trying to sound smart.

"I concur with your concur-ation."

"Adult-onset allergies develop in your elder years when you immune system mistakenly identifies a dangerous substance."

Everyone just started at them, not believe what they just said. The twins had said something that not only made sense, but was completely accelerate.

"Surprisingly, they're right," said Ragnar.

"Don't be silly," said Fishlegs as he scratched Meatlug and tried to hold back a sneeze. "There's no way, I'm…" He then snorted as he held back his sneeze and began scratching himself. "…allergic to Meat—"

Ruffnut then shoved Fishlegs' face into Meatlug and he began to sneeze uncontrollably.

"Oh, yeah, diagnosis confirmed," she said before releasing him.

"Unfortunately, I don't know enough about allergies to help you," said Ragnar walking up to him. "But there is one person on Berk who can help."

* * *

Soon Hiccup and Ragnar took Fishlegs and Meatlug to Gothi. Snotlout, who wanted to see Fishlegs treatment and Gobber, who was there to translate for them, accompanied them. Once they explained Fishlegs condition, Gothi sat cross-legged and moved her arms in a strange way.

"Ohh, I gotta see this," said Snotlout smirking.

Gothi then opened her eyes and began writing in the dirt.

"What she saying?" Fishlegs asked.

"Huh," was all Gobber said.

"What? What?!" Fishlegs yelled panic stricken.

"She wants ter paralyse ya," said Gobber simply.

Fishlegs and once backed away in fear and Snotlout cheered in excitement.

Then Gothi whacked Gobber with her staff. "Aah! Check that," he said rubbing his head and looked down on the writing. "Hypnotise. Sorry, she wants ter hypnotise ya."

"Uhh, come on," said Snotlout disappointingly.

Gothi then pointed her staff at Fishlegs and mood within hypnotic way and Fishlegs' eyes followed it. "Ha ha ha! Unfortunately, guys, this is never gonna work on me, because I'm way too—" He then collapsed to the ground and fell into deep sleep and began to snore.

"Unconscious? Ha! Quick, put his hands in warm water," said Snotlout mischievously.

"We're not going to do that," Hiccup said firmly.

"Okay, now that he's under, she wants to tell him that he's not allergic to Meatlug," said Gobber reading the rest of Gothi's writing.

"Does that really work?" Snotlout asked sceptically.

"I guess we'll find out," said Hiccup approaching the sleeping Fishlegs. "Here goes." He then moved his hands in the mysterious way and spoke in a mystical tone. "Fishlegs, you are not allergic to Meatlug. You are _not_ allergic to Meatlug."

Snotlout looked at Fishlegs blankly. "So, that's it?"

"Hypnosis is a very powerful thing and dangerous if not used correctly," said Ragnar.

"Okay, let's bring him out of it," said Hiccup.

"Now, now, now, hang on a second," said Snotlout and wrote his hands together evilly. "We've got an opportunity here. We can rebuild Fish-face. We can turn into a worshipped Viking, a fearless godlike hero as strong as three yaks! A Viking who commands attention! In other words Viking worthy of my friendship."

Unknown to them Fishlegs had heard everything that Snotlout had said and while still asleep got onto his feet with a fearsome expressionless face.

"That kind of thing is what makes hypnosis so dangerous," said Ragnar rolling his eyes.

"Uh, I have to agree with Ragnar on this one, sorry, Snotlout, we're not doing any of that," said Hiccup crossing his arms. He then looked at Gothi. "You can bring him out of it now."

Gothi then walked up to Fishlegs and snapped her fingers in front of his face. However, the reaction they guard was not what they expected, they saw Fishlegs flexing his shoulders.

"Fishlegs?" said Hiccup puzzled.

Fishlegs then turned and faced them with a rock-hard expression. "Fishlegs?" he said in a deeper fiercer tone. "There's no Fishlegs here," he said shoving out of the way. He then looked down at Meatlug. "Who's this pudgy little reptile?"

"That was a bit harsh," said Gobber as Meatlug whimpered.

"I don't like where this is going," said Ragnar.

"Fishlegs, are you all right?" Hiccup asked looking concerned.

"Are you deaf, skinny, one-legged boy?" Fishlegs roared and grabbed Gothi's staff. "The name's Bonecrusher." He then snapped the staff in half and then tossed it over the cliff. "Thor Bonecrusher."

Gothi glared at him for snapping her staff like a twig, Snotlout stared in awe, Hiccup and rag on the other hand stared in horror.

"Snotlout, do you realise what you've done?" said Hiccup shaking him. "You fool, you've created—"

Snotlout then shut them out of the way. "My very own super-Viking—Thor Flipping Bonecrusher! I love it!"

"Well, and makes one of us," said Ragnar, who did not need a vision to tell that this was bad.

* * *

Later that day, Snotlout and Fishlegs, who still fought himself as Thor Bonecrusher, were walking into the village. The villagers started and noticed Fishlegs new demeanour as he walked past.

"Oh, hello," he said the woman, who just looked at him puzzled.

He then gave the thumbs up to a Viking, who was pulling a cart of apples. The moment the Vikings saw this he released the cart in surprise and it started to roll away.

Behind them were Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar. The two boys had explained to Astrid about the little situation with Fishlegs.

"And Gothi can't just turn him back?" she said staring at them.

"Not with her staff, which Thor Bonecrusher crushed and threw off the cliff," Hiccup explained.

"That means until we find a way to cure him we have to make sure he stays out of trouble," said Ragnar.

"Is that Fishlegs?" the Viking woman asked.

"I don't know," said the Viking.

Snotlout then rushed over to Fishlegs. "So, TB, you're not afraid of anything, huh?" he asked eagerly.

He then jumped out in front of him and slashed his sword at him. Fortunately, Fishlegs caught it with the palm of his hands and then tossed it aside.

"Ha! Child's play," he scoffed.

"How about fire?" Snotlout asked pointing a burning torch at him.

Fishlegs just knocked it aside. "I scoff at fire!" he said.

However, he knocked the fire towards a house and set it on fire.

"Fire! My house is on fire! Someone threw a torch on my house!" a woman yelled.

"Perfect, a call to action!" said Fishlegs.

He then ran into the burning house and seconds kicked the door open with a sheep under one hand and a woman in the other. Snotlout just stared in amazement.

Once he was outside people began cheering.

"Please hold you applause until the end of the rescue," he said.

He then grabbed a trough full of water and tossed it at the burning house. At once the water distinguished the flames.

He then looked back at the villagers. "You may commence."

They then all cheered loudly and the woman he just saved walked over to him.

"Fishlegs…" she said stunned.

"Fishlegs? Why does everyone keep calling me Fishlegs?" he asked.

"But you're Fishlegs… Fishlegs."

"Nonsense, crone!" he yelled. He then ran up to a stump and looked at everyone. "Uhh! People of Berk… It is with great pleasure that I announce the arrival of me, Thor Bonecrusher. The most universally feared and loved Viking in all the land is here to enchant you with my presence."

Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar looked at one another and all three of them could see that this was bad.

"Oh! Look out, the cart!" a Viking yelled.

The cart was the same cart that the Viking realised earily as Fishlegs walked on and it was rolling towards a baby wrapped in a buddle that was lying inside a small cart. People gasped in horror as the cart got closer and closer to the baby.

Fishlegs just smiled and ran towards it, he jumped doing a series of somersaults and the crowd "oooohed" and "aaaaahed".

"What?" Hiccup gasped.

"Ah! My baby!" a woman yelled.

Fishlegs then landed between the cart and the baby. He then extended his right hand and used his left leg to flip the baby into his other hand. He then kissed the baby and tossed it aside and braced himself for the cart.

The cart slammed into his palm and stopped tossing apples into the air and every gasped as the baby landed in its mothers arms. And if that wasn't enough, Fishlegs grabbed the cart and used to catch all the fallen apples, except for one which he tossed to a Viking who was about to eat his boot and then stuck the gap in his boot.

"Apple-boot!" he yelled.

Everyone cheered.

"All in a days' work," said Fishlegs proudly.

"Did you see that? That was incredible!" said Snotlout looking at Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar. "He ran, and then did a flip and then toss and then a thing, and then flipping into the other thing. Ohh! He's amazing."

"Is it me, or did Snotlout just fell in love with Fishlegs?" Astrid asked in amusement.

"Bonecrusher! Bonecrusher! Bonecrusher!" Snotlout cheered and the villagers followed.

Then Fishlegs heard animal groaning. "Shh, everyone!" he ordered. "Thor hears the sound of a baby yak in trouble."

He then ran towards of this sound and indeed it was a baby yak and it was just a few yards away from jumping off a cliff.

Fishlegs jumped further than he'd ever done before, jumped from house to house swung on a dragon figurehead and back flipped until he was in front of the baby yak. He then slammed his hand on its back and squeezed.

At once the baby yak went limp and fell to the ground. Everyone had followed Fishlegs and stared in amazement.

"Sleep well, little yak," he said getting to his feet. "Sleep well."

"What's next, Thor?" a villager yelled.

"Show us more amazing feats of bravery!" another villager yelled.

"Ha ha ha! I shall, citizen, I shall," said Fishlegs. "But first, I must claim a weapon befitting a god!"

Snotlout then ran up to him, giddy with excitement. "Ha ha ha! Thor, you have to teach me that Viking yak pinch," he said.

"You mean like this," said Ragnar placing a hand on Snotlout's shoulder and squeezed. Next second he toppled over like a ragdoll. "Let that teach you not to mess with a healer."

* * *

After Snotlout recovered from Ragnar paralysing grip, he and Fishlegs wandered off to Gobber's forge, who was happily singing at the time as he was sharpening Stoick's axe.

" _Well, I got my axe and I got my mace…_ " he sang.

"You, simple blacksmith!" roared Fishlegs.

Gobber took the other than insult. " _Simple blacksmith_?" he said.

"Uh, how about this one?" Snotlout asked handing Fishlegs a dagger.

"Oh, that's perfect… for removing splinters," he said tossing it aside.

Snotlout then presented Fishlegs with a sword. "Ha ha ha! What about this one? You can use it to annihilate your enemies."

"That's a nice handle, I suppose… if I had wee lady hands," he said tossing it aside, narrowing missing Gobber.

"I made at handle with my best leather," Gobber grumbled.

Fishlegs then noticed the axe Gobber's hand and took it from him. "Now, this. This is an axe for a Viking," he said admiring it.

"That's Stoick's axe," said Gobber.

"Correction: this _was_ Stoick's axe," said Fishlegs swinging the axe around, nearly chopping Snotlout's head off.

"Uh, okay, uh Fishlegs?" said Hiccup, who just arrived with Astrid and Ragnar. Fishlegs then glared at him. "I mean, Bonecrusher. Stoick isn't exactly the kind of chief who likes to share his things, especially his axe."

"Neither do I," said Fishlegs and began to walk away. "If this Stoick fellow wants it, he can always try and take it back for me."

"Oh, man! He's totally called out Stoick!" said Snotlout excitedly. "How much do we love this guy?"

Meatlug had followed them to be close to Fishlegs, but was now sighing with disappointment.

"Okay, this is getting out of hand," said Hiccup.

"I told you it would," said Ragnar.

"We need to get Thor Bonecrusher back to Gothi before we lose Fishlegs forever," said Hiccup.

"I totally agree," said Gobber. "Just one question. Where'd he go?"

* * *

Fishlegs was inside the Great Hall with every single villager in the whole of Berk. They were listening to his stories of bravery transfixed and Meatlug was just lying the corner looking extremely depressed.

"So there I was, Thor Bonecrusher, perched on an inferior dragon as we approach the vicious Scauldron, faster than Odin on his eight-legged horse."

"You can have Hookfang next time," said Snotlout. "He's a Monstrous Nightmare, scariest dragon of all."

"Monstrous Nightmare? Sounds like a post-mutton trip to the outhouse," Fishlegs scoffed.

Then all the villagers laughed and see no way out of it Snotlout laughed as well. "Good one," he said and Hookfang glared at him.

Hiccup, Ragnar and Gobber entered the Great Hall at that very moment and noticed Meatlug looking extremely depressed.

"Poor Meatlug. Wouldn't even wear her saddle," said Gobber. "Look at her. So lonely. We've got to do something with her."

"I'll take care of Meatlug," said Hiccup.

"We still need a fix Fishlegs and the sooner the better," said Ragnar.

"My chances of survival were slim," Fishlegs continued. "I only had one option."

"Ah, ooh, oh, oh! Fly away?" said a Viking.

Fishlegs then glared at the Viking. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," he said.

"Sorry."

"No, I had something very special in store for that Scauldron."

He then went on saying that he charge of the Scauldron riding on top of Meatlug, while the other riders quivered in fear on Toothless' back. He then jumped off of Meatlug with his axe held high and charge at the Scauldron.

He then sliced through the table and all the villages gasped. "He narrowly escaped. However, next time, victory shall be mine!"

Then all the villages cheered,

"Put me in your next story!" said Snotlout. "Just as the background. Please?"

"Fishlegs! Is that my axe?" said Stoick's voice.

They all turned and saw Stoick entering the Great Hall with anger in his eyes.

"Oh, he's got his axe," quivered a Viking.

The villages then muttered in fear, no one getting between Stoick and his axe.

Stoick then approached Fishlegs, who wasn't scared at all, but was looking at Stoick in amusement.

"Uh, Dad, that's not _Fishlegs_ Fishlegs," said Hiccup.

"Don't be daft," Stoick roared. "I'm looking right at him, holding my axe, by the way."

"Ah, you must be Stoick the Vast—" said Fishlegs and then looked at him. "—ly overrated."

"What did you call me? What did he call me?" Stoick roared.

"That's what I'm trying to tell you. He's not himself," said Hiccup.

"That's put it mildly," said Ragnar.

"Give me back my axe!" Stoick growled.

"Don't you mean _my_ axe," Fishlegs corrected.

Stoick snarled at him and cracked his knuckles, he then looked at Fishlegs with a murderous look.

"He was just polishing it for ya, Chief," Gobber said quickly.

"Let me handle this. I will get your axe back, I promise," Hiccup assured.

"Fine, but make it quick, or I'll take it from him myself," said Stoick.

"Chief, let's get out of here. How about a nice piece of mutton?" said Gobber escorting Stoick out of the Great Hall.

* * *

With great difficulty, Hiccup and Ragnar had managed to convince Fishlegs to meet up with Gothi and Astrid accompanied them. Gothi was in the middle of concocting a potion for him.

"I hope this won't take long, sorceress," said Fishlegs. "I like a nap after a feast of wild boar in mead."

"Thanks, Gothi we really need Fishlegs back," said Hiccup.

Gobber arrived just in time to see Gothi wrench Fishlegs' mouth open and dumped the entire potion down his gullet. At once Fishlegs rushed over to the nearest barrel and threw up in it.

"Ugh! What was in that potion?" Astrid asked.

Gothi then wrote in the dirt with a stick and Gobber translated it. "It was in a potion. Just spiced yak bladder," Gobber read. "She says, ' _that'll teach him to break her staff_ '."

"Remind me not to get on her bad side," said Ragnar.

Fishlegs then removed his head from the barrel and gasped for air. "Not the most delicate delicacy," he said weakly.

"What about getting Fishlegs back?" Astrid asked.

Gothi then wrote on the dirt again. "She can't re-hypnotise him without her staff," Gobber read.

"Great, now what?"

"Well, Fishlegs is still here," said Ragnar. "The thing about hypnotism is that you can't make someone go against the nature."

"But he's nothing like Fishlegs," said Hiccup.

"Ain't you forget that time with the Changewings eggs? We all have a hidden part of our personality deep inside us," said Ragnar. "Snotlout just awakened it while he was under. But a true feeling of terror should shock him back to normal."

"But Mr. Thor Bonecrusher over here isn't afraid of anything," Astrid pointed out.

"Truer words were never spoken, my fair Viking lady," said Fishlegs placing an arm around her.

"Ugh!" Astrid groaned, she got enough of this from Snotlout.

"I never said it was going to be easy," said Ragnar.

"Now, where is that snotty fellow?" Fishlegs asked walking off. "We have business to discuss."

"Hiccup, you may want to swing by the old homestead," Gobber advised. "Your father is a bit of a… state."

Hiccup didn't like the sound of that.

* * *

Minutes later Hiccup arrived at his house and ended inside to see Meatlug cuddling Stoick.

"Get this dragon asked me!" Stoick yelled trying to fend off Meatlug, who was constantly licking him.

"Dad, she's just lonely," said Hiccup.

"If she doesn't get off me, will be having Gronckle for breakfast."

"We need to get Fishlegs back before things get worse," he said and at once he regretted saying those words.

"Hiccup!" Astrid yelled running in with Ragnar.

"Let me guess. It's Thor," said Hiccup turning towards them.

"Yeah, and Snotlout," said Astrid.

"And you're not gonna believe where they're headed," said Ragnar.

* * *

Out at sea, Snotlout and Fishlegs were riding on Hookfang. They were going to take down the Scauldron once and for all.

"Ohh! Can't this overgrown lizard fly any faster?" Fishlegs asked impatiently.

"Ha ha ha! Come on, Hookfang, you're embarrassing me," said Snotlout looking down at Hookfang, who just snorted.

"Onward, Snot-man. We must find a dragon worthy of my command," said Fishlegs. "My destiny awaits."

Snotlout just laughed nervously and did what Fishlegs ordered him to do.

* * *

Not far behind them, Hiccup and the other riders were following them.

"They have to be down there somewhere," said Hiccup gesturing to the dark clouds ahead of them. "What was Snotlout thinking?"

"He wasn't. He's in love," said Astrid as if she was talking to a baby. "He'd do anything for his big hunk of bone-crushing love."

"And when does Snotlout think?" Ragnar pointed out.

"Well, we'd better find them before they find the Scauldron," said Hiccup.

* * *

Ahead of them Fishlegs and Snotlout were still looking for the Scauldron.

"Just think, Snotlout, at any moment, the giant beast will emerge from the water and I will tame him. Or he'll kill you," said Fishlegs.

Snotlout looked at him nervously, not sure if he was joking or not. "Ha! You're funny, TB. Ha ha ha!" he said. "Listen, let me throw something out there. What if we… I don't know… head back, call it a day, relax at the Great Hall tell some more really cool stories. You know, I've heard that a Scauldron's hot water blast can rip the scales off of a Screaming Death."

"What gutless fool told you that?" Fishlegs demanded. He then slammed the knob of his axe on Snotlout's helmet. "Nonsense. Thor Bonecrusher cannot return to Berk dragon-less. Negative, Snot-man. I am not leaving these waters without my prize."

A minute later, the Scauldron appeared out of the water and roared at them.

"Aha! Time to engage my quarry," said Fishlegs. He then slammed the knob of his axe on Snotlout's helmet again. "Dive, dragon, dive!"

Hookfang then charged towards the Scauldron and Snotlout screamed his lungs off. "Aah! My super-Viking's gone rouge!" he screamed.

"Fire!" Fishlegs ordered stomping on Hookfang.

Hookfang then fired serval fire blasts at the Scauldron, but it dodged them all apart from one that hit it across the face.

"Okay, that ought to do it, right. TB?" Snotlout asked hopefully.

Fishlegs then jumped off of Hookfang and fell towards the Scauldron, which fire a hot water blast at him. The Blast missed Fishlegs and narrowly his Snotlout, who got thrown off of Hookfang and fell screaming towards the water.

Fishlegs then landed on the Scauldron's neck. "Uhh! Dance, big boy," he said.

Then it suddenly began to rain and the Scauldron soar upwards.

At that moment, Hiccup and the other riders arrived.

"There they are! Come on!" Hiccup ordered.

Then the four dragons flew towards the Scauldron, which was trying to throw Fishlegs off.

"Uhh! Easy, now, big fella," said Fishlegs. Suddenly he lost his grip on Stoick's axe and was thrown into the water.

Snotlout was desperately trying to stay afloat, but with the storm it was not easy.

"Help… me!" he yelled.

Astrid then noticed Snotlout in the water. "Snotlout's in the water!" she yelled.

"You and the twins grab him. Me and Ragnar will go after Fishlegs," said Hiccup.

"Okay," said Astrid and Hiccup and Ragnar flew off. She then looked down at Stormfly. "Stormfly, let's go."

Then she and the twins dive down towards Snotlout.

Meanwhile, Hiccup and Ragnar arrived to see the Scauldron trying to throw Fishlegs off. Fishlegs was hanging in there, but it was only a matter of time before you be thrown off, though he didn't seem to notice.

"Ha ha ha! Ah!" Fishlegs roared with excitement. "This is what I live for!"

The Scauldron almost not Hiccup off of Toothless with its tail.

"That was close," said Ragnar.

Meanwhile, Astrid and the twins were still looking for Snotlout, who they lost sight of.

"Keep looking, he must be here somewhere," said Astrid.

"So, how hard do you think we need to look?" Tuffnut asked his sister. "I'm thinking some passing glances might do the trick."

"Well, the sooner we rescue Snotlout, the sooner we can watch Fishlegs get eaten by the Scauldron," said Ruffnut.

"Well, if you put it that way, let's go!"

Then the twins started helping Astrid in the search for Snotlout.

Meanwhile, Hiccup and Ragnar were having a tough time get close to Fishlegs and the Scauldron which was fraying around so much that one hit could not offer dragons.

"It will be so much easier if you just submit to your new master," said Fishlegs.

Then the Scauldron dive down into the water, Hiccup and Toothless followed them, but Ragnar and Skull remain on the surface.

Hiccup and Toothless following the Scauldron and the bubbling screams coming from Fishlegs. Seconds later, they saw out of the water.

"Got you where I want you," said Fishlegs before the dive down into the water again.

And like before Hiccup and Toothless followed them, believing Ragnar and Skull up above the water.

"This is getting ridiculous," said Ragnar.

Meanwhile, Snotlout was still in the water.

"Hookfang!" he yelled. "Oh, can this possibly get any worse?"

It did, the Scauldron appeared out of the water still having Fishlegs on its neck and was heading straight towards Snotlout.

"Worse! Way worse! Aah!" he screamed as he tried to swim away.

Then Hookfang grabbed Snotlout and pulled him out of the water. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you," he said thankfully. "I will never try to give you away ever again!"

Then Hiccup and Toothless appear the water and they had lost sight of Fishlegs and the Scauldron.

"What the—"

Then Fishlegs and the Scauldron saw out of the water and up into the sky. At once Hiccup and Toothless flew after them with Ragnar and Skull close behind.

However the Scauldron saw them and began firing hot water blast at them.

"Toothless, watch out!" Hiccup yelled.

"I'll distract it long enough and you do get close," said Ragnar.

Ragnar began his distraction, by flying around and keeping the Scauldron attention on them. Hiccup then flew Toothless around it to get close enough to Fishlegs.

"Come on, jump over!" he yelled.

"Retreat? In my moment of glory?" said Fishlegs, clinging onto the Scauldron with all his might. "Never!"

Then the Scauldron noticed Hiccup and Toothless and fired a hot water blast at them. Fortunately, they were able to escape, but they were now too far away to help Fishlegs.

The Scauldron then manager tossed Fishlegs of his neck, but Fishlegs was able to grab hold of its tail. The Scauldron then turned its head towards him and was prepared to fire hot water blast at him and it was clear from his expression that Fishlegs refused to move.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Meatlug flew past Hiccup and Ragnar and towards the Scauldron at her top speed. She rammed into the Scauldron head making it miss Fishlegs.

"Yes, Meatlug!" Hiccup cheered. Then the Scauldron turn towards Meatlug and flew towards in rage. "No, Meatlug!"

Then he and Ragnar flew towards in the hopes to save her from the Scauldron's wrath, but there was no way they could reach in time.

"Stop, dragon. I, Thor Bonecrusher, command you to stop," Fishlegs demanded.

When the Scauldron did not heed him and, Fishlegs began climbing up its tail. When he reached its wings he saw the Scauldron getting closer to Meatlug.

"No!" he said in horror. The Scauldron prepared to fire a hot water blast at Meatlug and Fishlegs began to look fearful. "No!" he yelled in his normal voice. "Not my Meatlug!" He then ran up the Scauldron and jumped as he yelled, "You leave my dragon alone!"

He then landed on Meatlug's back and guided her away from the Scauldron. Then before the Scauldron could fire hot water blast at them, it got caught in the net that Astrid and the twins were holding.

"That was a little too close," said Hiccup as he and Ragnar arrived.

"Speak for yourself. That was freakin' awesome!" said Tuffnut in excitement.

Astrid then led the twins of carrying the Scauldron away from Berk's fishing lines. As they did Fishlegs cuddled Meatlug affectionately.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, girl. I don't know what happened to me. I just… wasn't myself," he said apologetically. Meatlug then licked him across the face. "Oh, I missed you too." He then looked around confused wondering how he ended up in the middle of the ocean. "How did I—"

"Long story. We'll explain later," said Hiccup.

"Let's just say that you definitely weren't yourself," said Ragnar.

They then followed Astrid in the twins as they carried the Scauldron away.

* * *

Later that evening they return to Berk and they got quite the welcome. All the villages cheered as they landed and Stoick approached them.

"So, what happened to the Scauldron?" he asked.

"He's been relocated," said Hiccup.

"And my axe?" he said raising an eyebrow.

"Uh… Also relocated."

Stoick glared at him, but, fortunately, before Stoick could say anything else one of the villages then asked, "But what of Thor Bonecrusher?"

It was at that moment that Fishlegs fell out of the sky and landed right in front of the crowd. All the villages looked at him and he said nervously, "Hello."

Then the crowd started to disperse disappointingly and grumbled with one another. Meatlug then landed next to Fishlegs and the Dragon Riders notice something for the first time.

"You know, Fishlegs, you didn't sneeze once the whole ride home," Astrid pointed out.

"Yeah. And my legs don't itch anymore," he said puzzled.

Hiccup noticed something else. "And Meatlug isn't wearing her saddle," he said.

"Maybe you were never allergic to her, but allergic to the saddle," said Ragnar.

"But why, all of a sudden would I be allergic to her saddle?" Fishlegs asked confused.

Gobber then hobbled along as he was cleaning out his ears with his hook. "Well, uh, I've been using a different type of wax on the saddles," he said he then pulled out a large chunk of his earwax and presented to them. "Look at that."

Then all the Dragon Riders and their dragons looked completely disgusted.

"You mean to tell us we've been riding on your earwax for the past few days," said Ragnar looking try not to throw up.

"What? I never run out of the stuff. It's coming out of me ears," said Gobber.

At once Fishlegs sneezed. "I'm allergic to Gobber's earwax?" he said stunned. Once Gobber was safely out of the way he then added, "I'm both relieved and disgusted."

He then noticed Snotlout was giving him a funny look as though he lost a best friend. "What? What is it?"

"I'm just thinking of what might have been," he said he then grabbed Fishlegs' cheeks. "You broke my heart, Thor. You broke it right in two."

He then kissed him on the cheek and flew away on Hookfang, leaving a dumbfounded and puzzled Fishlegs behind.

"Okay, that was creepy, right?" he said looking at the others.

"You don't know the half of it," said Hiccup.

"And you're better off not knowing what happened over the past eight hours," said Ragnar.

They looked up towards Snotlout and heard him sob, "Oh, I miss you, Thor."


	6. Gone Gustav Gone

In the Ship Graveyard, Dagur was salvaging what was left of the _Reaper_.

"Pull! Pull!" Savage ordered.

The Berserkers began pulling on the gigantic chains that were attached to the _Reaper_.

"Keep pull, you maggots, unless you want to be giant eel chum!" said Savage.

Dagur was in the middle of doing some chin-ups with one of the dragon proof cages they had retrieved.

"Hello, gorgeous," he said kissing his muscles. Then after doing a chin-up he looked at his muscle again. "Oh, hello again." He then continued doing chin-ups. "Work for me, baby. Work for daddy."

Savage then approached his. "The _Reaper_ is starting to surface sir," he said.

"I can see that!" said Dagur angrily.

"Oh, right," said Savage.

Dagur sighed and continued to marvel at his muscles. "Hello, gorgeous," he said. "So… pretty."

Once the _Reaper_ had resurfaced Dagur's Berserkers began looting it, but they were extremely careful with all the booby traps on board.

"That's the last of it," said a Berserker putting a large snapper trap on the deck.

"Well, now we have everything of value from the dragon-hunting ship," said Savage as Dagur examined their new acquisitions.

"No. Not everything," said Dagur. He then tossed a dagger at the mast and it impaled itself on a piece of parchment with a drawing of the Dragon Eye on it.

* * *

Meanwhile at Dragon's Edge, Hiccup was fiddling with the Dragon Eye in his room. His room was a lot large than the one he had at Berk. It had a writing desk for whenever he wanted create blueprints of any ideas that came into his, at his bed was a large chest full of an assortment of items and handing on the wall were a dozen different tail fins for Toothless.

After he cleaned the lace he looked at Toothless, who was sitting beside him. "Okay, give me a low burn, bud," he said.

Toothless did as he was told and the image appeared. Okay, I've seen this before, but what happens if I push…" he said pushing on of the buttons at the end. Then the image changed diving out information on a dragon. "Cool. Dragon classes."

"What do you say we check out the Night Fury, bud?" he said looking at Toothless. Toothless just yawned indicating that he couldn't care less. "Try to contain your excitement, would you?"

Toothless then did a sort of chuckle and laid back down on the floor.

"Now, Monstrous Nightmare gem plus Night Fury equals…" he then pressed the one of the buttons and rotated the Dragon Eye and then the image disappeared, "nothing. Okay."

He then fiddled with the Dragon Eye until the image reappeared and point it at the door. Next second Astrid raised the door.

"Oh! Astrid class," he chuckled.

"Hiccup, we have a problem," said Astrid looking extremely worried.

"A huge problem," Ragnar added, who are just entered.

"Dagur?"

"Worse," said Ragnar.

"What could possibly be worse than Dagur?" asked Hiccup.

He soon got his answer, Gustav came flying in on Fanghook and collided with Astrid and Ragnar, and the four of them toppled to the floor.

"Gustav!" he yelled excitedly.

"Gustav?!" Hiccup gasped.

"Gustav," Astrid and Ragnar groaned.

They all remember the last time Gustav showed up unannounced. Three years ago he had been excited to become a rider like them and nearly set the arena on fire. Afterwards he _trained_ a Monstrous Nightmare, named Fanghook and nearly got himself killed more than once.

"Gustav, what are you doing here?" Hiccup asked as Gustav got back onto his feet and began wondering around in his room. "I-I mean, to what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?"

Toothless didn't find the visit pleasurable as Fanghook slapped and across the face with his tail.

Then the other riders appeared. "Hiccup, did you hear Gustav is…" said Snotlout and stopped when he saw Gustav, who was standing on Hiccup chest. "standing right beside you. Perfect."

"You're looking a little different there, Guster," Tuffnut noted.

Gustav then jumped off the chest and onto the floor. "Yeah, I'm going a beard," he said gesturing to a single hair on his chin.

"Really? Let me see," said Tuffnut dashing towards, but once he saw the single hair he looked extremely disappointed. "Ha! Even Ruff has more hair on her chinnny-chin-chin than that."

Tuffnut then plucked the hair off Gustav's chin causing him to collide into the chest. He then noticed the Dragon Eye on top of it. "Hey, what's that thing?" he asked grabbing it.

Before Hiccup could stop him, Gustav placed it in front of his eyes and it once got blinded by the light that was exiting from it.

"Whoa! You can see the spots? Some sort of sun sword?" he said excitedly.

He then released his grip on the Dragon Eye. Fortunately, Hiccup was able to grab for it the floor.

"I'll take that," he said and handed it to Ragnar. He then looked at Gustav, who was walking in the day still blinded by the Dragon Eye. "No, Gustav, it's not a sun sword."

"It's the Dragon Eye, and it's very old and very fragile," said Ragnar.

However, Gustav didn't hear a thing they said and was walking towards the wall where Hiccup hung all of Toothless' tailfins.

"Whoa, these spots, they're not going away," he said and then collided into the wall knocking one of the tailfins off.

"It isn't just something to just be touched," said Fishlegs.

"Relax, Fishlegs, I know what I'm doing," said Gustav, before walked into the wall again and not all that held things off this time.

Fanghook, being helpful, placed one of the tailfins on top of Toothless, who then growled angrily.

"Gustav, Gustav, over here," said Snotlout pulling Gustav over to him. "Uh, when are you leaving?"

"That's funny, Snotlout, but I'm not leaving," said Gustav and then looked at them proudly. "I'm moving hear."

Snotlout and the twins gasped in horror and then Tuffnut laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, you are," he said laughing. "Imagine… he would never…" He then realise that Gustav was serious about staying. "Wait, he's serious? I'll get this taken firewood."

"Oh, hold on, hold on. No one is burning anyone at the stake," said Hiccup firmly.

"Hiccup's right," Ruffnut sighed. "Let's just throw him off a cliff."

Hiccup then facepalmed himself. "Guys, I'm sure there's a simple explanation," he said. He then looked at Gustav, who was still wondering around aimlessly, hopefully. "Please tell me there's a simple explanation, Gustav."

"Yeah, very simple," said Gustav rubbing his eyes. "By the way, do not look right into that sun sword thing." He laughed as his sight returned. "Anyway, you said when I was ready, I could join the Dragon Riders. Well, I'm ready and I'm here to join. Where's my hut?"

Hiccup just looked at him in horror.

"I've got to admit I did not see that one coming," said Ragnar.

Hiccup had promised him a long time ago that he would training to become a rider, but Gustav had had proved that he was irresponsible and reckless even more than Snotlout. Hiccup want to wait until he grew up a bit more until he joined, but clearly that wasn't the case.

* * *

"Wait a minute, why do I have to watch him?" said Astrid in bewilderment.

Hiccup was outside his hut and had just asked Astrid to watch over Gustav.

"I would do it, but I'm making some, just, major breakthroughs with the Dragon Eye," Hiccup explained.

"So?"

"Well, I did promise him that when the time was right I would training to be a Dragon Rider," Hiccup admitted. "But I just didn't think that said time would be today."

"Well, what am I supposed to do with him in the meantime?" Astrid asked trying to keep her temper under control, which was an achievement itself.

"I—I don't know. Just keep them occupied."

"Great, so I'm a babysitter," Astrid muttered.

The thought of Astrid ever becoming a babysitter was laughable. "Babysitter!" Hiccup laughed, but quickly regained his composure. "No, I mean, come on. He's—he's sixteen. How much trouble could he possibly be?"

They then heard Smidvarg shrieks and saw him land in front of them looking extremely tired and the two of them bent down towards him.

"Smidvarg, what is happening?" Hiccup asked.

"Hey, Hiccup, did you know they could do this?" said Gustav's voice.

They looked up to find the Night Terrors were flying around Gustav and Fanghook in terror. They then formed up into a large form of themselves, but Gustav just flew straight into them back them disserted.

"Awesome!"

Hiccup looked at Astrid. "Please? I just need more time," he pleaded.

"Fine!" Astrid growled and then looked up at Gustav. "Gustav, arena, now."

Astrid then climbed into Stormfly and flew off in a huff.

Hiccup looked down at Smidvarg, who had recovered with his tangle with Gustav. "By the way, you timing… impeccable," he said.

Smidvarg responded by snarling at him and he too flew away in a huff.

* * *

Moments later, Gustav was in the arena with Astrid, who was trying to teach him about riding dragons, but his mind was somewhere else. Out of all the things he picked from Snotlout, he picked up his attraction to Astrid.

He was daydreaming about the two of them flying in the sky and she was commenting on how handsome and manly he looked.

"Gustav!" Astrid yelled bring him back to reality.

"Oh. Hey, Astrid," he said. "I was just dream—"

"Uh-uh-uh, don't creep me out," she said. "You're gonna help with target practice. Do you think you can handle that?"

"Oh, I can handle that," he said staring at Astrid with a creep look on his face.

"Ugh," said Astrid pushing him away and then pointed at the barrels with targets on them. "When I say 'throw,' you throw."

She then climbed onto Stormfly and took off. Gustav watched her as Stormfly swerved around the post with grace, then she performed a barrel roll and while still holding onto Stormfly ran across the targets. Then then saw upwards into the sky and Gustav grabbed one of the targets.

"She sure is something, isn't she, Fanghook?" he said in a daze and leaned on Fanghook's head.

However, Fanghook wasn't looking at Astrid, he was looking at Stormfly.

"Okay, Gustav, throw!" Astrid ordered as she flew down towards him.

However, Gustav was in such a daze, he didn't hear her. Stormfly then fired several spikes straight at the target that was still in Gustav's hand.

Astrid quickly tossed her axe deflecting the spikes and caused them to fly in different directions. Stormfly then pulled up so quickly that Astrid fell off and headed towards Gustva, who thought she jumped off so he could catch her.

Indeed they collided into each other and toppled onto the ground. Astrid then just onto her feet and looked down at Gustav, who had still had a dreamy look on his face.

"Hi," he said.

Astrid quickly backed away from them. "Okay, definitely creeped out," she said.

* * *

A few minutes later, at the twins hut.

"I'm telling you, if you get five boars, you can stack them on top of each other," said Tuffnut as they exited their hut. "That's a four-boar stack—Aah!"

They start when they found Gustav sitting outside with a stupid grin on his face.

"What's smiling about?" Tuffnut asked looking a bit creeped out.

"I don't like it," said Ruffnut.

"Whatever he's selling, I'm not buying."

"Yeah. We don't want your cookies!"

Gustav then noticed the twins. "Hey, guys. Astrid dropped me off, told me to help out round here," he said getting to his feet.

"Yeah? So? What's it to us?" Ruffnut asked.

"You know that big hole under your hut? Filled it in," he said proudly.

The twins and looked at each other in horror.

"Oh, no. He doesn't mean…" said Tuffnut.

Without a second for the twins ran straight to the ball pit under their hut and when they got there they found it full of rocks.

"Oh! He filled in the boar pit," Tuffnut cried out. He then fell to his knees and attempted to unfill it. "He filled in the boar pit! Who fills in a boar pit? BOAR PIT!"

He then toppled over and rolled himself into a ball and began crying his eyes out. "What kind of sick monster would fill in a boar pit," he sobbed.

It was then that Gustav realised that he made a mistake and attempted to comfort Tuffnut, but Ruffnut stopped him.

"Hey, back off!" she said angrily. Then she toppled to her knees. "Haven't you done enough?"

* * *

Gustav then went over to Ragnar, who was in the middle of an experiment. His heart was full of books and assortment of different vials, there were maps and charts all over the walls.

"I take it things do not go well with the twins," said Ragnar as he heard Gustav enter.

"So you heard about it," said Gustav uneasily.

"I think everyone in a fifty mile radius heard the yelling," said Ragnar. "Can you make yourself useful and grab the vial with blue paint on it."

Gustav approached the shelf with all the vials, but instead of grabbing the blue one he grabbed the red one instead and handed it to Ragnar, who didn't see the pain with his goggles all steamed up.

The moment he poured the contents of the vail into the potion he was making there was a huge explosion.

Then a very charred Ragnar toppled over and fell into a crumble he ball over the floor. Gustav, who far enough not to receive the worst of the explosion backed away slowly.

* * *

Gustav soon met up with Fishlegs in his garden, which had small trees all around and a smooth calming river running through it.

Gustav and Fanghook found themselves meditating with Fishlegs and Meatlug, who insisted this was the best way to calm the nerves. There were sitting in the middle of the river on small stones. Fishlegs then clapped and Meatlug shot up some lava into the river that hot steam rushed out.

"This—this feels weird, Fishlegs," said Gustav as they held the arms up in a strange way.

"Trust me, Gustav, this is exactly what you need," Fishlegs assured. "You're not centred, you're all over the place. Just breathe in, breathe out. Focus on avoiding all conflict. Breathe in, breathe out."

It was going well, until Fanghook shot out a burst of flames that said one of the trees on fire. He attended put it out, but it only made the flames grow. He then attempted to blow it out, but only unleashed more fire on it and within seconds it was burnt to a crisp.

"Aah! My topiaries!" Fishlegs screamed.

* * *

After that debacle, Gustav went to hang out with Snotlout, but Snotlout didn't want to hang out with him. It was just possible that he heard about all the accidents that happened to the other riders.

"I've had enough of you, Gustav!" he yelled and then pointed at the floor next to Hiccup's hut. "Stay. Stay."

Gustav then noticed that Snotlout's helmet was on fire and said, "Uh, Snotlout, your head—"

"Stop! I'm not fine for that again," Snotlout cut in.

He then walked out and soon realise that his head was indeed on fire and screamed and then jumped off the ledge into the ocean below.

Gustav then looked around Hiccup's hut in the hopes to find him. "Hello? Hiccup?" he said, but he found the entire hurt empty.

He then decided to play around and accidentally knocked into one of the tailfins, that had been replaced on the wall, and it felt ajar. He then backed away slowly and toppled over Hiccup's chest, causing it to open.

"Huh. What have we here?" he said looking into the chest.

He found several notebooks, charts, maps, the parchment and a spare leg. At once he grabbed the spare leg and pretended to be Hiccup.

"Gee, Gustav, there must be a simple explanation for you being here," said Gustav making a terrible impression of Hiccup. Fanghook found the whole thing amusing and did a dragon equivalent of a laugh. "Well, yeah, Hiccup, because I am awesome," he said returning to his normal voice and then impersonated Hiccup again. "You _are_ awesome, Gustav. Definitely ready to be a Dragon Rider."

Gustav then accidentally is stepped on Fanghook's tail, who shot up a burst of flame at one of the tailfins. At once Gustav rushed over to it and attempted to put beat out the fire with the fake leg.

"Oh, no. Oh, no," he said as a leg went straight through the burning tailfin. He then noticed the glow from the Dragon Eye, which had been left on the desk and was glowing because of Fanghooks flames. "Oh, yes!"

He then saw the Dragon Eye was producing a map. "Is that… a treasure map?" he said. He then got an idea. "Oh, Fanghook, we are so in!"

* * *

Hours later, Gustav and Fanghook were heading to the island that the map had produced. Gustav was looking at a map he had drawn found an island that matched the image from the Dragon Eye.

"That's it, Fanghook, just like the Dragon Eye said," he said excitedly. "All we gotta do now is find the cave, grab a treasure, and guess who's gonna get his own heart on Dragon's Edge? Uh, Gustav."

They soon landed and found a cave in front of them. Gustav was about to enter, but then the ground shook so greatly that rock fell down in front of the cave.

"Uh, I'm not worried. Are you worried?" he said looking at Fanghook.

They then entered the cave and into the poorly lit cavern. "Fanghook? Flame up," Gustav ordered.

Fanghook ignited and Gustav pulled out the map from his satchel. "Which way do we head?" he asked himself.

Suddenly the cavern shock and Gustav from the map around, causing to be set on fire by Fanghook's flames. Gustav tried to blow the flames out, but only made them larger and within seconds it was burnt to a crisp.

Gustav groaned an annoyance and then reached into his satchel. "Good thing we brought _this_ along," he said pulling out the Dragon Eye. "Fanghook?"

Gustav then brought the Dragon Eye close to Fanghook's mouth, who then produced a low flame. At once the map that Gustav saw before appeared.

"I think we go this way," he said. He then began to walk not noticing the cracks appearing on the cavern floor. "It says it's just this way."

Suddenly the cave shook once again in the cavern for broke apart, Gustav would have fallen in if Fanghook hadn't grabbed his satchel and pulled him back to safety.

"Whew!" Gustav panting with relief. He then reached into his vest, but found the Dragon Eye missing.

He turned his head and saw the Dragon Eye rolling to the edge of the hole in the middle of the cavern.

"No, no, no!" he yelled making a mad grasp for it.

He grabbed the Dragon Eye with one hand and clings onto the edge hole with the other.

"Whew. A little help here, Fanghook?" he said losing his grip. "A little help?"

He then lost his grip, but felt someone grabbing. They then pulled him out of the hole and he looked up to find Hiccup with a very angry look on his face.

"Hiccup! I can explain," he said nervously.

* * *

Hours later, they returned to Dragon's Edge. Gustav and the other riders were inside the clubhouse, which was basically a large room with a fire in the middle, listening to Hiccup scolding Gustav.

"Of all the irresponsible, insubordinate…" said Hiccup furiously.

"Don't forget idiotic, imbecilic, insane," said Tuffnut counting them off his fingers. The other riders just stared at him. "What? I've heard a lot of words for 'stupid.' I mean, come on, people say that more than my proper name."

Hiccup rolled his eyes and continue to scold Gustav. "Of all those kinds of stunts you could have pulled, this was the worst. Do you know what Dagur would do to get his hands on the Dragon Eye?"

"I just thought if I come back here with a treasure, you guys would accept me," said Gustav.

"First of all, there is no treasure. Second of all, we've already been there," said Hiccup glaring at him. "And that entire island is honeycombed with the most unstable caverns we've ever encountered."

"I'm sorry, I just—"

"You could've been killed, Gustav. Fanghook could've been killed. Look, this isn't Berk, Gustav. The rules are different out here. You have to be smarter than this."

"I just wanted to prove myself."

"Oh, you have. You have proven you are not responsible enough, you're not mature enough, and you're not trustworthy enough to be one of us," said Hiccup counting them off his fingers. Gustav just glared at him. "Now, it's been a long day. We all need to rest. We'll talk about this in the morning."

Then the Dragon Riders left the clubhouse leaving Gustav with Fanghook.

* * *

Later that night, Gustav was at the stables, where the riders kept all their dragons, sitting next to Fanghook tossing him several fish.

The outside of the stables was made of metal with images of the Dragon symbols painted on the door. Inside were the stables that were made completely of solid oak.

" _Talk about in the morning_ ," Gustav muttered as he tossed fish to Fanghook. "Like there's anything left to say."

Fanghook growled as he ate the fish and Gustav took that as a sign that he agreed with him.

"That's right! It's _not_ fair. I did everything they asked," he grumbled getting to his feet. "I shoved dragon pool for two years without a single complaint. For what? So they can tell me and not good enough? Well, I _am_ good enough. _We're_ good enough."

He then gave Fanghook the last of the fish and walked off. "And someday they'll find that out, but it'll be too late," he said. He then climbed onto Fanghook's saddle. "We're leaving."

They then took off and Gustav looked at Dragon's Edge last time before they headed out towards the open sea.

* * *

A few hours later, they were still flying with no land in sight, but Gustav didn't seem to care at all.

"They're gonna be so sorry when they wake up in the morning and see that we're gone," he said. "Once they realise that we're missing, they're gonna be begging us to come back to Dragon's Edge. Those huts were lame anyway. I can't wait to get back to my—" Suddenly he saw a net heading his way. "Whoa! Fanghook, dive!"

Fanghook was able to dodged the net. "Ha ha! Missed!" Gustav yelled. However the ship that had fired the net fired another net and this time Fanghook wasn't able to dodge it.

The net wrapped around them and they plummeted downwards, Gustav tried to cut them free him his dagger, but the ropes were too thick. Then they landed in the water and everything went black.

* * *

Dagur was on his ship looking out to sea toying with his dagger. Then Savage approached him with a happy look on his face.

"Ha ha! We caputered a Dragon Rider," he said.

Dagur laughed excitedly like a kid on Snoggletog morning. "Which one is it?" he asked as they walked down the deck. "Oh, I sure hope it's brother Hiccup. Or I suppose the girl would work, too."

"Which girl?" Savaged asked.

"There's more than one?" Dagur said surprised.

They soon reach the stern of the ship where the Berserkers were huddled around. Dagur pushed him aside to get a good look at the Dragon Rider they caught. His happy grim disappeared when he saw Gustav sitting cross legged in front of the dragon proof cage where Fanghook was trapped.

At once he grabbed the helm of Savage shirt, pulled him towards him and glared at him angry. "This is not one of Hiccup's Dragon Riders," he said. He then realised Savage and looked down at Gustav. "Who are you?"

Gustav count himself fortunate that Dagur didn't recognised him three years ago when he attack Outcast Island with Snotlout.

"Larson, Gustav Larson. And that's all you're getting out of me," he said calmly.

Dagur rubbed his chin and then said, "Fine, feed him to the eels."

Two Berserkers then grabbed Gustav and pulled him to the edge of the ship.

"But I know Hiccup, I know the Dragon Riders, and I have information!" Gustav yelled as the Berserkers began to toss him overboard.

The Berserkers dropped him and Dagur bent down and grabbed his chin. "Oh? What kind of information?" he asked.

"I can get you the Dragon Eye."

"And what's the Dragon Eye?"

"That. That's the Dragon Eye," said Gustav pointing at the mast.

Dagur turned and saw that Gustav was pointing at the drawing of the Dragon Eye. "Oh," he laughed.

* * *

The next morning, Gustav was in Dagur's cabin helping himself to a heap load of food and tossing the odd chicken leg to Fanghook. At the opposite end of the table sat Dagur and standing next to him was Savage.

"So, are you enjoying your meal?" Dagur asked.

"Mm-hmm. Mmm!" said Gustav with his mouthful of chicken.

"Good. Good, good, good, good, good," said Dagur as he carved a piece of chicken. "So, here's the plan. We'll draw Hiccup and the Night Fury into the open, neutralize the other riders and seize the Dragon Eye by lethal force, as if there is any other type of force. I mean, really, come on. Then the Dragon Eye will be mine."

"Yeah, that's one way to do it," said Gustav leaning back in his chair. "And you might get the Dragon Eye. Or Hiccup could crush you just like every other time you faced off against him."

Savage drew his sword, but Dagur stopped him and then looked at Gustav. "You have a better idea, Gustav?" he said raising an eyebrow.

"Can you hand me the sauce, please?" Gustav asked.

Savage looked at Dagur, who moved his head in a fashion telling him to do it. Savage then grabbed the sauce and gave it to Gustav.

Gustav then poured the sauce over his chicken and continued, "I do, one that will guarantee Hiccup delivers the Dragon Eye right to us."

"More mutton thigh, friend?" Dagur said smiling evilly.

Gustav nodded and stabbed his chicken with his fork.

* * *

Meanwhile at Dragon's Edge, the riders had noticed Gustav was missing and had searched for him. Hiccup had just returned from his search and looked at Astrid, Ragnar and Snotlout.

"Anything?" he asked.

"I checked the Clubhouse, your hut, even the stables. He's not there," said Astrid.

"I've checked the eastern part of the island, but I found nothing," said Ragnar.

Then Fishlegs and the twins returned, but from the looks it they didn't have any better luck than them.

"Nothing else is on fire around here, so he must be gone," said Fishlegs hopping off of Meatlug.

"Well, we have to find him," said Hiccup.

"Or… do we?" Tuffnut asked thoughtfully.

"Yeah, why are we worried? Shouldn't we be celebrating the fact that he's gone?" Snotlout asked.

"Not until we know he's safe," said Hiccup.

"Well, we could ask Fanghook," Ruffnut suggested.

"And, Ruffnut, how do you suppose we do that?" Snotlout asked rolling his eyes.

"Turn around," she said smirking.

Snotlout turned and saw Fanghook flying down towards them. He soon landed looking extremely tired. Tootlhess rushed over to him and sniffed him and then roared at him.

Tuffnut then walked up to Fanghook. "Fanghook, where's Gustav, boy? Where's Gustav?" Fanghook just did a small groan. "Ah! He's not talking, you guys. He's completely shut down. Typical."

Hiccup decided to use a different approach to deal with Fanghook. "Hey, hey, Fanghook. Hey, it's okay. Easy, boy, easy," Hiccup assured as he approached Fanghook. He took a quick look at Fanghook, but couldn't see anything wrong with him. "Well, doesn't look like he's injured."

"But he's definitely upset," said Fishlegs. Then he noticed a scroll attached to one of Fanghook's horns. "You guys, look."

Hiccup untied the scroll and began to read it. "Dagur. He wants to make a trade," he said. "The Dragon Eye for Gustav."

* * *

Minutes later, Hiccup began to pack his satchel which was attached to Toothless' saddle. The other riders in approached him in the hopes to stop him from going to meet up with Dagur.

"I don't like this, Hiccup," said Astrid.

"Yeah, it's clearly a trap," said Ragnar.

"Well, we have no choice," said Hiccup.

"You sure we have _no_ choice?" Tuffnut asked. "Like, none? Zip? Zilch?

"This is all my fault anyway," said Hiccup.

" _Ninguno?_ "

"I never even gave the kid a chance."

" _Ni Portugal?_ "

"Tuff, that's really not helping."

"Yeah," Tuffnut agreed.

Hiccup then looked down at the Dragon Eye. "If I wasn't so busy tinkering with this thing, I don't know, maybe I could have kept him busy."

"Uh, yeah, nobody can keep Gustav busy," said Fishlegs.

Hiccup then mounted on Toothless.

"At least let us back you up out there," said Astrid.

"Dagur was very clear. I have to come alone," said Hiccup firmly. "We don't know what he'll do to Gustav if I don't fall his demands to the letter. No, we can't risk it."

Astrid looked worried. "I'll be careful, I promise," he assured.

They then watch him fly away with Fanghook flying beside him.

* * *

A few hours later, Hiccup arrived at the Ship Graveyard and saw Dagur's ship.

"There!" yelled Savage's voice.

Then Hiccup and Fanghook landed on the deck. He saw Dagur approaching, but then Gustav rushed past him.

"Fanghook!" he yelled and hugged him. "Oh. I was worried about you, boy."

"Aww, dragon and Dragon Rider a love," said Dagur smiling. His father disappeared with a disgusted look on his face. "Makes me want to hurl."

Toothless began to snarl and Hiccup saw several Berserkers appearing out of nowhere all of them armed to the teeth.

"Yeah, I see 'em, bud," he said he then looked at Gustav. "Gustav, are you okay?"

Gustav nodded, but then Dagur walked between the two of them and approached Hiccup. "That's close enough, Dagur," Hiccup warned.

"Oh, wow. Where's the trust. After all we've been through together?" said Dagur. Hiccup just gave him a blank look. "No? Nothing? No Hiccupy bards, quips, snappy comebacks? But I really love those. We've developed such a nice shorthand, you and I."

"Dagur, let's just get on with this. Send them over."

"You first," Dagur insisted. Hiccup glared at him. "You have no choice. One false move and my men will take out you, the Night Fury and the kid! So roll it over and I'll let him go."

Hiccup looked at Gustav, who nodded.

He then jumped off Toothless and rolled the Dragon Eye towards Dagur, who stopped it with his foot. He then picked it up and examined it.

"Oh. It—it really is one beautiful artefact," he said. He then began to fumble around with it excitedly. "And I hear it can be very useful to those who possess it? Hmm? Is that true?"

Hiccup turned aside to Gustav. "Gustav, let's go. It's okay," he said.

However, Gustav didn't move a muscle instead he looked at Dagur.

"Yeah, about that, Hiccup," he said. "I've been treated much better by these guys then I ever was treated by you in the Dragon Riders."

Dagur laughed, he was enjoying this immensely. "Ooh! And the plot thickens," he said.

Hiccup like where this was going. "Gustav."

"You could have given me a chance, you know?" he said crossing his arms are not looking at Hiccup in the eye. "All you guys ever did was tell me I wasn't good enough, tell me I didn't belong. Well, I belong here."

"Gustav, you have no idea what you're getting into," said Hiccup.

"Oh, yes, I do, Hiccup. I know exactly what I'm doing."

Hiccup just glared at him and Dagur looked between the two. "Awkward!" he said in a singsong way. "Well, I'd say your work is finished here, brother." He then approached Gustav. "Ordinarily, this is where I would double-cross you and fill you full of arrows. But the kid is squeamish. He made me promise to let you go, and in return, he's gonna take me to a treasure."

"That's right, Hiccup. We have the Dragon Eye and Fanghook's fire," said Gustav. "And you know what that means. Untold treasure awaits."

Hiccup then realise that Gustav was playing Dagur and hadn't double-crossed him. Still he was being reckless, but there was very little that he could do about it. He approached Toothless, who growled.

"You are going to regret this," he said.

"I don't think so, Hiccup."

Then Hiccup flew off and took one last look back as Dagur's ship sailed away.

On the ship, Dagur looked at Gustav, who was playing with Fanghook and said to Savage, "You know, I'm actually gonna feel bad when I kill this kid."

* * *

Soon, Dagur's ship landed at the island Gustav explored yesterday, not knowing that the caverns were extremely unstable.

"This is it," said Gustav.

"Why are we stopping?" Dagur asked.

"No reason. I was just kind of impressed that you trust your men enough to show them exactly where the Treasury is hidden," he said and then whispered, "Especially when there's so much of it."

Gustav walked off smiling as his words took root in Dagur's brain.

"Stay here," he heard Dagur say to his men.

"Why?" Savage asked puzzled.

Dagur turned and faced him. "Oh, uh, let's see, uh… I don't know. Maybe because… I said so!" he yelled.

Savage and Berserkers looked at him fearfully as he caught up with Gustav in a foul mood.

"Oh, good idea, sir. We'll stay here," said Savage enthusiastically.

Once he caught up with Gustav, he gave the Dragon Eye to him and he turned to Fanghook.

"Fanghook, slow burn," he said presenting him with the Dragon Eyr.

Fanghook did as he was told and the image he saw yesterday appeared on the rock in front of them. Dagur looked at it in both wonder and amazement.

"Ah, I see," he said. "You outdid yourself, Hiccup. I love this thing."

They then made their way into the cavern and seconds later the ground began to shake.

"Uh, so, does that happen a lot?" Dagur asked nervously.

"You get used to it," Gustav assured.

They then walked in deep into the cavern and Dagur was starting to get very impatient.

"Are we there yet?" he asked.

"We're close, very close," said Gustav.

"Good, that's what I wanted to hear," he said approaching Gustav from behind.

However, before he could make a move, Gustav turned and blinded him with the Dragon Eye. Then he and Fanghook ran off.

"Oh, bright light, bright light, bright light," said Dagur swinging his arms around trying to regain his bearings. He then began looking for Gustav. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

Then the ground began to shake once again, even more violently than before. Dagur looked down and saw the ground cracking and opening up. He then saw a bright light exiting from the rocks ahead of him.

Gustav had his hand over the Dragon Eye so not a giveaway his position, but it was too bright to hide. He looked over the lock found that Dagur was nowhere to be seen. He then turned and found that Dagur was standing right in front of him.

"Gotcha!" he yelled.

"No… _we've_ got _you_ ," said Hiccup's voice.

Dagur turned and found Hiccup and Toothless, who is preparing to fire a plasma blast, standing next to Fanghook.

Hiccup then looked at Gustav. "Good work, Gustav," he said smiling. Gustav just smiled back. He then turned and looked back at Dagur. "Oh, what's the matter, Dagur? No barbs, no comebacks? I thought we had a shorthand. I thought you loved that stuff."

Dagur then grabbed Gustav, sending him back towards Hiccup, and took the Dragon Eye from him and laughed evilly.

"Dagur, you hand over the Dragon Eye," said Hiccup.

"I don't think so," said Dagur smirking.

"I'm not asking."

Toothless then find a plasma blast at the ground, creating a hole with no end in sight.

"Oh," said Dagur peering down the bottomless hole. "It's a long way down, isn't it?"

He then jumped to the way just as Toothless fired more plasma blast at his feet.

"Dagur, you've got nowhere to go. It's over," said Hiccup.

"It's over? Really?" said Dagur still smirking. He then pulled out the Dragon Eye and hovered in front of the hole and before they could stop him he dropped it in there. "Whoops."

"Oh, no!" Gustav yelled jumping after it.

"Gustav!" Hiccup yelled following after him.

Dagur just laughed and ran.

In the hole, Gustav launched himself at the Dragon Eye.

"Come on," he said and then he grabbed it. "Got it!"

However, he was still falling and he had no way to stop. He looked up to see Hiccup flying down towards him.

"Hiccup!" he yelled.

"There, Tootlhess!" Hiccup yelled.

Toothless then flew down and got as close to Gustav as he could. Hiccup then reached out and grabbed Gustav and pulled him onto Toothless' back.

"We got you Gustav. Let's get out of here," said Hiccup.

Toothless then flew upwards, but before they could fly out of the hole, a huge rock struck Toothless on the wing and tossed Hiccup and Gustav off his back. With Hiccup not controlling his tailfin all three of them were plummeting downwards.

"Toothless!" Hiccup yelled. Toothless roared helplessly. "Don't worry, bud." Hiccup then dived towards Toothless and tried to reach his saddle. "Hang on, bud!"

However, he missed and Toothless fell down even further away, but Hiccup dived at him again and this time grabbed him. He then climbed on Toothless saddle and got his leg in the stirrup and pulled.

At once Toothless stopped falling just as they were an itch from the ground. They then saw back upwards and Hiccup looked down at Toothless.

"I'm gonna have to come up with something in case that happens to us again," he said.

He then heard Gustav screaming and turned to see him falling right passed them. Then, before he hit the ground, Fanghook came out of nowhere and grabbed Gustav.

"Fanghook! Yeah!" Gustav yelled. He then rubbed him on the neck. "Thanks, boy."

Then the whole carven shook and Hiccup and Gustav flew down into another hole and found themselves in another carven.

"You okay?" Hiccup asked looking at Fanghook.

"Yeah," said Gustav. "Hiccup, I'm really sorry."

"I'm sorry, too, Gustav," said Hiccup. "You're still irresponsible, immature and reckless, but the way you handled yourself with Dagur, maybe you do have what it takes to be a Dragon Rider… someday."

"Someday?" said Gustav stunned. "I'll take someday."

Then the carven began to shake and they looked at each other.

"What do you say you and me find a way out of here?" said Hiccup.

Gustav nodded and he and Fanghook walked off, but the Hiccup noticed a chest lying against the carven walls. He got off of Toothless and took and opened it.

"What the Thor is this?" he gasped.

Then suddenly the cavern shook even more violently bring him out of his trail of thought. He quickly climbed onto Toothless back with the chest under his arm.

"Let's go, bud, he said.

They then caught up with Gustav, who managed to find a way out and flew away from the island.

* * *

When they got Back to Dragon's Edge, Gustav had decided to go back to Berk and the Dragon Rider were seeing him off.

Astrid approached him and said, "Gustav, I—"

Gustav then placed a finger on her lips. "Uh-uh, stop right there, sweetie," he said. Astrid was using all her willpower not to kill him. "I can't stay. My mum would kill me. She usually notices I've been gone after about three days."

He then mounted on Fanghook. "All right, Fanghook, let's go," he said and they took off. "You take care, babe. Don't worry, Gustav will be back soon!"

Astrid shook her head and then noticed Hiccup was opening a chest that he was carrying. "What's that?" she asked.

"Oh, just something I found that cave," he said pulling out a lens.

"Oh, and new lens," Fishlegs gasped.

"Yeah, there was a treasure in those caverns after all. The Dragon Eye was given us clues on how to find it all along. We just weren't looking in the right place."

Ragnar then facepalmed is himself. "How can they be so stupid," he said and everyone stared at him. "When I was translating the logbook there was an entry. I thought it said ' _I have hid in the glasses_ ', but only now do I realise it meant _lens_ not _glasses_. I don't know what he was trying to hide, but obviously it's something very important."

"He's right, if there's one of them, that means there has to be more," said Fishlegs.

"Huh. And to think, we never would've found that without Gustav," said Astrid.

"Awesome, so let's just tell Gustav," Hiccup joked.

Then all the Dragon Rider that wants yelled, "NO!"

They all turned and waved Gustav goodbye as he flew off into the sunset.


	7. Regin of Fireworms

It was a nice peaceful day on Dragon's Edge, and Fishlegs was flying around counting the number of Night Terrors that were on the island.

"Okay, that's five hundred and forty-two, forty-three—Oh, there's one hiding under that tree trunk! I see you, little guy. Your five hundred and forty-four," he said.

He then looked down at Meatlug. "Isn't this exciting, girl? The first annual Dragon's Edge census. Once we get all these Night Terrors counted, we move on to the Gronckles."

He then hugged her. "Ha ha! Maybe you'll make some new friends," he said cheerfully.

They soon landed in the clearing where a huge flock of Night Terrors were sleeping.

"Okay, there's a big flock," he said. "Five hundred and seventy-five, five hundred and seventy-six…" he counted, but then a Fireworm landed on his sheet. "Oh, hello."

Next second his sheet burst into flames and he jumped back in surprise falling onto the ground. He watched as the Fireworm blew away.

"What is a Fireworm during this far out?" he said getting to his feet. "They aren't supposed to be in one near our island. Eh, it could have lost its way."

He then pulled out another sheet and continue to count. "Now where were we, Meatlug?" he said. "Was it five hundred and seventy-six, or was it Five hundred and seventy-five?"

He then smelled something burning and looked around to find that another Fireworm had landed on a bush and set it ablaze. He quickly rushed over and began beating it out with his sheet.

However, doing so causes sheet to burst into flames, causing him to drop it.

* * *

Minutes later, he explained to the other Dragon Riders what had happened and now they were fine over the clearing which was on fire.

"It began with one Fireworm, and as we were flying back, we kept seeing more and more," he explained.

"Do you think they're migrating?" Astrid asked.

"If they were migrating, the whole island will be on fire," Hiccup pointed out.

"Not necessarily," said Fishlegs.

"Here we go!" Snotlout moaned.

"When Fireworms migrate, they send out scouts deceive their migrating route is safe," he explained. "If this is a stop along that route—"

"An entire flock of Fireworms could be coming through here," Astrid finished.

"And they'll burn the entire island to the ground," Ragnar added.

"Well, I say bring 'em on!" Tuffnut yelled. "I love those little scorches."

"Are you still gonna love them when they all land here and burn our entire island to the ground?" said Hiccup.

"Yes! Wait, no," he said looking confused. "Wait, is that a trick question? Because it's pretty tricky."

"Ragnar, Fishlegs, how much time do we have?" Astrid asked.

"Uh, it's hard to say," said Fishlegs.

"But if it's a fall migration the rest of them could be here as soon as next week," said Ragnar.

"Ha! Good to know," said Snotlout he then turned Hookfang around. "It's been nice knowing you, island. Snotlout is outlout!"

"We're not abandoning the island, Snotlout," Hiccup said firmly turning Toothless around to follow him.

"Uh, yeah, we are. Watch."

However, before he could leave, Hiccup appeared right in front of him blocking his path.

"Guys, we put too much hard work into this place to just leave," said Hiccup. He then looked at Snotlout. "Snotlout is not 'outlout.' We're staying. Now let's get to work."

"Fine!" Snotlout said in an annoyed tone. "But I still like my plan is better."

* * *

When they got back to Dragon's Edge, Hiccup began making sure all the preparations for the Fireworm migration were done.

"Okay, Astrid, you and Fishlegs feel the watering troughs, right?" he asked.

"Yep! Topped off all the barrels too," said Astrid.

"Ooh, I found a perfect cave for the Night Terrors. High enough and desolate enough so the flames won't get to them," said Fishlegs.

"And Snotlout and I have begun creating fire breaks around the base," said Ragnar.

"Perfect. Good job, guys," said Hiccup proudly. "Now if the twins would finally get back, can finally find out what they've done."

"Oh, I can tell you what they've done," said Snotlout. "Zero, zip, zilch. I'm forgetting something. Oh, yeah, goose egg!"

"Oh, 'contrary,' my fine fellow," said Tuffnut voice. They turned and found the twins leaning against the doorway. "We've done quite a lot, actually."

"Did you clear the bush?" Hiccup asked.

"Uh, no."

"Build a fire break?"

"Nope, not that."

"How about water? Did you bring any back?" Astrid asked.

"No," said Tuffnut.

"Did you do anything that would help with the Fireworm apocalypse that is descending upon us?" Ragnar asked sceptically.

"Couldn't. Too busy," said Tuffnut.

"Busy with what?" Hiccup asked.

"Finding something awesome," said Ruffnut.

* * *

Moments later the twins took them to a cliff. On the cliffs edge was a stone covered in moss with writing on it.

"Behold! We call it the Namey Rock," said Ruffnut proudly.

"And why is that?" Astrid asked.

"Duh, 'cause it has our name all over it," said Tuffnut as if it was obvious. "Cool, huh?"

"Oh, yeah," said Snotlout sarcastically and rubbed his temple. "I mean, no. Man, you two are completely ridiculous."

"Ridiculous? Perhaps," said Ruffnut. "But answer this—Where's your namey rock?"

Ruffnut placed her hand in front of ear and Snotlout just shook his head in bewilderment. Then the twins laughed and head-butted each other.

Both Ragnar and Fishlegs examined the rock and looked at each other worriedly. They turned to look at Hiccup, who didn't like the looks on their faces.

"Uh, Hiccup, you might want to come take a closer look at this," said Fishlegs.

"Yeah, because it might be a claim stone," Ragnar added.

Hiccup walked up and looked down at the stone and began read outloud: "' _I, Magmar Thorston hereby claim this island in my name and the name of all my family present and future, forever and ever_.'"

"And what else?" Tuffnut asked smugly.

"' _And ever_ ,' apparently."

"Ha! Long-lost great uncle Magmar!" Tuffnut yelled excitedly. "Oh, my Thor! Wasn't he the one who could pass an entire cod thought on nostril?"

"And debone it at the same time?" Ruffnut added looking slightly giddy with excitement. "It's really a lost art."

"Which should just stay lost," Ragnar muttered looking awfully disgusted.

"People just don't appreciate the craftsmanship," said Tuffnut crossing his arm disappointedly.

"Oh, come on!" Snotlout roared. "That stone is a fake. It's so obvious that these two made it up."

"I don't think so!" said Fishlegs.

"Yeah, for one thing, everything is spelled correctly," said Ragnar.

Snotlout blinked and then said, "Okay, you may have a point."

"Let me get this straight. These two own the island?" said Astrid gesturing to the twins.

"It would appear that way," said Fishlegs.

"I have to admit, I didn't see that one coming," said Ragnar looking horrified.

The twins on the other hand were jumping for joy and dancing around.

"In your face!" Tuffnut yelled.

"We are so in charge of this place!" said Ruffnut.

"Oh, preach, sister."

"Well! According to this stone—" Tuffnut then covered her mouth shut.

That was a rhetorical preach," he said. He then noticed that Snotlout was mounting on Hookfang. "Hey, where you going, subject?"

"Ha! You may be in charge of this island, but you're not in charge of me," said Snotlout.

"Ah, ah! Respect the crown. Do make us get ugly," Tuffnut warned.

"That ship sailed a long time ago."

"Ugly!" Ruffnut yelled punching Tuffnut in the shoulder.

"Clearly, we'll need a dungeon," said Tuffnut rubbing his shoulder.

Hiccup quickly placed himself between them. "Okay, let's all just take a breath and calm down," he said. "The first thing we need to do is get this claim stone authenticated."

* * *

Hours later, Ragnar returned with Stoick and Gobber. Gobber began his study on the claim stone and the other Dragon Riders, apart from the twins, were hoping that it was a fake.

"I see," said Gobber.

"Well, Gobber?" Stoick asked.

"Give me a minute." Gobber then chipped at the stone and sniffed a fragment of it before putting it in his mouth and ate it. "Very interesting." He then swallowed it and looked at Stoick. "Tastes like to me Stoick. This claim stone is one hundred percent authentic."

The twins then jumped with joy, causing everyone to stare at them with horror and disappointment.

"Authentic!" Tuffnut yelled.

"One hundred percent! No more percent to be had, folks!" Ruffnut yelled.

"That's good, right?"

The other Dragon riders then shouted their disappointment and will only stop by Stoick.

"All right, that's enough," he said. "It looks like this island officially belongs…" He then said rather reluctantly, "to the twins."

The twins then started dancing around like maniacs.

"It's our island now! We got an island!" Tuffnut sang.

"We got the island. And you can't have it." Ruffnut sang.

The other Dragon Riders just stared at them dumbfounded.

The twins then kneel before Stoick, who approach them unsheathing his sword.

"As chief of Berk, I hereby declare that under Viking law, the living heirs to Magmar Thorston are indeed entitled to full ownership of this island with all benefits that comes with it," he said tapping the blade of his sword on the twins.

"Now what?" Tuffnut asked.

"Don't ask me. It's your island," said Stoick placing his sword back in its sheath.

At once the twin got up singing: T _his is our Island_.

Both Stoick and Gobber headed to Skull, so Ragnar can take them back to Berk. However, Hiccup, along with the other Dragon Riders, weren't happy with the result and rushed over to them.

"No, Dad, Dad, Dad, you can't be serious. You're not leaving mw with this?" he said gesturing to the twins.

They watched as the twins danced around singing excitedly.

Stoick then looked at his son and then placed his arms on his shoulders. "Uh, yes, I am. Welcome to my world," he said and then walked away. "Only now it's your world."

"Ho ho! It's your world!" said Gobber chuckling.

"Great, what do we do? Any ideas?" Fishlegs.

"Oh, we could always…" said Snotlout drawing a thumb across his throat. "You know."

"We're not killing the twins, Snotlout," said Hiccup firmly.

"No matter how tempting that sounds," said Ragnar.

"Please tell me we're not giving them the island," said Astrid horrified.

"Actually, we are. We are giving them the island," said Hiccup.

Snotlout laughed thinking that Hiccup was joking and then realised that he was serious. "What?" he yelled.

"First of all, we don't really have a choice," said Hiccup looking at the twins crossing his arms. "And second, once they find out being in charge isn't everything it's cracked up to be, and they have to deal with the Fireworm problem on their own, they will beg us to take the island back."

The other riders didn't look convinced as the twins danced around and singing without a care in the world.

"And if they don't?" Astrid asked.

The twins then head-butted reach other and collapsed to the ground.

"Then we'll have to find a new island," said Ragnar walking over to Skull, where Stoick and Gobber were waiting. "Just make sure you don't leave until I get back."

* * *

Later that evening, Hiccup was in the clubhouse reading a book on Toothless' back. He then heard the twins talking outside.

"Okay, a little higher," said Tuffnut's voice. "No, no, no, to the left. Yes! No. Little to the right."

"Would you come on already," said Ruffnut's voice impatiently. "My entire body is numb. Feels kinda cool."

Hiccup got up and went to see what was happening.

"Hey, let's ask Hiccup," said Tuffnut.

The voices were coming from above him. "Let's ask Hiccup what?" Hiccup asked looking upwards.

Then he saw the twins on Barf and Belch's heads holding a huge sign that said _Thorstonton_.

"Our new Thorstonton sign, doesn't need to be a little higher?" Tuffnut asked.

"Thorstonton?"

"Yeah, the name of our island," said Ruffnut.

"It came to us in a dream," said Tuffnut with a dreamy look on his face. He then released the sign and Ruffnut groaned at its weight. "That's right—Same dream. It's a twin thing. You will understand."

"Anyway, thoughts of a new sign?" Tuffnut asked gesturing to the sign that Ruffnut was barely holding. Then, Ruffnut lost her grip and the sign smashed to pieces on the floor. "You know what? Never mind. We've got more important things on the agenda today."

"I agree," said Hiccup as Barf and Belch walked away with the twins standing proudly on their heads. "We need to keep fireproofing this island."

"No, no, no, that's what it," said Tuffnut. "We need to give out job assignments."

"Job assignments?" said Hiccup not liking where this was going.

"Oh, we got some good ones. Come along, lad. Don't be late."

Hiccup hopped onto Toothless' back and follow them.

* * *

Moments later, all the Dragon Riders were at the dome, which is where they trained while dragons in safety. The dome could open or close by just pulling the lever, but today it was open and the twins were in the centre about to relay assignments to the other Dragon Riders.

"All right, Fishlegs," said Tuffnut, who was holding a piece of parchment. "It says here that you are now the official poet laureate of Thorstonton."

"Do you know what that means?" Fishlegs asked.

"We were hoping you would! It's your job, after all," said Ruffnut.

Fishlegs just looked at them blankly.

"Ragnar, you will be in charge of creating explosives so awesome that they can blow our socks off," said Tuffnut grinning.

"So basically you mean explosive larger destroy the entire island," said Ragnar.

"Yes," said Tuffnut. Then he looked at him confused. "No, wait. Uh, just whip up something that will explode."

He then turned to look at Astrid. "Astrid, you are the official royal blush-clearer," said Tuffnut proudly. "We don't want Thorstoton burning down, after all."

"Or do we?" said Ruffnut.

Tuffnut just looked at her thinking that would be a great idea.

"I'm not clearing blushes for you two. I'm not cleaning anything for you two!" said Astrid furiously.

"Come on, Astrid," said Hiccup as he and Ragnar held her back.

"Oh, you'll do it," said Tuffnut. "And you like it, little missy."

He then turned and looked at Snotlout. "Snotlout, you, my friend, have an excellent job," he said. "You, sir, are our new sergeant at arms."

"Mm," said Snotlout pondering on the idea. "I like the sound of that—'arms.'"

"Knew you would," said Tuffnut smiling.

He then turned and looked down at Hiccup. "All right, Hiccup," said Tuffnut looking at the parchment. "Oh, Hiccup, you are our new stable boy."

Both Astrid and Ragnar try to hold back a laugh, and failing completely.

"Stable boy?" Hiccup yelled.

Astrid then elbowed him gently on the arm. "Come on, Hiccup," she smirked.

Hiccup sighed heavily.

"So, uh, here's a question. What's a sergeant at arms do, anyway?" Snotlout asked.

"You enforce the rules," said Tuffnut simply. "If someone doesn't follow them, you make sure they do. And if things really get nasty, you show them to the new fancy dungeon and give them yak dung tea. Got it?"

"Dungeon!" said Snotlout pointing his index fingers at them. "I like it. Better than 'stable boy.'"

Hiccup just glared at him.

Tuffnut then tossed the parchment aside and pulled out another role of parchment. "Okay, and speaking of new rules, without further 'adieu'…" he said.

"Yeah, no more further 'adieu,'" said Ruffnut taking the law parchment from him. She then unrolled the parchment. "Anyway, rule number one: everyone must bow to your rulers when they entered the room."

Tuffnut then took the parchment from her. "Rule number two: everyone must also bow to your rulers when they exit the room."

Ruffnut then took the parchment again from him. "Everyone must bow to your rulers when they are in the room."

"So basically we just about you all the time?" said Hiccup.

"Ooh, stable boy, coming in for the big win," said Tuffnut. "That deserves a bow… from you. I'm not doing any bowing."

Hiccup sighed, rather reluctantly, bowed to them.

"Thank you," said Tuffnut.

"Next, there will be a small fee for each landing your dragons on the island," said Ruffnut.

"And another small fee for taking off," Tuffnut added.

"There will be a fee for sleeping."

"A fee for waking up."

"A fee for eating."

"And a small fee for drinking."

"How about breathing?" said Astrid.

"Good idea!" said Tuffnut and looked at his sister. "Mark that one down."

"Way ahead of you," said Ruffnut.

"And finally, the letter 'S'has been officially removed from the alphabet," said Tuffnut. "So you're going to want to avoid words like sword…"

"Severed leg…"

"… Severed head…"

"… Cyclone!"

"That's actually a 'C'," Fishlegs pointed out.

"Uh-uh! Notlout, quiet him!" Tuffnut ordered.

Snotlout just looked at them confused. "Notlout? Who's Notlout?" he asked puzzled.

"Do you to realise that there is an 'S' in the name of your island?" Astrid pointed out.

"Llence, ubject _!_ How dare you say such a thing?" said Tuffnut.

"Glad I don't have an 'S' in my name," said Hiccup.

"Any other rules?" Hiccup asked.

Tuffnut then pulled out another piece of parchment and open it. However, before you could read it, a Fireworm flew right through it and it burst into flames.

"Table boy, clear that up," Tuffnut ordered.

"Okay, while I'm doing this, you guys need to stay on top of this Fireworm thing," said Hiccup picking up the Fireworm with a stick.

The stick was then set ablaze and he tossed the Fireworm at Toothless, who swatted away with his tail.

"It started to get pretty real," said Hiccup looking up at the sky.

* * *

Later that day, Hiccup began scrubbing Barf and Belch like the twins had commanded. Then twins appeared.

"Uh, aren't you forgetting something?" Tuffnut said.

"What?" said Hiccup that getting up. He then realise what they were talking about. "Oh, right. Sorry."

He then bowed.

"That's better," said Ruffnut.

"Now let have a look at your work, table boy," said Tuffnut walking around with his arms behind his back.

Hiccup just glared at him.

Tuffnut then examined Barf and Belch and look quite impressed. "Good," he said. He then looked at their claws. "That's nice attention to detail."

"Uh, we have a problem," said Ruffnut.

"What? What's the problem?" said Hiccup.

Tuffnut ran to the bucket that was next to Ruffnut and dipped a finger in it.

"Pathetic," he said.

"Digraceful," said Ruffnut.

"Unacceptable."

"What is it?" Hiccup asked starting to get annoyed.

"This water is lukewarm," said Tuffnut furiously. "We pecifically asked for scalding—sorry, calding, if I'm not mitaken."

"Oh, you are not _mitaken_ , brother," said Ruffnut.

"Fine, scald—caldingit is," said Hiccup. He then looked at Toothless. "Toothless—Toothle—Plama blat!"

Toothless then fired a plasma blast at the bucket, but used more power than normal. He apparently didn't like the new rules either, because when the smoke cleared the twins were covered in ash.

They both glared at Toothless, who was doing a dragon version of a laugh.

"I'm keeping an eye on you, Mr. Night Fury," Tuffnut warned. "My good eye."

He then walked away and Hiccup looked at him bewildered.

"Wait, are you telling me you have a bad eye?" he said.

"Wait, are you telling me you have a bad leg?" said Ruffnut as she thought her brother. "Thought so."

"And the weirdness continues," said Hiccup.

* * *

Later that day, Astrid had just landed on the landing zone outside her hut. Then she saw the twins had come to meet her.

"That's a two-mackerel landing charge, little lady," said Ruffnut.

Astrid sighed and Stormfly jumped about the meter from where they were so do put the mackerel down.

"Two more mackerel," said Ruffnut. Then looked at her brother. "Are you keeping track or should I?"

"No, I got it," said Tuffnut.

Astrid then glared at the twins. "Look, I don't have any more mackerel," she said furiously. "And, if I did, I wouldn't give it to you for your dumb take-off and landing charge."

"Excue me. Are you calling the laws of this land dumb?" said Tuffnut angrily.

"You don't like 'dumb'? How about dopey? Brainless, dim-witted, moronic. Shall I go on?" said Astrid.

"Notlout!" Tuffnut yelled.

"Coming in hot!" yelled Snotlout's voice.

Next second he and Hookfang landed and Snotlout saluted at the twins. "Ergeant at arms Notlout reporting," he said.

"Take this mutineer to the new dungeon, and her little dragon, too," Tuffnut ordered. "Give her some time to think about her attitude."

"Dungeon? Are you serious?" said Astrid furiously.

"Do we look serious?" said Tuffnut looking at her.

Astrid groaned and allowed Snotlout to take her away.

"You know, that's a good question," said Tuffnut looking at his sister. "Do we?"

"I don't know. Here, give me your best serious face," said Ruffnut. Then the Tuffnut began making faces at her. "Whoa, pretty serious. Okay, what about me?"

She then made a face at him.

"Oh, yeah," said Tuffnut.

"Okay, we look pretty serious."

* * *

Ragnar was in his hut sitting at his desk, he hadn't made explosives as the twins requested, because he didn't want Dragon's Edge blown to smithereens. Then the twins entered the hut.

"Hmm," said Tuffnut. Ragnar groaned and got to his feet and bowed. "How is the explosives coming along?"

"There not," said Ragnar crossing his arms. "If you think I' making explosives for you, you've got another thing coming."

The twins glared at him and Tuffnut yelled. "Notlout!"

"Don't bother I'll make my own way to the dungeon," said Ragnar and looked at Skull. "Come on boy."

Once he left the twins looked at one another.

"What's the problem with everyone," said Tuffnut.

"Yeah, it's like they don't like the cool jobs we gave them," said Ruffnut puzzled.

"It can't be that," said Tuffnut. "I mean who wouldn't like the jobs they've got."

* * *

Later that evening, the twins were in the clubhouse eating and Fishlegs was reading his new poem to them.

"There once was an island named Thorstonton. Where everybody wanted to have fun, fun, fun. We sang and we danced and we all peed our pants. When the ruler came up with a great pun… pun, pun," he said.

The twins just looked at him board expressions on their faces. Tuffnut's pet chicken just squawked.

"The chicken is not amused. Notlout!" said Tuffnut.

"Ir, ye, ir, right here," said Snotlout as he and Hookfang flew into the room.

"To the dungeon with him," Tuffnut ordered.

"No, the chicken has wrong! The chicken is wrong!" Fishlegs yelped, as Hookfang grabbed the helm of his tunic with his mouth and drags him out of the room.

"How dare you?" Tuffnut yelled stroking the chicken. "The chicken is never wrong." The chicken and squawked again and Tuffnut scratched it. "Shh. I'm sorry you had to hear that. That's it, quite. There we go."

* * *

At the stables, Hiccup was still clean and then he saw Snotlout and Hookfang leading Astrid, Ragnar, Fishlegs and their dragons into the stables.

"All right, giddy up! Get back in line! Back in line!" Snotlout yelled.

"Snotlout, what are you doing?" Hiccup asked.

"Never you mind, table boy," said Snotlout opening one of the pens. "This is official Thortonston business."

He then looked at his prisoners. "Welcome to her new home, jailbirds," he said as they and the dragons entered the pen.

Once they were all inside he locked the pen door and flew off with Hookfang. Once he was gone, Hiccup approached the prisoners and leaned on the bars.

"What are we in for?" Hiccup joked.

"Funny," said Astrid rolling her eyes. "Exactly how long are you going to let this go on? Have you seen all those Fireworms?"

"Yeah, there's enough to burn down entire village," said Ragnar.

"Their right, Hiccup, migration is picking up steam," said Fishlegs.

At that moment Meatlug farted.

"Ho ho ho! She does not deal well with prison food," said Fishlegs waving his hand in front of his face.

"Couldn't they have given us separate cells," said Ragnar gagging.

"All right, all right, I'll talk to them," Hiccup assured. "I'm sure I can get this all straightened out."

* * *

It was late at night, Hiccup was flying around on Toothless and saw the twins were flying around the island. It didn't look good, the forests were already on fire and the Night Terrors were nowhere to be seen.

Hiccup then flew up to them. "So you guys surveying the damage?" he said.

"No, we're looking for place to build our summer palace," said Tuffnut.

"That might be an ice area was the fires burn the vegetation away," said Ruffnut pointing at an area of the forest that was ablaze.

"Any thoughts, table boy?" Tuffnut asked.

"Yeah, just one," said Hiccup. "Have you considered the fact that if you threw everyone in jail, there is no one left to actually build your summer palace?"

The twins looked at one another and then back to Hiccup.

"We're listening," said Tuffnut.

"And what about the Fireworms migration?" said Hiccup raising his shield to block a couple of Fireworm that were flying straight at him. "Don't you think it might be a good idea to have everyone working so we can stop Thorstonton from burning down?"

"I see your point, but I also see something else," said Tuffnut.

"Oh, yeah!" said Ruffnut.

"What? What's that?" Hiccup asked not sure he wanted to know the answer.

"Toothless is flying as fast as Barf and Belch!" Ruffnut pointed out.

"And by Thorstonton law—" said Tuffnut.

"That is the legal!" Ruffnut finished.

* * *

Minutes later, Hiccup found himself with the others. Astrid found the entire thing quite amusing.

"So, what are you in for?" she asked smirking.

"Astrid, please," said Hiccup.

"What? Just trying to be funny."

Next second they saw strange sight. Snotlout was dragging himself towards the pen with Hookfang right behind him.

"Snotlout?" said Hiccup puzzled.

Snotlout then threw himself into the pen and Hookfang entered a second later. Then Snotlout closed the pen door and locked himself with them.

"I was framed," he said.

"All right, that's it," said Astrid impatiently as she freed herself from Hookfang's wing. "We're breaking out of here."

"Great! Then we go back to my plan," said Snotlout drawing a thumb around his neck.

"Guys, guys, we're fine," Hiccup assured. "There's nothing to worry about. I mean, the twins can't be that oblivious!"

The other Dragon Riders just looked at each other not sharing Hiccup's confidence.

* * *

The twins were inside their hut, kicking a sheep at one another. The sheep managed to land in the middle of the room and ran outside. Tuffnut went to follow it, but stopped short.

"Whoa, check it out! Fireworm!" he said.

A Fireworm flew out of nowhere and landed outside their hut.

"Burns with the heat of one thousand suns," said Ruffnut in awe as the Fireworm clawed away leaving a trail of fire.

"Ah, those little guys," said Tuffnut.

Then a second Fireworm landed on the floor.

"Oh, look, it has a little buddy!" Ruffnut said excitedly.

Then more and more Fireworms appeared and their hut was set on fire. The twins tried to put of the flames, but it was impossible.

"No! Stop, stop!" Tuffnut yelled.

He then looked at his sister. "As the ruler of Thorstonton, I'm ordering the ruler's sister to do something about this Fireworm problem," he said.

"What do you want me to do? I'm not the boss of them," said Ruffnut.

"Well, if we don't do something, they're going to burn Thorstonton to the ground."

"Just like Hiccup said."

Then their sign was set of fire and they both glared at each other. "This is all your fault!" they yelled.

* * *

Meanwhile in the stables, the other riders were still locked in the pen. They could smell the smoke getting closer and closer to them and still there was no signs of the twins.

"That smoke's getting close," said Astrid she then looked at Hiccup. "And where there's smoke—"

"There's Fireworms," Fishlegs finished.

"We can't wait for the twins any longer," said Ragnar. "If there too dumb to save their island we'll have to do it for them."

Hiccup looked around at the dragons, which were growing restless. "All right, you know what? Experiment over," he said. "We are getting out there and stopping them before there's nothing left of this island."

"Finally," said Astrid relieved.

Hiccup and Toothless approached the pen door. Why the twins thought it was a good idea to lock them with their dragons in a wooden cell, Hiccup will never know.

"Toothless' plasma blast," Hiccup commanded.

Toothless got ready to fire a plasma blast, but at that moment the twins rushed in, looking extremely breathless and worn-out.

"Hey, guys?" said Tuffnut.

Toothless quickly swallowed his plasma blast, leaving his mouth streaming.

"Now's our chance," said Snotlout and he looked at Hookfang. "Hookfang, destroy!"

Hookfang was about to attack the twins, but stopped when Hiccup placed himself between him and the twins.

"Oh, hey, rulers," he said. "How's stuff in the old kingdom?"

"Having lots of fun with all the smoke and fire?" Astrid asked.

"Thinking that the migration of Fireworms is cool?" Ragnar asked.

"Yes. No," said Tuffnut. "Okay, fine. As it turns out, we can't save Thorstonton by ourselves. So we talked about it, and we hereby decree that you can all come and help us put out these fires."

"Ah, that's a shame, cause from where I'm sit, you guys are on your own," said Hiccup leaning on Toothless. "I mean, rules are rules, right?"

"You have to help us save the island! It's all we've got!" Ruffnut begged.

"I don't know. Guys?" said Hiccup looking at the other riders.

"I think you've got to stick to your guns. You make a rule, you forward through said Astrid. "Otherwise it's—you know."

"Anarchy. I'm with them," said Fishlegs.

"I mean you can't disobey your own rules that you created," said Ragnar.

"Come on, you guys, please?" Tuffnut begged. "Is there anything we can do? Name it, we'll do anything."

"Well, now that you mention it, I suppose we could consider one possibility," said Hiccup.

The twins looked out the door and heard the hissing of the Fireworms coming even closer. They then turned and looked back at the Dragon Riders.

"Anything!" the both yelled.

"I'll make you assistant ruler," said Tuffnut. Hiccup just looked at his fingers. "Rule's best pal? Second string ruler?"

"No, I have a better idea, actually," said Hiccup getting up and approaching them. "We divide the island amongst all this. We all own it. There's no ruler, no sister of the ruler. We're all rulers."

The twins just stared at him dumbfounded.

"What? That's blasphemous!" said Tuffnut jumping back and crossed his arms. "You can't do that to the ruler."

Then a Fireworm flew past and lit his trousers at on fire. It took him several seconds to for him to realise this, but when he did he began running around screaming trying to put the flames out.

"Okay, you guys can have whatever you want. The island's all of our. Just get these things out of here!" Tuffnut yelled.

* * *

Seconds later, the Dragon Riders were free and flew up into the night sky. When they got outside they saw the massive horde of Fireworms descending towards them.

"Okay, Fishlegs, gather up all the Night Terrors and take them to the cave," Hiccup ordered.

"On it," said Fishlegs flying away.

"Okay, guys, we need to redirect the Fireworms around our island and onto the next one in the chain," Hiccup commanded.

"You may think it's gonna make a dent?" Astrid asked. "I mean, look at them all."

"Do you have a better idea?" Hiccup asked. "We don't really have a choice."

They then flew upwards towards the horde of Fireworms.

"Stormfly, fire!" Astrid commanded.

Stormfly fired a stream of fire at the Fireworms, but all it did was just scare them a little. All they did was just regroup and continue the descent towards the island.

"Come, Barf, Belch, do it for Thorstonton!" said Tuffnut.

Barf and Belch use their gas and spark attack to create a small explosion, but it had the same effect as Stormfly's fire.

"This is going to work, Hiccup!" Ragnar yelled as the Fireworm began to descend.

Hiccup didn't like it, but right I was right. "Fall back! Maybe we can at least protect our base," he ordered.

They pull the dragons back in through down towards Dragon's Edge.

"Let's get started on building a fire break!" said Hiccup.

* * *

It was dawn, and the riders were still trying to create firebreak around Dragon's Edge, but it was known near good enough to deal with the Fireworm horde.

Astrid and the twins were digging a trench so the fire couldn't jump over the grassy plain.

"Just keep digging guys," said Hiccup. "The fire can't pass it if there's only dirt."

Ragnar and Snotlout, were burning down any nearby trees so that the Fireworms couldn't set them on fire. Hiccup then blasted the burning shrubs until only a barren wasteland was left.

The smoke they were creating was covering Hiccup's eyes making it impossible for him to see anything.

"Oh, I can barely see, bud," Hiccup coughed. "If this gets much worse, we're going to have to bail out."

They start when they saw the Fireworm horde descending towards them.

"What do we do now?" Astrid coughed. "It's getting really dangerous."

"The cave! We'll go there and waited out with the Night Terrors," said Hiccup.

"Uh, Hiccup, you may want to come up with a different plan," said Fishlegs' voice. They looked up and saw Fishlegs flying down towards them, with a very worried look on his face.

"Why?" Hiccup asked, knowing that the answer will be something he didn't want to hear.

"I couldn't find the Night Terrors," said Fishlegs. "I called them till my lips almost fell off. They're gone."

"I told you we should have bailed on this place," said Snotlout crossing his arms.

"No, we're not bailing," said Tuffnut standing on Belch's head. "This island is ours."

"Tuff?" Hiccup warned.

"It's all of ours," he corrected. "And no one burns are equally-shared island to the ground but us."

"I may have to disagree with you there," said Hiccup.

Then they saw something huge flying to the horizon, its silhouette was very familiar.

"What the—is that—" said Astrid fearfully.

"Fireworm queen!" Fishlegs finished. "If she's here, then the entire flock can't be far behind it."

"Well, that settles it," Hiccup sighed. "Grab what you can. We're out of here."

"Uh, Hiccup, that's not the Fireworm queen," said Snotlout.

Ragnar squinted at the Fireworm queen and gasped. "He's right," he said.

Hiccup turned and looked at the Fireworm queen that it was actually Smidvarg and the rest of the Night Terrors. They had taken the form of a Fireworm queen and were flying towards them.

"The Night Terrors! They're protecting the island by forming a Fireworm queen," Hiccup gasped.

"There's not going to be anything left to protect if all those Fireworms land here," said Astrid.

"Well, we just won't let them," said Hiccup.

"Okay, I sensing a plan."

"I'm gonna lead the Night Terrors out to the sea. Hopefully the Fireworms will follow. You guys stay behind and put out these fires."

Hiccup then flew towards Smidvarg, avoiding all the burning Fireworms that were descending upon the island.

"Come on, bud," said Hiccup.

Finally they managed to fly over the Fireworms and towards Smidvarg and his Night Terrors.

"All right, bud, we need to get the terrors' attention and turn out to sea," Hiccup said to Toothless. Toothless then flew around Smidvarg and his Night Terrors. "All right, gang, let's take a trip, shall we?"

Hiccup then press down on the stirrup opening the tailfin and together he and Toothless flew out to see.

"Toothless, now," Hiccup commanded.

Toothless then fired a plasma blast signalled Smidvarg and his Night Terrors to follow them. Smidvarg roared at his fellow Night Terrors and lead them towards Hiccup and Toothless.

"Yes! Nice job, bud," said Hiccup rubbing Toothless' head.

Almost instantly, the Fireworm began to follow Smidvarg and his Night Terrors, thinking that they was their queen.

"It's working!" said Astrid watching as all the Fireworm full up into the sky.

Hiccup look behind him and saw that the Fireworms were indeed falling Smidvarg and his Night Terrors. Ahead he could see an island made completely of rock.

"There we go, bud. That island's all rock," said Hiccup. "Perfect stopover for these guys." He then looked at Smidvarg and his Night Terrors. "Going down, gang!"

They then descended towards the island and Smidvarg and his Night Terrors followed suit and the Fireworms followed them. Once they were close enough the Night Terrors disbursed and the Fireworms landed happily on the island.

"Now that is something to write about," said Hiccup. "And Fishlegs thought the _Book of Dragons_ was finished."

They then flew back to Dragon's Edge, being very thankful this entire ordeal was over.

* * *

Later that day, the Riders were at the claims stone and the twins looked at it sadly.

"Ruff, Tuff, you guys did the right thing," said Hiccup placing a hand on their shoulders. "I just hope you learn something in all this."

"Yeah, we sure did. Leading blow," said Tuffnut. "Oh, we don't have to do the 'S' thing anymore. Leading blows."

"Seriously blows," said Ruffnut.

"You know what though? At least we have our cool to remember our glorious reign!" said Tuffnut happily.

However, they only had it for about ten seconds, before Meatlug ate the whole thing whole.

"No respect," Tuffnut muttered crossing his arms.

Meatlug then barfed up some lava at Ruffnut's feet.

"No respect at all," said Ruffnut looking extremely disappointed.

Snotlout laughed and began singing: _It's Everyone's Island_ , and soon all of them joined in, including the twins. They sang and danced merrily as they celebrated.


	8. Crushing it

It was a peaceful night on Dragon's Edge and all the Dragon Riders and their dragons were sleeping in the club house snoring. The only rider that was awake was Snotlout, he was on watch duty.

"Why do we have to be the ones to stay up on Rumblehorn watch?" said Snotlout crossly. He then noticed that Hookfang was asleep. "Hookfang, I'm talking to you."

It was true, over the past few days they had been attack by a newly discovered dragons. This dragon was strong, smart and fast, the riders weren't even sure what it looked like. They had sent traps all around Dragon's Edge, in fact one of the traps were tired to Hookfang's horn.

"We're never going to stop this crazy dragon, from tearing this place up," Snotlout muttered.

Next second, the rope on Hookfang's horn pulled and he shot a stream of fire which hit Snotlout on the butt.

At once he got up and ran around screaming, "Intruder alert!"

All the riders woke up at once and saw Snotlout trying to put out the fire on his butt.

"That's the third time this week!" he yelled as he rubbed his butt on the floor. He then jumped into a trough full of water and sighed as the flames went out. "Sweet relief."

Hiccup quickly looked at the map to find out which trap had been set off. "The Rumblehorn! It's headed for the eastern beach," he said.

They then ran to their dragons and mounted on them. "Come on, you guys!" Hiccup yelled.

They then took off and seconds later they reached the eastern beach. When they landed they saw that they had caught something large in one of their netter traps.

"Finally. We got it!" said Hiccup sighing with relief. "Everybody stand back."

Tuffnut approached the trap and looked at the thing they caught. "I didn't think it would be so smelly," he said.

"I didn't think it would be so hairy," said Ruffnut studying the creature as well.

"Ya try shaving with a hook fer an arm!" said the creature in a very familiar grouchy voice.

"The Rumbehorn talks!" Tuffnut gasped jumping back. "Quick, smack it."

"Cut me down, ya simpletons!" the creature ordered.

Ragnar then raised his lamp towards it and discovered Gobber's face poking out of it.

"And it's got a bad attitude," said Ruffnut.

"Eh, never mind," Gobber grumbled.

He then pulled out his hook and sliced through the ropes and he landed on the ground with both his foot and pegged leg on the ground.

"Gobber, what did you do with our Rumblehorn?" Tuffnut asked looking at the sliced net.

"Rumblehorn? What's a Rumblehorn?" Gobber asked puzzled.

"A new dragon that's been trying to chase us off the island," Fishlegs explained.

"Yeah, us and everything else," Astrid added.

"We've been trying to catch it and relocated it," said Hiccup.

"With very little success," said Ragnar.

"So far the only thing we've courted you," Snotlout grumbled. "Yay, us."

"Yeh trying to catch the Dragon with a net that can't hold one-legged, one-armed Viking? Amateurs," said Gobber shaking his head in disappointment.

"Not too late to the club him still," said Tuffnut leaning over to Hiccup. "I can give a little 'Ah! Uh!' You know, 'uh, uh, uh!'"

"Yeah, we should just get back a check on the dragon base," said Hiccup.

Tuffnut sighed with disappointment.

When they got back to the base, they found that everything had been incompletely demolished. Training equipment laid on the ground, pieces of wood littered all over the place.

"Well, let's see, what ya done with the place," said Gobber. He then began looking around the base. "It looks very, well—"

"Trashed!" Astrid yelled.

"Yeh words, not mine," said Gobber.

"The Rumblehorn must have hit us while we were out chasing you," said Hiccup.

"Last chance," said Tuffnut leaning over to Hiccup. "I can still club him. Come on, club, club, club. Join the club."

"As much as I love a good clubbing, even my own, it'll have ter wait," said Gobber, he then looked at Hiccup. "Ya and I need to talk."

"Somehow, I didn't think it was just a social call," said Ragnar.

"Yeah, well, I've come with disturbing news about Stoick," said Gobber nervously as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Is he all right?" Hiccup asked looking worried.

"Oh, he's fine," Gobber assured.

"That's a relief," said Hiccup relieved.

"But, then again, not so fine."

"Dad, you're making is less than the normal," said Ragnar.

"Gobber, you're killing me," said Hiccup looking even more worried. "Is my father okay or not?"

"Oh, he's as fit as a dragon," said Gobber. "Unfortunately, he's as ornery as one, too." Toothless then growled at him fiercely. "No offence." he added quickly.

Toothless then laid on the ground and covered his face with his tail, but not before glaring at Gobber.

"I've never seen him like this— angry, shouting at everyone," Gobber continued.

Hiccup and Ragnar looked at one another. It didn't sound unusual. Then Hiccup looked back at Gobber.

"That sounds like vintage Stoick the Vast," he said.

"Ya think I would have sailed in a boat by myself fer a week if it were vintage Stoick the Vast?" said Gobber. "He's driving the village crazy!"

"Surely, Gothi could help," said Ragnar.

"She at her wits end. If she could speak she'd be swearing," said Gobber.

"All right, I guess I'd better see what's going on with him," said Hiccup.

"I'll come with you," said Ragnar.

"Good idea," said Gobber.

"You want a ride back, Dad," said Ragnar as the two boys climbed on their dragons.

"Actually, I think I might stay a while, help repair yeh wee dragon base," said Gobber. "See if I can't offer up some of my _dragon-killing experience_ ter help defeat against that Rumblehorn. If there's time, I'll take Tuffnut up on that clubbing."

"It works with Ruffnut," said Tuffnut.

"I get it," said Hiccup. "So basically, you're hiding out for my father."

"One might look at it that way," Gobber admitted.

"Well, you guys, I guess we're off to Berk," said Hiccup.

"Lead the way," said Ragnar.

They then took off and headed straight towards Berk.

* * *

They didn't reach Berk until morning and landed in the plaza. When they landed they notice that nobody was around.

"Hmm, it's quieter than unusual," said Hiccup.

"SHODDY WORKMANSHIP! THAT'S WHAR THIS IS!" roared Stoick voice from the distance.

"At least it's better than, Speed Stingers," said Ragnar.

"Okay, follow the sound of the angry Viking," said Hiccup.

They headed towards the armoury where they could hear Stoick yelling at the top of his voice. "I SAID I WANTED THESE WEAPONS ARRANGED BY DEADLINESS!" he yelled. "Swords…"

Hiccup, Ragnar and Toothless quickly docked as a sword flew overhead, it hit Skull, but it bounced off his bone armour.

"…axes, bludgeons, then maces!" Stoick yelled as an axe, bludgeon and a mace throughout the army at top speed.

The mace that Stoick threw flew towards Toothless, who raised his wing to shield him and it bounced off hitting the cat a bold and thin sheep flying into the air. Afraid that he would for more deadly weapons out of the door, Hiccup and Ragnar hid behind the catapult.

Then they saw Stoick exiting the armoury with a very grumpy look on his face. "IF I USED THEM ON YOU, YOU WOULDN'T FORGET HOW DEADLY THEY WERE!" he yelled. He then walked off in a fouling mood. "Gah! I can't believe it…"

Hiccup and Ragnar emerge from the hiding place and saw Stoick walk off.

"Hiccup, thank Thor you're here," said a voice.

They turned around and saw Sven standing in the armoury doorway looking great for that they had returned.

"You've got to help us," he begged. "Your father has become unbearable!"

"Well, to be fair, Sven, you did have the weapons out of order," Hiccup pointed out.

"That's because yesterday he told me to make them by length! The day before that by pointiness! And the day before that, it was by name!" said Sven irritably. "Did you know he gave each weapon its own nickname?"

Hiccup and Ragnar looked at him on another, it was clear that Gobber's warning wasn't totally unreasonable.

Hiccup then looked back that Sven. "Well, I have to admit, that is really weird," he said. "Uh, all right, I'll go talk to him."

"I mean, seriously. Who names their mace 'Daisy'?" said Sven looking totally bewildered as he walked back into the armoury.

* * *

Back at Dragon's Edge, the riders were beginning to clear up the mess the Rumblehorn had caused, but it was hard work.

"These attacks are getting worse every time," said Astrid. "Either that Rumblehorn's got to go, or we do."

"Hey, our boar pit survived! Cool!" Tuffnut yelled. "I like a pit, but I love a boar pit."

Gobber looked down at the boar pit, but didn't findit as impressive. "Ya call that a boar pit? Ha!" he scoffed. "I've dug my way out of a shallow graves deeper than that."

Fishlegs turned his sights on the tracks that the Rumblehorn had left behind. "Would you look at these Rumblehorn tracks?" he said. "If you take into account the width and depth of the footprints, and the distance between them, I calculate that the Dragon is—"

"Hefty. One might even say beefy," Gobber finished.

"Does somebody want to tell me why we're rebuilding this place? He's just going to crash through and wreck it again," said Snotlout.

"He wouldn't if ya could build a defensive wall properly," said Gobber. He then slammed his hook into a wooden post and lifted it up onto his shoulders. Snotlout just stared at him. "Well, don't just stand there. If you want ter learn, follow me."

The riders shrugged and said they had nothing to lose and followed him.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Berk, Hiccup and Ragnar had arrived at Mildew's old farm. Where they heard Stoick shouting out complaints.

"FOR THOR'S SAKE, YOU PLOUGH LIKE AN OLD WOMAN!" he yelled.

Then the two of them notice that the plougher turned out to be Gothi, who was looking very irritable.

Stoick grumbled then grabbed the prow. "This is how you plough!" he said and began to plough. "Oh, it's so simple! You can't even…"

The two boys just stared and next second Gothi wrapped her staff around Hiccup's neck and pulled him towards, behind Mildew's mouth.

"Gothi! You know, personally, I don't know what he's talking about," said Hiccup rubbing his neck. "I—I love your ploughing. You are my favourite plougher in all of Berk. That—that's some good ploughing, yeah."

"And he's just saying that you don't whack in with your staff," said Ragnar joining them.

Gothi just glared at them and then began to write. Ragnar lent over to read aloud: "She says: ' _you need to sort your father out_ '."

"Uh, yes, I—I agree. He's totally out of control," said Hiccup.

Gothi then wrote more and Ragnar stared at her with his eyes widened. "I can't read that he's my best friend and that's the chief you're insulting," he said.

Hiccup could tell that Gothi was quite angry. "I'll talk to him, I promise," he assured her.

"Let's just hope he listens for once," said Ragnar.

The two boys then ran after Stoick who had left the farm.

* * *

Stoick was in the arena, throwing several axes at a target, but he was so angry that he missed every single time. The Terrible Terror that sat on a just laughed at him and he slammed his palm into his face.

He then heard someone cough behind him and turned with his axe raised ready to strike.

"Dad, please don't kill me! If your son!" Hiccup yelled as he and Ragnar raise their hands in surrender.

"Hiccup!" Stoick yelled cheerfully throwing his axe away, which actually lands on the target this time.

He then rushed over to Hiccup and gave a big bear hug, squeezing the air out of his lungs.

"Good to see you to, Dad," Hiccup wheezed gasping for breath. "Now—now if I could just, um, breathe?"

Stoick then released Hiccup and he nearly toppled over Ragnar hadn't caught him. "I'm sorry!" he said slamming his hand on Hiccup's back. He had with such force that both Hiccup and Ragnar felt several ribs crack. "Just happy to see my son! And you too Ragnar."

"Yeah, I feel the love," said Ragnar of rubbing his back and walking a safe distance away from Stoick.

"Well, that's great," said Hiccup, who to was rubbing his back. "My—my cracked ribs and I are happy to see you, too. What are you doing all the way out at the academy?"

"Oh, well, I come up here for the peace and quiet," said Stoick walking over to a saddle form where a saddle sat on it, he then pulled out a rag and began polishing it. "Tired of hearing people complaining—' _Stoick, you're being too tough. Stoick, you're being too picky. Stoick, you're cutting out my air supply_.'"

Hiccup and Ragnar looked at each other and both silently agreed that they could change the subject. It was then that Hiccup realised that Stoick was polishing the saddle that belonged to his old Thunderdrum, Thornado.

"Hey, hey, is that Thornado's old saddle?" Hiccup asked. He looked at and he could see his face in it. "Whoa, dad, you really kept it shiny."

"Well, just because one dragon is gone doesn't mean I'm going to let a valuable piece of equipment fall into disrepair," said Stoick. He then walked up to the target and removed the axe that was imbedded in it. "But enough about me. What brings my world-traveller son and his best friend to Berk?"

Hiccup looked at him awkwardly. "Well, we—we still—"

Then Sven interrupted when he ran into the arena. "Stoick, I don't mean to interrupt, but I've got those weapons arranged by deadliness, just like you wanted them," said Sven happily.

"AND WHO SAID I WANTED THEM THAT WAY? DOSE ANYONE AROUND HERE LISTEN?" Stoick roared as he advanced towards Sven.

Fortunately for Sven, Hiccup and Ragnar blocked Stoick's path.

"Dad, dad, dad!" said Hiccup. "I just had a great idea."

"If it involves me hurling an axe at Sven's head, let's hear it," said Stoick.

Sven quickly grabbed a nearby shield and hid behind it quivering. "Oh, I—I hear my sheep calling," he said and quickly dashed off.

"I was thinking something a little more relaxing," said Hiccup and Ragnar stared at him, probably thinking when have they ever did anything relaxing. "Something to take the edge off?" he continued.

"EDGE? WHAT EDGE?" Stoick roared holding his axe even more tightly. Both Hiccup and Ragnar stared at him and Stoick eased his grip "Okay, I'm listening."

"Yeah, so I was thinking, why don't you take a couple of days off, come with me to see the dragon base?" Hiccup suggested.

"No, impossible," said Stoick dismissively. "There's far too much to do around here."

"I think the people can survive a few days without you," said Ragnar.

"He's right Dad, but to be honest the reason we're really here is that I've got a dragon problem back on the island," said Hiccup.

"Dragon problem?" said Stoick looking up. "What kind of a dragon problem?"

"Well, you see, we're trying to relocate a new species of dragon and I thought we could handle it, but we could really use you help," said Hiccup.

"Yeah, that dragon has been trashing your base every night and we haven't even come close to capture it," said Ragnar.

"Well, I suppose I could spare a moment, if you really need me," said Stoick thoughtfully.

"Oh, we do," Hiccup assured as they walked out of the arena. "We really, really do."

"And I think the village will give out a sigh of relief," Ragnar said under his breath.

* * *

Back at, Dragon's Edge, Gobber and the riders had just finished constructing a large rock wall that surrounded the base.

"I have to admit, that's one impressive wall," said Astrid. "It should stop the Rumblehorn, at least from the ground."

"I'm going to call it Greta, after my first love," said Gobber. "Large, sturdy. Beefy, some would say."

Then they had a dragon growl in the distance and recognise it as once as the Rumblehorn.

"It's coming from the west! And it's getting closer!" Fishlegs yelled.

Astrid flew up into the sky and saw movement in the forest. "Everybody, mount up!" she ordered.

All the riders mounted their dragons and took off into the sky, leaving Gobber at the base of the wall. He placed his arms around it to hold it in place.

"I'm not moving! The wall will hold," he said.

Then something rammed into the wall with such force that the whole wall shock. When it stopped Gobber look triumphant.

"Ha ha! Told ya my Greta would hold," he said proudly.

However, the watchtower surrounding the wall did not. They toppled over and were falling straight towards Gobber.

"Oh, Greta, how could ya?" said Gobber before the watchtowers landed on top of him.

The riders quickly returned and began to dig Gobber out.

"Hurry up and move those logs!" Astrid ordered.

Astrid and Stormfly then push one of the locked away and found Gobber lying on the crumpled floor.

"Gobber, are you all right?" she asked.

"Good morning, mummy," said Gobber in a daze. His eyes were pointed in all directions and it was clear he was unaware of his surroundings. "Is it time fer dragon-killing school?"

He then collapsed.

"Hey, at least this wall held," said Snotlout. "Of course, everything else got crushed."

They then heard another dragon roar and the twins acted at once without thinking.

"Incoming!" Tuffnut yelled. They then began blasting the incoming dragons that were heading towards them with Barf and Belch's gas and spark attack and Hookfang joined them. "Fire, fire! Use all weapons! Start blasting!"

The Dragons they were attacking were actually Toothless and Skull. Fortunately, both dragons were agile enough to dodge the attacks.

"Hey, it's us. Cut it out!" Hiccup yelled.

At one of the twins and Hookfang stop their attacks.

"Oh, okay. Sorry about that," said Tuffnut apologetically. He then noticed that Stoick was with them. "Nice to see you, Chief. You're looking very fit. Your hands seem to be rough and well-worked. Anyway, welcome to Rumblehorn hell."

Stoick got off of Toothless' back and surveyed the damage that the Rumblehorn had caused.

"You two weren't kidding about having dragon problems," he said.

"Is anybody hurt?" Ragnar asked looking at Astrid.

"Well, sort of," said Astrid looking at Gobber.

Gobber had regained consciousness, but had that dazed expression. At the moment he thought he was a Viking housewife.

"Hello, loveies. Who'd like some figgy pudding?" he said holding out a boot.

Everyone just dead at him in silence.

"What's wrong with him?" said Stoick breaking the silence.

"Well, Chief, you can start with a peg leg. And then you add in the hook and the bad breath, weird neck. I mean, look at his neck," said Tuffnut.

"He'll be fine," said Snotlout cutting across Tuffnut. "He got hit by a watchtower."

Gobber was now laughing at Toothleess as if he made a joke. "Ah, yeh killing me. Who knew you were such a card?" he laughed.

Astrid then turned to look at Hiccup. "Hiccup, these Rumblehorn attacks are getting out of hand. We have to do something," she said.

"Okay then, first things first," said Stoick. "We start with—"

"Astrid, you search the eastern coastline," Hiccup interrupted and she nodded. "Ruff, Tuff, you have the west." The twins saluted. "My father and I will take the middle of the island. Ragnar, Fishlegs and Snotlout you take care of Gobber and keep fixing the base."

"Got it," said Ragnar and Fishlegs at the same time.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute there, Dragon Master," said Snotlout. Gobber then presses finger on his chin.

"Hello, little fella," said Gobber.

"How come I have to stay behind?" Snotlout demanded.

Gobber then began to growl and grabbed Snotlout's face. "I'm a dragon," he said.

"Okay, fine, you want a hunt the unstoppable, bloodthirsty Dragon instead?" Hiccup asked.

"Bloodthirsty dragon, huh?" said Snotlout thoughtfully.

"Ohh, look at my tail," said Gobber waving his butt around. He then pulled Snotlout close to him. "Do dragons chase their tails or do they breathe fire on them? I don't know."

"On second thought, I don't want to give you guys are unfair advantage," said Snotlout and began rubbing Gobber's stomach. "So I should stay behind and protect one of the archipelago's national treasures."

"The sun is a shiny potato covered in dawn butter," said Gobber looking up at the sun.

"And the moon is a scoop of ice cream," said Snotlout.

Hiccup just shook his head and walked away.

* * *

Minutes later, Hiccup and Stoick were in the air begin their search for the Rumblehorn and Stoick couldn't help but feel cheerful about it.

"Ah, it's good to be back up in the air again," he said blissfully as he looked down at the island. "No wonder you never come back to visit. This island is spectacular."

"Thanks, Dad, but we're not going to be able keep any of it if we don't solve our Rumblehorn problem," said Hiccup.

"Right. When exactly did you start having trouble with it?" Stoick asked.

"A few weeks ago. We didn't even know it was on the island. And then suddenly it was everywhere," Hiccup explained. "First it just went after wild dragons, then it started coming after us."

"And how many dragons has it killed?"

"None yet. This dragon is more than strong. It's fast, it's smart and it's elusive. We've never even gotten a good look at it."

"This does seem like quite the challenge, doesn't it?" said Stoick as if hunting a dangerous dragon was the thrill of a lifetime.

"Yes it does," Hiccup agreed.

Stoick then laughed. "Look at the two of us—" he said shaking his son's shoulders. "To Viking men on the hunt, aiming to catch a wild beast."

"See? You're cheering up already, right?" said Hiccup smirking.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, son."

Then they saw pack of Deadly Nadder's flying out of the forest.

"There!" the two men yelled pointing.

Toothless full down into the clearing, but once they landed they found nothing.

"You see what I mean?" said Hiccup as they hopped off Toothless. "Every time, we just miss it."

"Well, we didn't see it fly away, so have to be on foot," said Stoick. "But which way?"

Hiccup then noticed several trees with broken branches as though something large had toured past them and ripped them off.

"Over here," he said. "Check the direction of the trees he took down."

Stoick smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder. "After you, son."

Hiccup then led him and Toothless through the trail of broken apart trees and Stoick haven't felt like this since the Dragon Wars when he and his hunting party were tracking down dragons.

"Ho ho, this is great," he said rubbing his hands together.

They had been walking for hours and now it was sunset they had found a tracks of the Rumblehorn. That followed the tracks that it had clearly led, but still it was like they were one step behind it.

"These footprints are fresh," said Hiccup studying the tracks. "We should be right on top of it."

"It's like the beast can sense us coming, and then it changes direction," said Stoick rubbing his beard. "A truly worthy adversarial."

They continued on walking, but still they found nothing, not even a scale.

"We've got to be getting close," said Hiccup tiredly as they enter the clearing.

"Ah, I don't think so," said Stoick. "We've been here before. Look at the broken branches on this side of the trail. The beast is double back on us."

"Wait, you think it knows we're handing it?" said Hiccup eyes widened.

"No, I think it's hunting us."

"Oh, that's good! No, I prefer it much the other way around," said Hiccup sarcastically.

Hiccup then noticed his father walking towards a large log and you recognise the look on his face. It was the same look he had when he got an idea.

"What are you thinking, Dad?" he asked.

Stoick then to a branch of the log and turned to face him. "I might have an idea on how we're going to catch this beast."

Minutes later, Stoick stood in the middle of the clearing with a piece of rope in one hand and a large branch and the other. He began slamming the brand on the ground and singing as he did.

 _Well, I've got my club and I've got my rope,_

 _And I smell like a yak because I don't use soap._

 _I'm a Viking through and through!_

Then a dragon roared and then he saw it.

The Rumblehorn dark green and brown scales with large wings, a wide torso, and a tail with a club-like hammer on the tip. It was heavily armed front half of its body with firm armour plates on the neck and a large lower jaw, a battle axe-shaped muzzle, which was digging in the dirt as it walked towards, and on its head it had two, very sharp, elongated horns.

"Well, you're magnificent! And you've got a lot to say for yourself, don't you?" said Stoick looking extremely impressed.

The Rumblehorn just roared and looked as though was about to charge.

"Now, let's see if you can back it up," said Stoick tossing aside the branch.

The two charge at one another at the exact same time and then Hiccup and Toothless appeared in the air with a net ready to catch it. However, the Rumblehorn saw it and ran to the left just as Hiccup threw the net.

"Dad, get out of there!" Hiccup yelled.

"Not a chance!" yelled Stoick, who was still charging towards the Rumblehorn.

Stoick lassoed the Rumblehorn's front horn. The Rumblehorn tried to threw Stoick off by tossing him around, but he simple landed into front of him. The Rumblehorn then began to take off.

"Oh, no, you don't!" said Stoick and pulled on the rope.

The next thing the Rumblehorn knew he was slammed into the ground. The Rumblehorn looked at him and he looked back at him, Stoick could see they had one thing in common, they don't give up easily.

"Dad, let go of the rope!" Hiccup yelled.

However, before he could do anything, the Rumblehorn took off again and this time pulled Stoick along with it. They climbed higher and higher until they were above the tree, but the Rumblehorn kept on flying upwards.

"Dad, don't let go of the rope!" Hiccup yelled.

However, unfortunately, Stoick began losing his grip on the rope and began to plummet towards the ground. The Rumblehorn then turned around and flew down straight at him.

"Oh, you want a piece of me on the way down, do you?" Stoick yelled as if falling to his death was no biggie. "Come and get me!"

The Rumblehorn roared as he got closer and closer towards him.

"Come on!"

Then Hiccup and Toothless appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Stoick. Toothless quickly flew off and the Rumblehorn flew past them.

"We'd better get back to Dragon's Edge for reinforcements," Hiccup advised.

"Agreed," said Stoick and looked back at the Rumblehorn that had just landed on the beach. "This isn't over, Rumblehorn!"

They then flew off back towards Dragon's Edge, but neither of them saw the Rumblehorn sniffing the rope Stoick had used.

* * *

It was night when they returned to Dragon's Edge and they landed at the dome. The other riders with fortifying the base with anything they could get their heads on.

"Where's Gobber?" Stoick asked.

Then they saw Gobber chasing after several boars with paint of his face. "Come back, please. Ha ha!" he yelled.

"Boar pit," Snotlout guessed.

"Okay, Gobber accounted for," said Hiccup.

"He's got a massive concussion on his head it'll be a while yet before he's his normal self," said Ragnar.

"Hiccup, did you find the Rumblehorn?" Astrid asked.

"More like he found us," Hiccup answered.

"Ha ha, gave us quite a good run, that one," said Stoick.

"We're going to resupply, and then we all need to go look for it," said Hiccup.

"Eh, I bet I can find him, like right now," said Tuffnut.

"Oh, really," said Snotlout sceptically.

"Oh, yeah."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah."

"How's that?"

"Wait for it," said Tuffnut. He then pointed up into the sky. "Bing!"

They all turned and saw the Rumblehorn flying down towards them.

"What the—ah!" Hiccup moaned. He then looked at the riders. "Hey, everybody? On your dragons! We need to draw him away from Dragon's Edge." He then looked up at the Rumblehorn in wonder. "It tracked us all the way here."

"Impressive," said Stoick looking impressed.

"Dad, let's catch him first. Then we can admire him," said Hiccup running up to Toothless.

Within seconds they all mounted their dragons, Stoick hitched a ride with Hiccup and Toothless. They then made their way towards the incoming Rumblehorn then all of a sudden the Night Terror flew right past them.

"Where are all the Night Terrors going?" said Hiccup puzzled.

The Rumblehorn then flew right past them and towards the base.

"And why isn't the Rumblehorn following us?" Stoick asked.

"Because it's following him," said Hiccup.

Gobber was still at the base chasing around boars and completely unaware of the Rumblehorn flying towards him.

"Mr. Boar, come back, please. I just want to have a friendly chat," said Gobber.

Hiccup quickly fall the Rumblehorn, but they will be able to reach Gobber fast enough.

"Let's get his attention, bud," said Hiccup.

Toothless then fired a plasma blast, but the Rumblehorn dodged it and kept on flying like you need noticed it. It then landed on the ground and roared causing all the nearby Night Terrors to fly away.

It then turned its attention to Gobber, who hadn't noticed it at all. It roared and then shot straight at him.

"Stormfly, spine shot!" Astrid ordered.

Stormfly fired several her spikes at the Rumblehorn, but they bounced off its armour and it kept on charging.

Ragnar, Snotlout and the twins got their dragons to fire their breath attacks at the Rumblehorn, but it kept on going through the flames.

"For as powerful as that dragon is, he doesn't seem to have a real first for blood," Stoick noted.

"Not yet, but it's still going after Gobber," said Hiccup.

The Rumblehorn was now a feet away from Gobber and it showed no signs of slowing down. Hiccup was left with no choice, he had to kill the Rumblehorn.

"I hate to do this, but it's the Rumblehorn or Gobber," he said. He looked down at Toothless. "We may only get one shot at this, bud. Let's make it count!"

Stoick looked extremely puzzled, the Rumblehorn had been scaring the dragons off the island and wasn't taking the territorial. It had attacked the base, but left the riders and their dragons unharmed. It hasn't killed anyone, in fact it hadn't injured anyone either.

"This doesn't make any sense," he said. He then saw several Night Terrors flyovers if they were afraid of something and it wasn't the Rumblehorn. "Unless—Hiccup, wait!"

Stoick quickly pulled at Toothless making him miss his shot.

"Dad, what you doing?" Hiccup yelled.

"Not so fast, ya," said Gobber stroking the tired boar.

The boar then ran off when it heard the Rumblehorn approach. Gobber turned just in time to see the Rumblehorn stop in its tracks and then it roared in his face.

"Oh, look, it's Pepe, my favourite pet yak," said Gobber happily and began to stroke the Rumblehorn. The Rumblehorn was taken aback and Hiccup wasn't surprised, it didn't look anything like a yak. "We didn't eat ya on Snoggletog morning after all. No."

Hiccup stared, the Rumblehorn has made an attempt to kill or eat Gobber.

"If that dragon wanted to hurt people, he'd have done it by now. Something else is going on here," said Stoick.

"Like what?" Hiccup asked.

"Only one way to find out. Put me down next to him," said Stoick.

Hiccup then flew down towards the ground, and the other riders followed him. Gobber was still there hugging the Rumblehorn and making baby sounds. He then noticed Stoick hopping off Toothless.

"Ha ha ha! Stoick, you remember Pepe?" he said cheerfully.

"Yes, yes, Gobber," said Stoick humouring him and made his way to the Rumblehorn. "Pepe and I need to have a wee chat."

Gobber then looked at Hiccup. "Hiccup, have you met Pepe?" he yelled.

"Oh, gods," Hiccup muttered under his breath.

Stoick approached the Rumblehorn, which was given a low growl, and the two stared at one another.

"What is it that you really want, dragon?" Stoick asked.

The Rumblehorn then turned and looked out to sea. Stoick then looked at the other riders.

"I think this dragon is trying to tell us something," he said.

The Rumblehorn then roared and slammed its head on the ground and at once the other dragons began to act weird. They all growled and then flew up into the air, apart from Toothless.

"What is happening, what is happening, what is happening?" Fishlegs yelled panicking as the dragons flew around in circles.

"I think you're right," said Hiccup.

The Rumblehorn then tossed Stoick into the air.

"Dad!"

Stoick then landed on the Rumblehorn's back. "Whoa, big fella! Hold on there!" he said.

The Rumblehorn then took off and flew out to sea.

"Go get 'em, bud!" said Hiccup.

Toothless then took off and began to chase down the Rumblehorn. The other dragons then followed Toothless lead and so they all met up.

"Son, out there!" Stoick yelled pointing.

Hiccup looked and saw massive wave heading their way. "The sea level—" he gasped. "Is it rising?"

Hiccup flew up closer towards it and saw that the way was big enough to swallow the coast side. He quickly flew back to base where the other riders were waiting.

"There's a giant wave heading for us," said Hiccup hopping off Toothless. "The Rumblehorn knew it and was trying to get us to leave. He was trying to save us! That explains why he was chasing Gobber."

"I'm not buying it," said Tuffnut not looking convinced. "Okay, guys, real quick—" he said looking at the others. "How long does it take to learn to swim?"

"No one has the swim. We just need to block the wave from hitting the camp," said Hiccup.

"Isn't it a little late for that, Hiccup?" said Snotlout.

"No!" said Astrid. "Gobber's rock wall—" They all turned and looked at the wall. "That's big enough to stop the wave. We just need to reinforce it."

"We better do that fast," said Ragnar looking out to sea. "That wave is nearly upon us."

Ragnar was right they only had about ten minutes before the wave hit them.

At once the all set to work. They have in more blocks to the wall in order to make it higher and stronger.

"The wave's coming! Hurry!" Fishlegs yelled. He then noticed that the wall was nowhere high enough. "The wall's not going to be high enough to stop that wave!"

"And it's cracking!" Astrid yelled.

She was right water was leaking out of the cracks in the rock.

"You handle the cracks, son! I've got an idea," Stoick yelled.

"You heard the man!" Hiccup yelled looking at the riders.

"On it!" Astrid yelled.

Astrid then flew down towards the wall.

"Stormfly, spine shot!" she commanded.

Stormfly then fired several spikes at the cracks in the rocks plugging up the holes.

"Meatlug, spew!" Fishlegs commanded.

Meatlug then fired several lava blasts that noted the rocks together.

While they were doing that, the other riders began adding more rocks to it, but there were running out of time the wave was minutes away.

Stoick meanwhile had reached to a large sea stack but overlooked the base.

"All right, then, let's finish what you started," he said looking down at the Rumblehorn.

The Rumblehorn roared and charged straight at the sea stack, he then blasted the base with several fireballs which exploded on impact. He then charged straight at the sea stack at full speed.

"Full speed, big fella!" Stoick yelled.

The Rumblehorn was happy to oblige and ran straight into the sea stack. The impact caused the sea stack to topple over and it landed straight on top of the wall just as the wave was about to hit it.

The wave slammed into the wall, but it was strong enough to withstand the force and the wave disbursed.

* * *

The next morning, the riders were busy clearing up the rubble. Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs just dead and marvel at the Rumblehorn as it flew past with Stoick on its back.

"I can't believe it, guys," said Fishlegs. "If that Rumblehorn hadn't warned us, we would have been wiped out."

"I'm more impressed now how he tracked us down," said Ragnar.

They watched as the Rumblehorn flew upwards into the air and they heard Stoick laughing.

"Look at this guy. He's amazing," Fishlegs continued.

"Yes!" Stoick agreed flying up to them. "You can say that again, Fishlegs."

"You know, guys, this is a whole new class of dragon. We need a name."

"Well, it tracked us down," said Hiccup thoughtfully. "How about Tacker Class?"

"Tacker Class?" Snotlout scoffed. "Yeah, right! That sounds something I would come up with."

"Perfect."

"Sounds good to me," said Ragnar.

"Tacker Class it is," said Fishlegs.

"What? You like it?" Snotlout bewildered. "Aw, come on!"

* * *

A few hours later, Gobber had recovered and was now his ship which was anchored at the port. Hiccup, Ragnar and Stoick were there along with Toothless and the Rumblehorn.

"Gobber, I sure am glad you're back to normal," said Hiccup.

"Yeah, not sure what all went on, but I'm still sore in places I didn't know I had," said Gobber looking slightly puzzled.

"Just take it easy and in a few days you'll be back to full strength," Ragnar assured.

"Well, son, I'm glad I let you insist I come here," said Stoick.

"You know, Dad, when me and Ragnar first came back to Berk, I thought you might be missing me. But it was Thornado all along," said Hiccup.

"Aw, I do miss that magnificent beast," said Stoick rubbing the Rumblehorn, who seemed to like it. "We had some connection, he and I."

"Oh, I get it," said Hiccup walking up to Toothless and gave him a rub. "No, I can't imagine what it would be like without Toothless."

"Well, Thornado will never be replaced, but this guys…" said Stoick gesturing to the Rumblehorn, "we're a lot alike, he and I. We're both protectors, we're both leaders."

"And you're both hard-headed," Gobber added.

"Hard-headed, you say?" said Stoick climbing on the Rumblehorn. "Skull-crushing's more like it." He then stopped and looked down at the Rumblehorn. "Wait, that's what we'll call you. Skullcrusher!"

Skullcrusher roared informing them that he likes his new name.

Hiccup and Ragnar waved them goodbye, but before leaving Stoick said to Hiccup, "And by the way, son? I do miss you. A lot, in fact."

Hiccup smiled.

Stoick looked down at Skullcrusher. "All right, big fella. Let's get back to Berk," he said as they took off. "I've got the perfect saddle waiting for you."

Hiccup and Ragnar watched as they disappeared into the distance and then Toothless licked Hiccup. He then ran off and Hiccup shook his head.

"All right, guys, we have a lot of work to do. So, let's get to it," said Hiccup.

"Like father like son," Ragnar chuckled.


	9. Quake, Rattle and Roll

It was a normal day on Dragon's Edge and Hiccup and Ragnar, were building a long ranged spyglass in order to look out to sea for enemy ships.

"All right. I think one more plasma blast should do the trick, bud," said Hiccup looking at Toothless, who was standing next to them.

Toothless fired a plasma blast at the spyglass welding the metal together. Both Hiccup and Ragnar coughed and spluttered at the smoke. When the smoke cleared they could see the spyglass was now fully complete.

"Great job!" said Hiccup.

"Nice," said Astrid, who wandered towards them and look through the spyglass. She could see for miles around. "I can see straight to the horizon."

"That should make it harder for anyone to sneak up on us," said Hiccup.

"Dagur included," Ragnar added.

"Now, I wonder how the twins' lookout tower is coming along," said Hiccup.

"I can only imagine," said Astrid crossing her arms.

* * *

At the coastline, the twins had just finished their lookout tower and were marvelling their achievement.

"Ah, yeah, on," said Ruffunt in amazement.

"Hey. Does something seem after you?" Tuffnut asked.

"Yeah. This should have fallen down a long time ago," said Ruffnut puzzled.

"Maybe we actually did something…" said Tuffnut rubbing his chin. "No, that's impossible."

"Say it."

"Something… right?"

The twins gasped at that statement and Tuffnut began touching all over his body.

"I have a weird feeling inside. Is an accomplishment?" he asked stunned.

"Whoa! I think I feel it, too," said Ruffnut amazed. "Quick! Let's go rub it in Hiccup's face before the feeling's subsides!"

They quickly rushed to Barf and Belch and took off merrily.

* * *

Meanwhile at the clubhouse, Fishlegs was studying the Dragon Eye. He was using different types of Gronckle lava to learn more about the Gronckle.

"Very interesting," he said dotting down notes from the projections on the wall.

He then pulled a large basket of rocks towards Meatlug. "Okay, girl, let's move on to rock experiment test subject three, river stones" he said.

"Hey, what are you doing, Fishlegs?" yelled Snotlout's voice.

Fishlegs turned and found Snotlout was leaning on the doorway. "Oh, hey, Snotlout," he said. "Well, if you're asking, and testing how different rocks make Meatlug produce different flame and how that changes the projections in the Dragon Eye."

"Oh, that's right. I just remembered, you're boring and I don't care," said Snotlout walking out.

Fishlegs just glared at him and then Meatlug spewed out some lava on the floor next to the table where the Dragon Eye was placed.

"Yep! Couldn't have put it better myself, girl," he said. He turned and revenue projection on the Dragon Eye. "Ooh, even more interesting."

* * *

Meanwhile, outside, the twins had just arrived.

"Hiccup! Drop everything you're doing and bring your face," said Tuffnut.

The riders just stared at them.

"Prepare to be rubbed," said Ruffnut.

Minutes later they found themselves on the coastline with the twins facing them and Barf and Belch were blocking their view.

"Dragon Riders, you asked for it. We built it. Presenting you…" said Tuffnut. Ruffnut put her hands together to and blue to make a trumpet sound, "with your new rock lookout tower!"

Batf and Belch then took off, but all they saw was open sea and the twins just said dumbfounded.

"You guys never disappoint, do you?" said Snotlout.

"What? No! Wait!" said Tuffnut turned to face them. "It was here a minute ago!" He then looked at his sister. "What did you do with it, Ruffnut?"

"What? I didn't do anything with it!" Ruffnut yelled at him.

"You liar she-beast!" Tuffnut yelled back. "You were always jealous of my rock tower."

"Your rock tower? It was my rock tower!"

Ruffnut then tackled into the ground and the two began fighting one another. Astrid and Ragnar do shook their faces in disbelief, Snotlout smiled at the site and Hiccup just stared at them with an emotionless expression.

The two then drew their weapons charge at one another yelling. It was at that moment that Hiccup placed himself between them.

"Okay, okay, okay," he said calmly. "Let everyone step away from the sharp objects."

The twins dropped their weapons and Hiccup sighed.

"Okay, look, maybe this job was just too tough for you to do alone," he said. "I could always put Astrid on the project with you."

Astrid did not like that idea at all. "Hiccup, let's not be hasty," she said quickly.

"But we did build it. Honest," said Ruffnut.

"Trust me H, no one was more surprised about that then we were," Tuffnut added.

"Hiccup! Ragnar! Come quickly!" Fishlegs' voice shouted.

"That does not sound good," said Astrid.

"If it's not one thing it's another," Ragnar sighed.

Without a second thought, Hiccup and Ragnar ran up to the clubhouse.

"Fishlegs?" Hiccup called as they ran inside.

"Careful where you step," said Fishlegs' voice.

They look down to the floor was covered with different colours of lava. They carefully tiptoed towards the desk where the Dragon Eye was placed on. Then Fishlegs landed in front of them on Meatlug, making notes in his notebook.

"Fishlegs, what's wrong?" Hiccup asked.

"Wrong?" Fishlegs chuckled. "Nothing's wrong. Except I may have just made the greatest discovery in the history of Berkain civilisation!" He then pointed upwards.

Hiccup and Ragnar looked up and saw three projections, one was a Gronckle and the other two world landmarks and one of them resembled a Gronckle.

"That's not what I think it is, is it?" said Ragnar.

Hiccup looked at Fishlegs. "Oh, Fishlegs, is that…"

"Mm-hmm, this is a Gronckle and here's the boulder surrounded by water and the dual mountain peaks," said Fishlegs flying up towards the projections and pointing them out. He then looked down at the two boys. "Ooh! Dark Deep!"

"The ancestral home of the Gronckles," said Hiccup.

"But it was said that place was nothing more than a myth," said Ragnar in disbelief.

"It's real. And we finally found it," said Fishlegs excitedly.

"Yeah. What's so great about this?" Snotlout asked, he had just entered the clubhouse to see what was up.

"Do I really have to explain?" said Fishlegs impatiently.

"Your boring discovery? Yes."

"Dark Deep is an island that, up to now, we were never sure existed," Fishlegs explained. "It's not in the _Book of Dragons_ anywhere. However, in Bork's papers, there is a mention of it, but only briefly and in contexts to a completely different species. If we are able to find Dark Deep, it could unlock so many secrets, not only of the Gronckles, but the entire Boulder Class of dragons. You understand how amazing this is?"

"Indeed, we may be define proof of dragon evolution, migrate patterns, what kind of food they used to eat," said Ragnar, who stunned look as excited as Fishlegs.

They all looked at Snotlout, who was busy cleaning out his ears. Once he realised that they were staring at him, he quickly stopped.

"Check that! I actually don't care," he said walking out the clubhouse.

Fishlegs then landed in front of Hiccup and Ragnar. "Guys, I've taken the liberty of charting a course based on these encryptions," he said. "This island is so remote it's further than we've ever flown before."

Meatlug then brought happily and Fishlegs rubbed her chin. "I've never seen Meatlug so excited. Just think, I will be the first Berkian to ever set foot on Dark Deep. What an honour."

"Okay, I get it, Fishlegs," said Hiccup holding his hands up. "But Toothless and I should go with you, just in case you need help."

"And don't even think you're leaving me out of this," said Ragnar.

"Okay, you two can come, too," said Fishlegs, looking slightly disappointed. "But I'm the first one to set foot. You two are second and third."

"Okay, we promise," said Hiccup, finding the whole scene amusing.

"As do I," said Ragnar placing a hand over his heart.

"Well, then welcome aboard, guys," said Fishlegs. He then looked down at Meatlug. "Come on, Meatlug, we need to go pack!"

Meatlug then flew off, excitedly leaving behind a bewildered Hiccup and Ragnar.

"He's way too excited about this," said Ragnar.

* * *

The next morning, Hiccup and Ragnar were finishing their packing for the long trip to Dark Deep, but then they heard groaning from the twins. They looked extremely tired as did Barf and Belch.

"Uh, Ruff, Tuff?" said Hiccup.

The twins groaned.

"Keep it down, will you?" Ruffnut groaned. "We were up all night rebuilding the outlook tower from scratch."

"Hey, great," said Hiccup, he then looked at Ragnar. "We should have a look at it then, shouldn't we?"

"If you insist," said Ragnar.

"Get ready to feast your eyes," said Tuffnut.

Minutes later, there were on the coastline, but they could not see a single lookout tower insight. Hiccup and Ragnar looked at one another then looked at the twins, who had their backs against the coastline.

"Okay, so what should my eyes be feasting on, exactly?" Hiccup asked.

"Well, that our tower—oh, come on!" said Tuffnut. He and Ruffnut just turned around and found that there was nothing there.

"Wait, maybe we were pointing in the wrong direction," said Tuffnut looking around. "No, that's it. Left of the chicken. Hi, chicken. Somebody keeps stealing our tower!"

"Ah, come on! You know no one's going to admit it," said Ruffnut walking off. "Let's just go rebuild the stupid thing."

"Can't trust anyone on this outpost," Tuffnut grumbled and followed his sister.

"Yeah. You're all a bag of liars."

"Is it me or are the twins acting stranger than usual," said Ragnar leaning over to Hiccup.

Hiccup didn't know how to answer that question.

* * *

Moments later, they were flying over the open sea with Fishlegs, who decided to sing all the way to Dark Deep.

 _Dark Deep at last I've found you,_

 _Dark Deep the Gronckles surround you._

Both Hiccup and Ragnar laughed.

"Fishlegs, I haven't seen you this excited since Snoggletog morning when we were seven," said Hiccup.

"Yeah, if you get any more excited you'll fall of Meatlug," said Ragnar.

"I know. I couldn't even finish third breakfast," said Fishlegs excitedly. "I hope I don't get too hungry."

Then he and Meatlug zoomed off.

"Dark Deep, here we come."

* * *

A hour later, they saw Dark Deep. It looked a lot like Outcast Island, expect there were no trees or any dragons.

Fishlegs didn't seem to care, without a moment hesitation, he jumped off Meatlug and landed on the island.

"Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, Fishlegs!" he yelled triumphantly. "I can't believe I'm actually here." Meatlug then shoved him. "Sorry, girl. We're here."

He then picked a couple of rocks and began singing and dancing.

 _Dark Deep is your home,_

 _where all the rock eaters roam._

Hiccup and Ragnar just hovered above him with their arms crossed. Toothless then gave a light roar and Hiccup shrugged. Then then landed next to Fishlegs, who was still singing and dancing.

 _Where Gronckles have fun,_

 _eating rocks by the ton._

 _And the rocks are all rocky,_

 _with families of rocks._

 _And their feeding their…_

Fishlegs then cleaned his throat and looked at Hiccup and Ragnar. "I'll work on that last part, guys," he said.

"Hey, I love the song," said Hiccup as he and Ragnar hopped off their dragons. "It's just one thing. Where are all the roaming Gronckles?

"Yeah, we should be up to our neck in Gronckles," said Ragnar. "And there ain't none."

"You think we could have landed on the wrong—"

"No," said Fishlegs firmly. "That's Gravel Lake and that's definitely the duel perks of Mount Grunt. Guys, this is Dark Deep."

Toothless just did a small growl.

"Yeah, I'm with you, bud," said Hiccup.

Then they heard Meatlug growl and saw looking down into a ravine. Fishlegs walked up and looked down and saw several Gronckles at the bottom.

"Oh, look. Meatlug found some new friends," he said. Hiccup and Ragnar then went up to join him. "I told you there were Gronckles here."

Meatlug then flew down into the ravine and approach the Gronckles, but instead of welcoming her they growled at her.

"The ravine is to narrow for Skull to get in," said Ragnar looking at Hiccup and Fishlegs. "Me and Skull will have to wait out here."

Fishlegs nodded and then climbed down to join, but end up slipping on a rock and fell on his butt. Hiccup and Toothless soon joined him and they notice the strange reaction that the Gronckles were showing.

"That's strange behaviour for a Gronckle," said Hiccup. "They're usually pretty friendly."

Then the whole ravine shock.

"Well, that could be what's doing it," Fishlegs suggested. "No one likes earthquakes." Suddenly Toothless got tense as if he was sensing something. Fishlegs thought it was because of the earthquake. "See?"

However, it wasn't the earthquake, it was something else deep within the ravine. Hiccup and Fishlegs squinted and then saw massive boulder rolling towards them.

"Runaway boulder! Meatlug!" Fishlegs yelled.

Fishlegs climbed onto Meatlug's back and began to herd the Gronckles away. Toothless tried blasting it with several plasma blasts, but it had no effect. Realising that there was no stopping it, Toothless ran after Fishlegs and Meatlug.

"Fishlegs!" Hiccup yelled.

Fishlegs turned and saw Hiccup and Toothless slamming them and the Gronckles against the ravine wall. This caused the boulder to roll past them and they all gave a sigh of relief.

"That was close," said Fishlegs.

Then something very strange happened, the bowler came to a stop and then rolled back towards them, _uphill_.

"Hey, Fishlegs? When was the last time you saw boulder roll uphill?" Hiccup asked nervously.

"Um, never?" Fishlegs answered nervously.

"Yeah. Me, neither."

"How is that possible?" Fishlegs yelled.

"No time to find out!" Hiccup yelled.

They and the Gronckle then ran in the opposite direction. They looked up, but the ravine's edges were so close together that was impossible to fly out.

"We can't avoid it!" Fishlegs yelled.

Toothless fired another plasma blasts at the boulder, but it had the same effect as last time. Then Hiccup source side tunnel that was large enough for them to enter.

"Quick, down here," he said.

Quickly they entered the side tunnel and narrowly the avoided the boulder. However, there was no way out of the cavern, except for a small hole that was way too small for them to get out of.

"It doesn't look like we can fly out, bud," said Hiccup.

"Looks like you guys could use some help," said a voice.

They looked through the hole and saw Ragnar's face.

"Ragnar!" they yelled.

"We notice the rolling boulder that seems content of squashing you," he said.

"No kidding," said Hiccup. "We'll have to find another way out."

"It's okay. I think we lost it," said Fishlegs looking out of the cavern.

"Then let's move out. Quietly," said Hiccup.

"Me and Skull will fall your progress outside," said Ragnar and his face vanished.

Soon they all entered the ravine again and then they heard a stomach rumbling. They all stared at Fishlegs, who look to them quite awkwardly.

"What? That's what happens when you don't eat third breakfast," said Fishlegs innocently.

Then they heard a rumbling sound in the distance and you at once the boulder was rolling back towards them.

"Guys, you best move," said Ragnar's voice.

"We see it," said Hiccup as the boulder came into view.

It was then that they discovered that it wasn't a boulder, it was a thirty foot dragon.

The dragon had a somewhat stubby and short body with rather small wings. It scales were dark brown and its body was wrinkly like that of a Gronckle, but instead of bumps it had spikes all over its body. Its lower jaw was split in two, and each jaw had two tongues on each side.

It then roared at them and shot straight at them. At once they screamed and ran, just as it slammed its huge tail towards them. It's tell hit the ravine wall causing a small cave in, Hiccup and Fishlegs would have been crushed by the rocks if Toothless hadn't shielded them with his wings.

"Impressive. Definitely a Boulder Class," said Fishlegs excitedly. "Hiccup, what about _Catastrophic Quaken_ as the name?"

"Well, I think we should name it later and focus on not getting killed by it," said Hiccup climbing on Toothless' back.

Toothless then fired a plasma blast, but it seemed only make it madder. Hiccup then notice that Ragnar and Skull were busy chipping away at the ravine's edge. Skull was smashing his bony tail at the edge breaking apart the rocks and making the opening wider.

"I see you made a new friend," said Ragnar.

"Trust me, he's not really that friendly," said Hiccup. "As long as it's rolled up in that ball, I think we're safe." He then turned and looked at Fishlegs. "Fishlegs, get those Gronckles in the air."

The Gronckles do need to be told twice, they washed out of the ravine as fast as their wings could carry them. Hiccup and Fishlegs then flew out and Ragnar flew after them.

Seconds later, the Quaken shot out of the ravine like it just had been fired from a catapulted. It then rolled itself into a ball and plummeted down to the ground at the moment to make contact it created a massive shockwave that not everyone backwards, it was so powerful that Fishlegs was thrown off Meatlug.

"Okay, on second thought, maybe we're not save after all," said Hiccup recovering from the shock wave.

"We're gonna beat this thing," said Ragnar.

"Agreed," said Hiccup flying towards Fishlegs. Toothless grabbed him and placed in back on Meatlug. "Fishlegs, Meatlug, retreat."

"I thought you'd never ask," said Fishlegs.

Toothless and Skull flew around the Quaken too distracted so that Fishlegs could get the other Gronckles out safely.

"Okay. Come on," he whispered.

The Gronckles took off and soon Hiccup and Skull joined them as they left Dark Deep.

* * *

When they got back to Dragon's Edge that evening, the other riders weren't too pleased that they brought a bunch of Gronckles with them.

"Really? More Gronckles?" said Snotlout.

"Just a few stray Gronckles," said Hiccup blankly. "We should be able to handle that."

"Just a few strays, he says," said Ruffnut.

"Yeah, you should really have a look at this," said Astrid pointing towards the dome.

The three riders looked and saw tons of Gronckles just sitting there.

"Well, at least this explains the disappearing lookout tower," said Ragnar.

"So this is where all the Gronckles from Dark Deep went," said Hiccup.

"Can you believe they flew all this way?" said Fishlegs amazed. "Gronckles may be slow, but they are tenacious."

"Yeah. Tell me about it," Tuffnut muttered. He then glared at a Gronckle, who had just eaten a rock. "Don't put that rock in your mouth. You have no idea where it's been, mister."

"Hiccup, these guys are out of control," said Astrid. "We have to get them back to the island."

"There might be a problem with that," said Hiccup.

"Yeah, a really big problem," said Ragnar.

"They've been chased from their homeland by a giant Boulder Class dragon," said Fishlegs. "The Catastrophic Quaken, to be exact."

"Quaken Shamaken. You will let one lousy dragon take over Meatlug's entire island?" Snotlout scoffed.

"It's not that simple, Snotlout," said Fishlegs.

"Sure it is. Quaken, one. Meatlug," said Snotlout making a buzzing noise, "pathetic."

"Okay, let's just drop it," said Hiccup. "We have a bigger problem here. We need to wrangle these wild Gronckles. And since I unfairly doubted the twins, I'm putting them in charge."

"Awesome," said Tuffnut. "It'll be nice to get to know these guys a little bit better. We got off to a little bit of a _rocky start_ on our relationship."

Tuffnut then laughed at his terrible joke, but other riders didn't find it that funny they just walked off.

"You see what I did there? I'll explain later. My humour can be quite complex."

The twins then began wrangling the Gronckles with Barf and Belch.

"Back in line, Tuffnut Junior," said Tuffnut as they began to chase the Gronckles. "You, too, Junior Tuffnut."

Then one of the Gronckle they were chasing then growled at him.

"What was that? Tell me you didn't just back-saas me, Junior Tuffnut, Junior."

"I got you now!" said Ruffnut as they continue to chase the Gronckles.

Fishlegs and Meatlug just look at them sadly. Fishlegs couldn't help but think about Dark Deep and the Catastrophic Quaken.

He then rubbed Meatlug's side. "Don't worry, girl. I'll figure out how to get these Gronckles back home," he assured. "There has to be a way."

"Sounds like someone has a problem that needs solving," said Snotlout's voice. Fishlegs turned and found Snotlout and Hookfang approaching them. "Well, consider this your lucky day, Fishlegs. Because the answer man has arrived."

"Snotlout?" said Fishlegs looking confused.

"That's right. I'm going to help you get Dark Deep back for those Gronckles."

"You don't understand," said Fishlegs getting to his feet.

"Yeah, look at me. Then look at you. You're much bigger than me, right?" said Snotlout.

"Yes," said Fishlegs still quite confused.

"But your boot's untied," said Snotlout pointing down.

Fishlegs looked at his feet and then next second Snotlout swatted him with his hand knocking him off his feet.

"Hey, my boot doesn't have laces!" said Fishlegs looking at his boot.

"The only way to get rid of this Quaken is to push him off Dark Deep," said Snotlout as Fishlegs got onto his feet. "And the only way to do that is to fight dirty."

"I don't think so," said Fishlegs.

"Fishlegs!" Snotlout roared. "Do you want to be you, or do you want to win?"

Fishlegs looked at Meatlug, who was still watching the twins wangling the Gronckles up.

"I want to win, but not your way," he said and walked away.

"Oh, you'll be back! They always come back!" Snotlout yelled. He then looked at Hookfang. "He'll be back."

* * *

The next day, Hiccup was busy hammering away on a new connecting rod for Toothless the old one got bent out of shape when they made a sharp turn. Fishlegs then appeared and approached him.

"Hey, what are you up to?" he asked.

"Ah, just trying to strengthening the iron in this tail piece," said Hiccup examining the connecting rod. "Toothless keeps bending it when he makes turns. Don't you, bud?" he added rubbing Toothless' head.

He then looked up at Fishlegs and could see something was troubling him. "So what's up?" he asked.

"Well, I was just wondering what the plan was," said Fishlegs rubbing the back of his head.

"The plan?"

"For Dark Deep? The Quaken? How are we gonna get rid of it?" said Fishlegs.

"Oh, yeah, I've been thinking about that Fishlegs," said Hiccup turning his back. "And I'm not sure we should, get rid of it, that is."

"What?"

"Well, I'm not sure we have the right to interfere. I mean, that's what happens in nature, all the time. The Quaken has taken over the island for now. And one day, maybe a bigger dragon will come along and the Quaken will be chased off. You know, who's to say?" He then looked at Fishlegs with an apologetic look. "And Ragnar agrees with me. I'm sorry, Fishlegs."

* * *

Later that night, Fishlegs had a dream about being on Dark Deep and running side by side with the Gronckles as the Quaken rolled after them.

As it got closer and closer, Snotlout appeared floating in mid-air and said, "What did I tell you? You'll be back. They always come back." He then vanished laughing wickedly.

Fishlegs then awoke screaming, he shot up. It took him a while to realise that he was in his room and he just had a nightmare.

First thing the next morning, he rushed over to Snotlout, who was sleeping on top of some barrels snoring. Fishlegs' presence had woken him up.

"I can't believe I'm actually gonna sat this, but teach me everything you know, Snotlout," he said.

"You came back?" said Snotlout. He was so surprised that he fell off the barrels, but quickly regained his composer and looked at Hookfang. "Of course he came back. I knew he would." Hookfang then blew some smoke into his face. "Hookfang."

"And let's just keep this between us, we don't want to bother Hiccup," said Fishlegs wiggling his fingers.

"I feel you on that. Now, it's time to get dirty," said Snotlout.

* * *

Snotlout led Fishlegs and Meatlug to a clearing and began to teach them. He was writing some descriptions of fighting dirty on a lot with a piece of chalk.

"The key to fighting dirty is never face your opponent," said Snotlout turning to face them. "Look at the sky. Your boots. Anything but their eyes. Then the lower the boom when they least expect it!"

Snotlout then painted a picture of the Quaken on a boulder and had it face Meatlug. She charged did, but fell flat on her face when she collided with it. She got up and charged at it again, but with the same result.

"Come on, girl," said Fishlegs on the second attempt.

Meatlug then charged that the boulder at full speed and this time it crumbled to pieces. It was then they realise that Hiccup had walked past, instead of the two of them and saw them running around bumping into one another as Meatlug ate up the pieces of the boulder.

He just shrugged and walked off.

Then they practice on sneak attacks, Snotlout and Hookfang walked into the clearing, knowing that Fishlegs and Meatlug were planning a sneak attack.

The moment they walked into the clearing Fishlegs and Meatlug landed on top of them squashing them flat.

"Bullseye," said Snotlout's muffled voice.

Again Hiccup appeared, carrying a basket. He stare that they saw what looked like Fishlegs and Snotlout playing tag and the dragons seem to be playing to.

"Fishlegs, stop it! Come back!" Snotlout roared.

"My girl, was just hanging out," said Fishlegs innocently.

It was at that point that Hiccup knew they were up to something.

After that, Meatlug was charging at the boulder which had a picture of the Quaken on it, with Fishlegs standing next to it with Snotlout behind him. At the last second, Fishlegs sidestepped and, too late, Snotlout realise that she was charging at him. Before he knew it Mealtug collided into him and began to roll into the forest.

After that, Snotlout had to put wool in his nostrils and was congratulating Fishlegs on his achievements.

"Well, well, well, I didn't think it was possible…" he said. "What with you being all 'you' and all, but you actually ready."

"Do you really think so?" Fishlegs asked hopefully.

Snotlout was about open his mouth, but then they heard Hiccup's voice say, "I knew you were up to something."

Snotlout was so surprised that the wool shot out of his nose and I turned and saw Hiccup and Toothless emerging from behind a tree.

"Fishlegs, have you been training to take on the Quaken?" Hiccup asked.

"You don't have to answer that," said Snotlout.

"Oh, yes, he does," said Hiccup and looked at Fishlegs. "Fishlegs?"

"Fine. Yes, we have," said Fishlegs. Snotlout groaned and walked away. "Only because we can't sit by and let the Quaken take over Dark Deep. We all know the Gronckles can't stay here. This isn't their home, Hiccup. You wanna talk about nature, what's right and who belongs where? The Dragon Eye says the Gronckels should live on Dark Deep and we're going to make sure they do." Hiccup just crossed his arms. "We're ready for it this time, Hiccup."

Fishlegs could tell that Hiccup wasn't convinced. So, he turned to look at Meatlug.

"Look, Meatlug, battle ready!"

Meatlug took up a fighting stance and growled at Hiccup and Toothless. Toothless despite a small plasma blast at her, the blast left her scorched and she toppled over.

" _Battle ready_? Whoa. Fishlegs, this isn't you, it's him," said Hiccup gesturing to Snotlout.

"I know. Great, right?" said Snotlout proudly.

"No, not great!" Hiccup yelled and looked back at Fishlegs. "You can't listen to Snotlout. That has disaster written all over it."

"Hey, I resent that!" Snotlout yelled furiously. "When has anything I've ever done ended in disaster? Right, Hookfang?" He turned and found that Hookfang had flown off. "Hookfang? Hookfang!"

He then looked at Hiccup with a smile to hide his embarrassment.

Hiccup rolled his eyes and looked back at Fishlegs. "You're all brain and heart, Fishlegs," he said. "Not brawn and bragging."

"But, Hiccup—"

"You're right, Fishlegs," Hiccup interrupted. "They should be back on their own home island and you know what we'll find a way for that to happen, but fighting the Quaken," he said placing a hand on Fishlegs shoulder, "no, that's not it."

Fishlegs looked slightly disappointed, but in say a word. He then looked back at Hiccup and nodded. Satisfied, Hiccup smiled and mounted on Toothless and flew away leaving Fishlegs with Snotlout.

Seconds later the twins appeared, looking as though they lost something.

"Um, you didn't happen received five or twenty wild Gronckles run through here by any chance?" Ruffnut asked.

"Not that we lost them," said Tuffnut quickly. "Even if we did, we'd deny it."

"How could you lose twenty Gronckles?" Snotlout asked in disbelief.

"I know, right," said Tuffnut looking as confused as Snotlout. "We built a whole new pen for them."

"Yeah. Out of rocks," said Ruffnut.

It took several seconds for realisation to hit them.

"Oh," they said at the exact same time. "Right. Rocks. Gronckles."

"Hey, would you give me a lift back to the clubhouse?" Snotlout asked. "Hookfang is otherwise engaged."

"We'll give you a ride back, Snotlout," said Fishlegs. Then his face became all serious. "On one condition."

* * *

Later that evening, Fishlegs and Hookfang were flying to Dark Deep. Once they landed they dismounted their dragons.

"I feel bad sneaking away," said Fishlegs. "But Meatlug and I are the Gronckles' only hope."

"You did the right thing, Fishlegs," said Snotlout proudly. "You can take this dragon and reclaim Dark Deep for the Gronckles!"

Suddenly the ground shook and the two boys looked up and saw the Quaken rolled onto the edge of a cliff. It then stretch out and towered over them and gave a massive roar.

At once all the courage that Snotlout had vanished and he stared at Fishlegs horrified.

"You never said he was this big," he yelled. "What were you thinking?"

"I thought you said I did the right thing," said Fishlegs.

"Uh, yeah. That was before I saw it!"

The Quaken roared again and Snotlout began to back away slowly.

"Um, I'm going to get some help!" he said awkwardly. "Yeah! Get some help! Oh, he's really big."

Before Fishlegs could stop them, Snotlout ran to Hookfang and Fishlegs followed his example.

"Retreat! Retreat!" Snotloutb yelled mounting Hookfang and took off.

Fishlegs looks back at the Quaken realising his mistake. "Hiccup, was right. This isn't us," he said.

Fishlegs looked at Meatlug then back at the Quaken. As much as he wanted to leave, he couldn't leave Dark Deep with the Quaken on it.

"But what other choice do we have?" he said and mounted on Meatlug. "For the Gronckles of Dark Deep!"

Meatlug roared at the Quaken, but then it took off and hovered above them. This caused both Fishlegs and Meatlug to lose their college and quiver uncontrollably.

"Oh, dear," said Fishlegs.

* * *

Meanwhile, the other riders, minus the twins, had discovered that Fishlegs and Snotlout had disappeared. Fortunately, Hiccup had a pretty good idea where they went.

"We need to find those muttonheads before they get themselves killed," said Hiccup.

"Look there!" Astrid pointed and they saw Snotlout flying towards. "Muttonhead incoming!"

"And why am I not surprised that it's Snotlout," said Ragnar.

Quickly the three of them blocked Snotlout's path.

"Snotlout! Where's Fishlegs?" Hiccup asked.

"You know, that Quaken was a large bigger than he said it was," said Snotlout laughing nervously.

"So you just left him?" said Hiccup in disbelief. "Oh, my gods."

Then the three of them flew down towards Dark Deep to back Fishlegs up. Snotlout just hovered there in mid-air and Hookfang growled at him.

"Oh, fine!" Snotlout groaned. "But my dad is on your horns, Hookfang!"

Then, rather reluctantly, he followed the others down to Dark Deep.

* * *

On the island, Fishlegs was panicking as he and Meatlug ran away from the Quaken.

"Oh, Thor! Oh, Thor!" Fishlegs yelled.

The Quaken was so thick-skinned that he broke apart boulders that were in his way. It would seem that nothing would stop them from chasing the two of them.

Then out of nowhere, to streams of fire and a plasma blast blasted the Quaken sending it backwards.

"Fishlegs!" Hiccup yelled as he and the others flew down towards him.

The four riders flew over the Quaken causing it to fall them instead of Fishlegs. He looked up and saw the Quaken chasing after them.

The Quaken then rose up into the air and met with the four riders and growled at them. It then rolled itself into a ball and plummeted down towards the ground and it was it caused a massive shock wave that knocked Fishlegs off Meatlug and not for dragons out of the air.

It then dug itself out of the crater made and roared very loudly. Fishlegs and Meatlug recovered and saw the Quaken charging straight at them.

Fishlegs screamed and climbed quickly onto Meatlug's saddle, who was afraid. At once they flew off, but the Quaken followed them. It soon knocked Fishlegs off Meatlug and they rolled in the dirt and fell into the ravine.

It took several seconds for Fishlegs to cover to remember when he was. He looked up and saw Quaken growling at them at the ravine's edge. It then walked off and Fishlegs notice a large pile of rocks, he soon realised that he wasn't in a ravine, he was in a cavern and it just fallen down a hole that was in the cavern ceiling.

"The Quaken's cave," he said picking up a small rock. "It looks like he lives here by himself." He soon realised that if he was inside its cave then it would be very angry. "Meatlug, let's get out of here."

They quickly ran out of the cave, but no sooner had they left that they came face-to-face with the Quaken. It had landed itself in front of them in a ball and was going up a small hill.

Seconds later it rolled down towards them. Fishlegs closes eyes ready for the end, but then he opened and looked at the rolling Quaken with a determined look.

Soon the other riders had recovered from the Quaken's attack and saw Fishlegs staring down the Quaken that was rolling towards them.

"What is he doing?" said Astrid.

"Looks like he's getting himself killed!" said Snotlout.

"Is he crazy!" Ragnar yelled.

"Fishlegs, get out of there!" Hiccup yelled.

"No. we aren't going anywhere, right, girl?" said Fishlegs looking at Meatlug.

The two of them just stood there bracing themselves for the Quaken, which hadn't stopped.

"I'm not backing down, I'm not backing down, I'm not backing down," said Fishlegs closing his eyes.

The Quaken then jumped off a rock and flew up into the air and landed hard on the ground on its feet. Fishlegs opened his eyes and saw that he was still alive.

"I'm not smushed," he said in surprise.

He then saw Meatlug staring down at the Quaken. The Quaken then roared at them, Meatlug didn't move an inch. The two Boulder Class dragons just growled at one another looking into each other's eyes.

Then the Quaken began to relax and Meatlug flew over to and gave it a snuggle.

Fishlegs just stared at them. "It's working," he said stunned.

"It's working," said Hiccup as he and the other riders stared down at them.

The then twins arrived with the Gronckles. The Gronckles then flew down towards the Quaken and followed Meatlug's lead.

"Hey, I thought everyone said, that thing was tough," said Tuffnut. "Doesn't look so tough to me."

The other riders landed as the Quaken and the Gronckels walked off happily.

"Fishlegs, that was just about the craziest and bravest, but most craziest, thing I have ever seen anyone do," said Hiccup looking impressed.

"You were right, Hiccup. Fighting dirty isn't me," said Fishlegs. "That was me."

"It sure was," Hiccup agreed smiling.

The watched the Quaken smash a boulder and the Gronckle quickly eat the pieces.

"The Quaken was just being defensive," said Fishlegs. "It was scared by itself. It wasn't angry at all."

"Whoa, Fishlegs, that was awesome!" Snotlout yelled approaching them. "Just like I taught you. No need to thank me. Success is its own reward."

"Oh, really, Snotlout? Tell me more," said Fishlegs in a fake excited voice. Snotlout opened his mouth, but Fishlegs cut across him. "Oh, that right. I just remembered I don't care."

Hiccup laughed as Fishlegs walked of leaving a bewildered Snotlout behind.

"I taught him too well," said Snotlout.


	10. Have Dragon Will Travel Part I

It was just a normal day out of the open sea, Bucket and Mulch were doing some fishing, but then they saw something fly over them. It was a dragon, but not dragon they've seen, it was flying towards a nearby ship.

"Well, that's strange," said Mulch and pulled out the spyglass. "I don't recall ever seeing a dragon that looked quite like that one."

He looked to the dragon and that it was a four-legged dragon with a long, slender neck, as well as metal-like, reflective scales. It had a long ledge on the top of its snout and a short, stumpy one on the bottom. Its body shape looks like it was covered in metal armour and had two talons on each foot. Its tail was short, spiky sail and has spikes all along its wings. Its teeth seem to wrap around the edge of its mouth, and it has high ridges over its eyes that resemble eye-lashes.

Bucket saw Mulch's expression, which was one in shock. "What is it, Mulch?" he asked. "You have that look. I don't like is when you have that look!"

Mulch handed the spyglass to Bucket and he watched as the dragon attacked the ship, the crew did stand a chance. They all jumped overboard as the dragon sliced through the ship like it was a piece of bread.

It was then that Bucket saw that someone was riding it, he could make out who it was, because they had a hood and wore a mask over their face.

"Bucket, what did you see?" Mulch asked.

"Something I wish I hadn't, Mulch," said Bucket putting down the spyglass.

* * *

At Berk, the riders were resupplying at the village. Hiccup handed Astrid a couple of daggers and then turned to look at the other riders.

"Okay, now remember, gang we're only taking absolute necessities to Dragon's Edge," he said.

The other riders didn't seem to understand, the twins were carrying a massive assortment of weapons and Fishlegs was carrying tons of rocks.

Snotlout then laughed. "I get we're leaving you behind, Fishlegs," he said.

"Come on, you're better than that, Snotlout," said Fishlegs placing the rocks in the baskets that were attached to Meatlug. "Oh, wait. No, you're not."

Meatlug then tried to take off, but the weight of the rocks were holding her down.

"Come on, girl, you can do it. Lift with your legs," said Fishlegs encouragingly.

Hiccup rolled his eyes and approached Fishlegs. "Fishlegs," he sighed.

"What? Berk granite has a nicer finish," said Fishlegs defensively. He then attempted to help Meatlug by lifting her from behind. "And trust me, you want the nicer finish."

At that moment Meatlug farted in Fishlegs' face. After several rough costs he smiled at Meatlug.

"Point illustrated," he said continued to help Meatlug up.

Hiccup turned and saw the twins were bashing each other's heads with maces.

"Not bad. That's a two. Do it again," said Tuffnut. Ruffnut then bashed her brother's head once again. "Yeah, three. I still think we could do better."

"Yes, we can!" said Ruffnut raising the mace.

She then slammed it into Tuffnut and he began walking in a daze.

"Yeah, that is up four," he said as he tried to remain conscious. "Yep. One, two, three, four."

He then toppled over.

"I'll tag it about it," said Ruffnut.

"I'll tell you what, any of you for need anything, I'll be right here," said Tuffnut looking at a system in a daze.

"You know, they keep doing that though knock out the remainder of their brains," said Ragnar.

Then Stoick appeared with Gobber, Bucket and Mulch. Hiccup tin like the look on his father's face, he only wore that when he was angry, which was pretty much all the time, but this was extremely angry.

"Which one of the usual suspects without sinking boats on the dragons this morning?" said Stoick. He then looked at the twins. "I have my suspicions."

"Sinking boats?" said Hiccup confused.

"Bucket and Mulch saw the whole thing. And don't try and convince me that there's anyone else in the archipelago who could pull something like this off!" said Stoick angrily. No one said a word, they were still trying to process this information. "Well? I'm waiting."

The riders looked at one another, not sure how to make of all this.

"It was me, Chief!" Tuffnut yelled raising his hands up in surrender. "I couldn't control myself. I had to do it." He then approached Stoick on his knees. "What's wrong with me? Why do I do things like this? Why doesn't anyone do anything to stop me? Can't you all see that this is a desperate cry for help?"

Stoick rubbed the palm of his hand on his face and shook his head as if he just got a massive headache as Tuffnut sobbed. It was clear to everyone that Tuffnut hadn't done such a thing.

Ruffnut then approached her brother. "What are you talking about?" she said. "None of that happened."

"I know that," said Tuffnut getting to his feet. "I always wanted to confess to something. How did it play? Did I overdo it, did I?"

"Yeah, I mean, overall, you seemed grounded, but still was little hard to believe," said Ruffnut.

Stoick was now getting very annoyed and Hiccup decided to say something before he blew.

"Dad, we've been together all morning. It could have been one of us attacking the ship," he said.

"Well, if it wasn't, we have much more serious problem on our hands," said Stoick.

"Rogue dragon rider?" said Astrid.

"Could be, I had a vision of a rogue dragon rider three years ago," said Ragnar rubbing his chin.

"Not good, not good at all," said Fishlegs.

"No, it isn't," Hiccup agreed. "And we need to find out who it is."

* * *

Hours later, the riders flew to the place where Bucket and Mulch had saw the rogue dragon rider. Fortunately, the ship the assailant attacked was still out there, though without its mast.

"Okay, gang, led spread out!" said Hiccup as they landed on the deck.

"I've been thinking about this rogue dragon rider," said Astrid as they hopped off the dragons.

"Dagur," said Hiccup reading her mind.

"It makes sense," said Astrid. "If Dagur has a dragon and is attacking ships, then who's to say we won't be next?"

"Then we need to find out what were up against," said Ragnar.

"Hiccup! You got to see this," said Fishlegs.

Hiccup approached the side of the ship and then saw a gigantic hole in its side.

"Those are some deep gashes," said Hiccup studying the damage. He then looked at Ragnar and Fishlegs. "Any idea what it could be?"

"This dragon is extremely powerful," said Fishlegs. "It has a slashing attack of a Speed Stinger yet from the depth of the strikes it appears to be as strong as a Typhoomerang."

"And from what Bucket and Mulch said it was pretty fast," said Ragnar. "Also, it's clear the lied and knew what they were doing. So, I doubt this is the first ship they've sunk."

Hiccup looked at the others, were busy searching the ship. "You guys, you find anything else?" he asked.

"This ship has been stripped of everything valuable," said Astrid looking through the barrels.

They then saw the twins fighting over something. Soon the twins realise that everyone was staring at them and paused.

"Nothing over here. Right, sis?" said Tuffnut.

"Nope, no-thing," said Ruffnut.

"Zilch. Not a thing in front, behind or either side of us," said Tuffnut hiding something behind his back.

"You know I can see that, don't you?" Hiccup pointed out.

"We all can see it," said Ragnar.

"Alright, but we get to keep it," said Tuffnut.

"Yeah, finders keepers," said Ruffnut.

"Losers… losers don't get this 'cause it's way too cool for a loser," said Tuffnut revealing what he had behind his back.

"Yeah," Ruffnut agreed.

In Tuffnut's hand was a barb which looks similar to Stormfly, but it was completely covered in metal.

"A barb!" Fishlegs gasped.

"That looks like one of Stormfly's," said Astrid.

"Which means the dragon could belong to the Sharp Class," said Fishlegs. "In fact, I'd bet my Meatlug on it!" Meatlug then nudged him, looking slightly upset. "No, no, don't worry," he assured. "It's just an expression. I'd never do that."

Hiccup approached the twins and grabbed hold of the barb, but Tuffnut wouldn't let go of it.

"Tuff," Hiccup said warningly as he pulled it towards him.

Soon they began playing one potato two potato with it, until Tuffnut struck his finger on top of it and released it screaming. It became very apparent that the tip of the barb was extremely sharp.

Hiccup examined the barb and then looked at the other riders. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" he asked.

"Good game, Hiccup! You think of something, we'll try to guess what it is. And if we do, we win a prize," said Tuffnut excitedly. "Right, think away, my good man. And let the game begin."

"Hmm, let me see," said Snotlout. "I'm thinking you two are muttonheads."

"Yes! I win!" Tuffnut yelled.

"I was actually thinking, if we find the dragon, we find the rider," said Hiccup. "And I have a pretty good idea of how we can find the dragon."

* * *

Later that evening at Berk, the riders were in the Great Hall. Bucket was giving Fishlegs a description of the dragon he and Mulch had saw.

"Sharp! Did I say it's sharp?" said Bucket.

"I know, Bucket," said Fishlegs tiredly. "We've gone over that twenty times."

"Well, it's got a very long tail. And it can tie itself into a knot," Bucket continued. Fishlegs began to draw the finishing touches on their mysterious dragon. "Yes. Yes, that's right. And two large wings to slice."

Once Fishlegs was done, Bucket ran away screaming. Hiccup then approached him.

"So?"

"I've never seen anything like this," said Fishlegs gesturing into the portrait. "In the _Book of Dragons_ or Bork's papers."

"I've examined the barb as I've never seen a metal like it, except maybe Gronckle Iron," said Ragnar.

"Well, there's one place we haven't looked yet," said Hiccup.

Minutes later, Hiccup brought out the Dragon Eye and Astrid had brought Stormfly.

"So, I'm thinking, since Stormfly's is also a Sharp Class—" he said.

"Her magnesium blast could possibly illuminate some information about this new dragon," Fishlegs finished.

"Well, we don't have any other alternative," said Ragnar.

Hiccup then gestured to Astrid and she put on a pair daggers and stick them in the barrel in front of them. Hiccup then placed the Dragon Eye on top of them and Stormfly positioned herself at end.

"Stormfly, easy now. Just enough to light the Dragon Eye up," said Astrid.

Stormfly then summoned a bust of fire inside her mouth and at once the Dragon Eye showed a projection of a Deadly Nadder.

"Deadly Nadder," said Fishlegs. "I must have missed some of this the first time around. Uh, who's got some chalk? I have to translate it."

"Fishlegs, now's not the time," said Hiccup.

Hiccup then turned the dials on the Dragon Eye and it showed a projection on a Speed Stringer.

"Speed Stringer! One of my favourites," said Fishlegs excitedly. "There's all so much to learn."

"Oh, my Thor!" Snotlout moaned.

"I know, Fishlegs. I got it. Later," said Hiccup.

Hiccup then turned the dials on the Dragon Eye and this time it showed a projection of their mysterious dragon.

"That's it!" Hiccup yelled.

"It's called a Razorwhip," said Astrid.

"Okay, Ragnar, Fishlegs, do your thing," said Hiccup.

Both Ragnar and Fishlegs approached the projection and began to translate the writing.

"Okay. Razorwhip. 'Sharp Class dragon,'" Fishlegs read.

"'Long, spiny, barbed tail,'" Ragnar read.

"'Very aggressive. Very dangerous.'"

"Yeah, we got that," said Snotlout. "Give us something new."

"You want to do this, Snotlout?" said Fishlegs irritability.

"Uh, duh! I would," said Snotlout. He looked at the projection, but could make heads nor tails of the writing. "But I'm just—I don't feel like it right now."

"Continuing on, this symbol indicates it can use its tail to wrap around a victim and literally squeeze the life out of them," said Fishlegs gesturing to one of the symbols.

"Unless it's in a hurry," Ragnar added. "Then it just slices you in half."

Tuffnut looked at his sister excitedly. "Punch me, because I must be dreaming," he said.

Ruffnut was happy to punch her brother and he toppled over onto the floor.

"Guys, is there anything about it that won't kill us?" Astrid asked.

"How about its eyeballs?" Ruffnut asked.

"No. Poisonous tears," said Fishlegs.

"Poisonous! I love it!" Tuffnut yelled.

"Poison's fantastic," said Hiccup and turned to loo k at Ragnar and Fishlegs. "Guys, is there anything that might help us locate it?"

"'Top speed, mating rituals, oral hygiene,'" Fishlegs read.

"Here's something, 'feeding habits'," said Ragnar.

"Excellent, if we can figure out what this thing eats, then we might figure out where it eats," said Hiccup.

"Sea slugs!" said Ragnar.

"Where?" Tuffnut yelled looking around for sea slugs and Ruffnut tripped him.

"I mean it eats sea slugs," said Ragnar.

"Slugs? I hate those slimy monsters," said Tuffnut. "They're just snails without homes. Giant homeless snails!"

"We've come across a few islands out there that are just crawling with sea slugs," said Hiccup. "Hopefully, our Razorwhip's is feeling hungry."

"And hungry for sea slugs, not Vikings," Astrid added.

* * *

The next day they began their search for the Razorwhip. They had been looking forward from island to island and hadn't had any luck yet. They were now trying their luck in the next island that was home to see slugs.

"I have a good feeling about this island," said Fishlegs.

"That's what you said about the last five islands!" Snotlout reminded.

"Isn't my fault that I'm an optimist," said Fishlegs. "I'm a 'yak bladder half full' kind of guy."

"I don't mean to burst your yak bladder, but has anyone considered what we will do if we are to find this Razorwhip?" Astrid asked.

"You can marry it," said Tuffnut.

"And what if Dagur's riding it?"

"Well, then Ruffnut can have him. It admit will be complicated, but I will one day learn to love as my own," said Tuffnut placing his hand over his heart.

"Um, Tuffnut—"

"Like a little babe, a child that I can carry on my arms. But he's too heavy."

Hiccup and Toothless looked at one another and shrugged. Hiccup then pulled out his spyglass and saw smoke coming from the island.

"Guys, look! Smoke!" he yelled.

"And where smoke there's fire," said Ragnar.

"A campfire," said Astrid.

"This dragon builds campfires?" said Tuffnut shocked.

Astrid then flew up to Hiccup and said, "Give me the ' _Twins serve a purpose'_ speech again quickly."

"Yeah, I've never heard that!" yelled Tuffnut. "I've only heard the ' _Twins are muttonheads_ ' speech, which is also very good."

Hiccup looked at Astrid and decided not to say anything.

"Okay," he muttered under his breath.

"Okay, or you don't have to do," said Tuffnut.

Minutes later they landed on the island and found a campsite. The fire was still burning, which meant the owner of the camp was here recently. They also notice several crates stacked together.

"Could be the loot from the ships," said Astrid.

"And these gashes look familiar," said Hiccup pointing at the nearby rocks with scratch marks on them.

"The fire is still hot, that means the owner was here recently," said Ragnar.

"All right, gang, search the island for our rogue rider and his Razorwhip. He can't be far away," Hiccup ordered. He then looked at Fishlegs. "Fishlegs, you and Meatlug stay here, signal if they come back."

"You got it," said Fishlegs.

The riders then took off and flew into separate directions, leaving Fishlegs and Meatlug behind.

Fishlegs then began playing with Meatlug, by tossing her locks. "You know, Meatlug, ordinarily, I would pretend to be upset at being left behind, but to be honest, this time I just feel a lot safer being here with you," he said.

Then, while Meatlug's back was turned, something wrapped around him. It was a tail and it belonged to the Razorwhip and it pulled him up the tree.

Meanwhile, the twins were flying over the forest.

"All right, sis, you look left and I'll look right," said Tuffnut.

"Wait! My left or you're left?" Ruffnut asked.

"Uh, we have the same left. We're twins," Tuffnut pointed out.

"Right."

They then started looking, but after a few seconds they found nothing.

"Uh, who are we kidding? We're never going to find this thing," said Tuffnut.

"All I see is trees!" said Ruffnut.

"All I see is my dream of spending my golden years with a Razorwhip vanishing right before my eyes," said Tuffnut.

It was at that moment that the Razorwhip shot out of the trees and flew over them. As it did it knocked them off Barf and Belch with its tail. Ruffnut got stuck in a branch, while Tuffnut fell from branch to branch straight to the ground.

He looked up at Ruffnut with a dazed expression. "Eight?" he said. "That is way too many Ruffn—"

At that moment the branch holding Ruffnut snapped and she fell right on top of Tuffnut, knocking the two of them both unconscious.

Astrid meanwhile was searching the rocky coastline with Stormfly armed with her trusty battle-axe. She then heard Stormfly shriek and rushed over to her and found a set of footprints that belong to for what she guessed was the Razorwhip.

"These tracks look pretty fresh. Stay sharp, Stormfly," said Astrid.

Then all of a sudden Stormfly ran over to a nearby cavern.

"Stormfly?" said Astrid puzzled and pulled her. When she reached the cavern was eating a chicken leg. "Chicken?"

She then realised too late that she'd fallen into a trap, she turned her head and saw the Razorwhip behind. It then slashed the cavern roof and the entrance caved in on itself.

"Oh, no!" Astrid yelled.

Snotlout and Hookfang were flying over a valley when Snotlout had the sudden urge to use the outhouse. However, since outhouses were scarce he was forced to use a bush.

"Take us down, Hookfang! Hurry!" said Snotlout with his legs crossed.

The moment they landed, Snotlout rushed over to a bush.

"I knew we should've gone before we left," he said as he undid his belt.

It was at that moment that something slashed above his head and a couple trees toppled over. He stuck his head out of the bush looking quite annoyed.

"Can't riding get some privacy?" he said holding his trousers up.

He then saw the Razorwhip toppled over several logs that were falling down towards him. He then ran downhill screaming with his hands clutching his trousers.

"Hookfang!" Snotlout yelled jumping into the river. He soon found himself being carried away by the current. "Hookfang!"

Meanwhile, Hiccup and Toothless were flying over the river, but had yet to find anything. Then Ragnar and Skull appeared around the corner and flew beside them.

"Found anything?" Hiccup asked.

"Not a sign, and I haven't heard from the others," said Ragnar looking slightly troubled.

Then a dragon came to a stop.

"What is it, bud?" Hiccup asked looking down at Toothless.

"I think you found a dragon and its rider," said Ragnar staring into the distance.

Hiccup looked up and saw that he was right. Ahead of them standing on a cliff's edge was the Razorwhip and on its back that its rider.

The assailant was wearing a black tunic with a short sleeved hooded shirt, and a brown mask to hide his identity. He also wore a brown leather vest, dark grey trousers, and brown boots. He had three black belts, as well as one that holds a familiar looking horn. He also had armoured shoulder guards, bracers, knee pads, and, for some strange reason a metal skirt, all from the scales from the Razorwhip he was riding.

"Nice work, Toothless!" said Hiccup patting Toothless head.

"You to, boy," said Ragnar.

Then the Razorwhip saw them and roared at wanted took off knocking the trees over.

"Let's get them, guys," said Hiccup.

"I'm right behind you," said Ragnar.

They then took off after them. Whoever was flying the Razorwhip certainly knew how to fly, it was extremely hard for Ragnar and Skull to keep up and Hiccup and Toothless were having a tough time to.

The Razorwhip then slashed through a couple of trees and they toppled over towards the two of them. Hiccup managed to fly over them at the last second, while Ragnar knocked them aside.

They kept on chasing them through the gorge, but then the Razorwhip began slicing against cliffs causing a small landslide.

"Toothless, look out!" Hiccup yelled.

Toothless was able to avoid the following rocks, Skull on the other hand just kept flying on the rocks bounced off his bone armour.

They kept on chasing them through the gorge and it was extremely hard work just to keep up with them. Then all of a sudden when they turned the next corner the Razorwhip flew straight at them and the two boys got a small glimpse of the assailant's eyes. The eyes were forest green and they looked so familiar and they definitely didn't belong to Dagur.

There were so distracted by the eyes that they didn't notice the tree flying towards them. The Razorwhip had grabbed the tree with its tail and pulled it from the roots. It was fortunate that Hiccup looked in front of him.

"Look out!" he yelled.

Toothless qualified several plasma blasts at the tree blasting it to pieces.

"Whoever it is, they sewing are what the doing," said Ragnar breathlessly.

Hiccup agreed and looked down at Toothless. "Toothless, give me all you've got!" he said.

Toothless then zoomed after the Razorwhip and began firing plasma blasts at them.

"Now, Toothless! Now!" Hiccup yelled.

Toothless then find a plasma blast that bounced off the cliff wall and hit the Razorwhip. The rider was thrown off it and they both crashed onto the ground.

Before the rider could get back on the Razorwhip, Hiccup and Ragnar landed.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Hiccup warned.

The assailant turned and then said with a very familiar voice, "I wouldn't, either."

The voice was female and that wasn't the only surprise. The assailant then lifted her hood with very long raven black hair and then lowered her mask revealing a very familiar face. It was Heather.

"Heather?" the two boys gasped.

They hadn't seen Heather for three years, not since they rescued her parents from Alvin the Treacherous, Ragnar's dad. Alvin had forced her to steal the _Book of Dragons_ for him, but ended up making friends with them instead. Also Ragnar had very strong feelings towards her and the same was from her.

* * *

An hour later, they were back at Heather's campsite. They had to find the other rider, which Heather had clearly took out and they were all looking at Heather quite annoyed.

"You rolled me into a river!" Snotlout yelled.

"You trapped me in a cave!" Astrid yelled.

"You left me daggling in a tree!" Fishlegs yelled.

"And I have to admit, the chicken move, that brought back some memories," said Astrid smiling.

"You guys, I'm sure Heather has a really good reason for doing what she did. Right?" said Hiccup looking at Heather.

"Look I've been living on my own here for years and I've made more than a few enemies," Heather explained. "I didn't want you to be involved. I needed to send you back to Berk."

"You couldn't have just, I don't know, say that?" said Snotlout.

"Would you have listened?" said Heather raising an eyebrow.

"She does have a point. We're a pretty stubborn group," Astrid admitted.

"I don't listen to anyone," said Snotlout proving Astrid point.

"Anyway, the only thing you've done is want to help you more," said Ragnar.

"He's right, Heather," said Hiccup. "Whatever problems you have, whatever enemies you've made, we can help. You don't have to be out here alone anymore."

"Hiccup, Ragnar, please, just let this go," Heather begged.

"Heather, you can't just tell us to let it go after all this," said Ragnar.

"We have a base not far from here. Why don't you come back with us," said Hiccup. "Nothing permanent," he added both Heather opened her mouth. "We'll get you some provisions and catch up. You can see how you like it."

Ruffnut then appeared, dragging her brother and laid him against a tree. Tuffnut then opened his eyes and saw he was face to face with Heather's Razorwhip.

"Whoa," he said thinking it was some kind of dream. "Razorwhip. This is the best dream ever. It's like I can reach out and touch it." He then placed his hand on the Razorwhip's snort.

He then got to his feet excitedly. "I can reach out and touch it! Cold, scarly." He then removed his helmet. "I, Tuffnut Thorston, that thee, Razorwhip, whatever you last name is, insert it here, to be—" He then stopped when he saw Heather. "Oh, hey, Heather. What are you doing in my dream? At my wedding. I didn't put you on the list."

"You're not dreaming, Tuff," said Heather trying to keep a straight face.

"Oh!" said Tuffnut simply. He then looked at the Razorwhip that was looking at him curiously. "Well, in that case, Razorwhip attack! Run!" he yelled as ran away from the Razorwhip.

"I see nothing has changed," said Heather looking at Ragnar laughing.

"Yep, same old same old," said Ragnar.

"Let it over to Dragon's Edge," said Hiccup approaching them.

"You're not gonna give up, are you?" said Heather looking at him.

"Not likely," said Hiccup.

"Okay, Dragon's Edge it is," said Heather.

"You're gonna love it!" said Ragnar.

* * *

An hour later they were at Dragon's Edge and they were all inside the clubhouse discussing Heather's Razorwhip.

"So, wait, where did you find her?" Tuffnut asked.

"More importantly, can we ride her?" Ruffnut asked eagerly.

Snotlout then leaned over to Heather. "Did you miss me? I think you did," he said as he attempted to woo her. "That's why you threw that tree at me. Playing hard to get. Me likely."

Heather then pushed him away with her finger and Astrid tripped him, making fall to the floor. Then the two girls bump fists with each other smiling one another.

"Forget about him," said Ragnar. "How did you train a Razorwhip?"

"Yeah, it's incredible," said Fishlegs.

"Actually, I owe a lot to you," she said.

"To us?" said Astrid stunned.

"To me. She meant to me," said Snotlout getting to his feet. "I mean, how much more obvious can she be? Ah, women. I totally understand them."

Then the Razorwhip struck him with her tail and he fell onto the floor again.

"Okay, great. Check you later!" he said.

Heather shook her head and looked at the riders. "When I found Windshear—"

"Awesome name!" Tuffnut interrupted. "I bet you ride like the wind, shearing through it. Get it? I use both of the words in its name to explain why she's called that."

"Oh, gods," Hiccup muttered rubbing his forehead.

"Anyway, like you are saying," said Ragnar.

"Yes, when I found her, she'd been hurt in a fight with a Typhoomerang," Heather continued and began to stroke Windshear. "Windshear held her own. But she needed to be nursed back to health. And when she was better, I used the training you guys taught me back on Berk. We've become the perfect team. We're unstoppable. I mean look at her!" she said gesturing to Windshear. "No one can take us down. And if they try they'll be sorry for it."

Both Hiccup and Ragnar stared at her looking quite worried. Heather had changed dramatically since they last saw her.

Snotlout then laughed. "Ha! I guess she's pretty cool, but not as cool as this," said Snotlout. "Hookfang, flame up!"

Hookfang then flew up into the air and ignited.

Heather, didn't look at all phased. "That's cute," she said smugly. "Windshear, tail slice!"

Then as quick as a flash, Windshear began slashing around Snotlout, but nothing happened.

"Ha! What's so great about—?"

Snotlout never finished that sentence, because the floorboards then gave way leaving a large hole in the floor where Windshear had strike. Fortunately, Snotlout was able to grab all the support under the clubhouse.

"Okay, we'll call it a draw," he said.

"Whoa," said Fishlegs. "What else can she do?"

"Windshear's breath can burn the flesh off a human from one hundred feet away," said Heather.

"You're gonna get me out of here?" Snotlout asked waving a hand out of the hole.

"One single blade of her tail is as deadly as the sharpest battle-axe," said Heather proudly.

Windshear demonstrated by raising the spike from a tail in front of Snotlout, who was climbing out of the hole. The result made him release his grip on the floorboards and he fell.

"Great having Heather back," said Astrid looking at Hiccup and Ragnar. "She's so… I don't know, intense, hardcore. I love it!"

"Yeah, it's great. She's definitely grown-up since the last time we saw her," Hiccup agreed, though still look slightly troubled which didn't go unnoticed by Astrid.

"Hiccup, it's been three years," she reminded. "We were just kids. We've all grown up."

"I have to agree on Hiccup with this," said Ragnar. "I she was so sweet, and now she's so—I don't know."

"Edgy? What's wrong with that? I like it," said Astrid.

"Astrid, there's edgy and there's destroying ships," Hiccup pointed out. "Which I still need to ask her about."

"Well, you to do me a favour, and wait until I ask her about her battle-axe," said Astrid.

Heather was now showing the twins her battle-axe. It was a double bladed axe that was able to able to fold at the end and the blade seemed to be made of the same metal as her armour.

"I wanted to show me how to make one for myself," she said.

"Let's do this!" said Tuffnut as he and his sister drew their swords.

They then charged that Heather but she was able to block them with ease and jumped over their swings. She then kicked Ruffnut in the stomach and blocked Tuffnut's swing that shattered his sword.

"See? Hardcore," said Astrid pulling out her own sword.

She then charged screaming at Heather.

Hiccup then looked at Ragnar. "Are you going to talk to her?" he asked.

Ragnar stared at him like he was crazy. "While she's crossing blades with Astrid," he said.

"Yeah, good point," Hiccup admitted. He then looked down at Toothless. "I don't suppose you want to talk to her, bud?"

Toothless and to this by running up to Heather knocking Hiccup aside.

"Yeah, thanks again for everything," said Hiccup rubbing his head.

* * *

Later that evening, Heather was tending to Windshear in the stables.

"Eat up, girl," she said. "You'll need all your strength for what we've got coming."

Ragnar then entered in the stables and approached Heather.

"Heather, we need to talk," he said.

"Sure, about what?" Heather asked.

"Well, the ship you and Windshear destroyed comes to mind," said Ragnar.

"Oh. That ship."

"Heather, what are you doing out there?" Ragnar asked looking extremely concerned.

"I'm just taking care of business. It's nothing you need to worry about," Heather assured.

"Heather, I'm concerned about you," said Ragnar. "And so is Hiccup, he's always worried when dragons attack ships."

"Ragnar, a lot has happened in the last few years," said Heather hugging herself as reliving a bad memory. "We're not kids any more. Everything's changed."

"This isn't you. It can't be!"

"It is now," said Heather not looking him in the eyes. "The last time you saw me, I—" She stopped and quivered. "Never mind. If you want me to leave—"

"I didn't say that," said Ragnar clasping her shoulders. "I'm worried because I care for you. And whatever you're going through, we can help. All of us. There's always another way."

Heather then hugged him and smiled in his shoulders. "You're so sweet," she said. "Thank you, Ragnar. I've missed you so much and I haven't forgotten the kiss we shared when we said goodbye."

Ragnar smiled, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

* * *

Later that night, Heather was at the stables with Windshear and pulled her hood over her head. She then approached the pens with the riders dragons were sleeping and began filling the locks with tools from a satchel.

"Sorry guys," she said as she pulled her mask over her face. "Nothing personal."

She then climbed onto Windshear and took off, but unknown to her Toothless was hanging from the rafters with Hiccup and on the roof Ragnar and Skull were hiding. The two boys then landed on the landing pad and watched her fly off.

"You are right, something is wrong with her," said Hiccup looking at Ragnar.

"I just want to know what's going on," said Ragnar looking extremely worried.

"Don't worry, Rag, we'll get our answers," Hiccup assured.

They then took off after Heather, keeping their distance.

* * *

It felt like hours, following Heather and still they had no explanation of what's going on. Then they reached an island and Heather began to descend.

Hiccup and Ragnar quickly landed on the cliffs and looked told them to see Windshear landing on a ship seem to be waiting for her. They saw man on the ship and once she landed the two began to talk.

Hiccup pulled out a spyglass to get a closer look, he can recognise the man because his back was turned.

"Come on, come on, just turn around," he said impatiently. "Let me see your face."

Then the man turned around and Hiccup gasped. It was Trader Johann.

"It Johann," Hiccup gasped.

"Okay, what have we stepped into this time," said Ragnar.

"Well, he seems to be showing Heather and map," said Hiccup still looking through the spyglass.

"A map to what?"

Then they saw Heather mounting on Windshear and took off and they were heading straight for them. Quickly, they hid behind a cliff just as Heather flew past them.

Once they were sure that Heather was gone they looked down at Johann's ship.

"Okay, Johann, let's see what we can get out of you," said Hiccup.

They soon landed on the ship and they began questioning Johann, who seem very reluctant to give out answers. He had sitting at the table and he was rubbing his hands together, nervously.

"I'm sorry, Master Hiccup and Mr Ragnar, I've been sworn to secrecy," said Johann. "The chief of the Headhunting Asmat tribe from Papua New Guinea couldn't park these lips!"

Hiccup then slammed his hands on the table. "Really, how about Stoick the Vast of the Hooligan tribe from Berk?" he asked. He then looked at him straight in the eye with an angry expression that matched his father's. "Do you know what trade sanctions are, Johann?"

"Two words that should never be used in the same sentence?" he said. Then he sought Toothless and Skull growling at him and quickly look at the two boys. "Right! Where shall I begin?"

"Let's start with why Heather is out attacking ships all by herself?" said Ragnar.

"I suppose it would have something to do with her entire village, including her own family, been desolated by a rather nasty group of undesirables," said Johann.

Ragnar looked up. "Wait, you mean that her family is—"

"Dead, yes," said Johann sadly. "She's made it her personal mission to avenge her island and her family."

"By sinking and looting ships?" said Hiccup puzzled.

"She's not looting," said Johann. "She's redistributing back to the victims of those horrible crimes. Every ship Heather attacks means they'll get back some of what they've lost. Of course, lost love ones can never be replaced."

"But why? Why now? Why her?" said Hiccup.

"Many _whys_ , Master Hiccup," said Johann looking slightly nervous. "None of which I can address at this very moment."

"Johann, why do we do this?" Hiccup asked rubbing his temple.

"Sorry?"

"You know you're going to tell us. We know you're going tell us," said Hiccup tiredly. "So why not save us both the trouble and just—"

Johann looked at Toothless and Skull, who were both growling at him.

"I suppose you do have a point," he said. "Picture, if you will, a brilliant sunny day on the Emerald Isle of Karantha when I received a mysterious correspondence from a little boy. Yet again—"

Ragnar then slammed his hand on the table. "Johann! Where is Heather going?!" he demanded.

Toothless then retracted his teeth, making Johann jump.

"It's not merely where she's going, Mr Ragnar, it's who she's going after," said Johann.

Hiccup and Ragnar looked at one another. They didn't like the sounds of this.

* * *

It was morning when Heather had found the ship she was looking for, the ship that belong to the man, who destroyed her village and killed her parents. The flag ship of Dagur the Deranged.

"There! There it is, Windshear," said Heather pointing. "Remember, girl, we're doing this for my mum and dad. For the whole village." She then pulled down her mask and lowered her hood. "I want my face to be the last thing Dagur ever sees."

Heather then saw that Dagur wasn't alone, he had several ships with him.

"What in the name of Thor?"

On the Dagur's flag ship, Savage had saw Windshear circling around them.

"Sir, that dragon's been circling up there for a while," he said to Savage.

Dagur looked up. "Hm. Never seen one of those before," he said.

"Nor have I. What should we do?"

"Well, you know what I say," he said smiling evilly. "When I doubt, take it out."

Savage nodded and looked at the men. "Fire!" he ordered.

The Berserkers then fired their crossbows at Heather and Windshear. Fortunately, Windshear was nimble enough to dodge them.

However, Dagur was through yet. "Wait for it, wait for it," he said. "Now!"

Then the Berserkers fired a chain straight at Windshear and it warped around her tail.

"No!" Heather yelled.

Then another ship fired another chain and this one wrapped around one of Windshear's legs. The Berserkers then began to pull her down towards them.

"Reel in that spiny menace!" Dagur ordered.

Windshear flapped her wings with all her might, but it was no use she couldn't fly away. When she was brought closer towards the ships, Dagur recognised Heather.

"Well, hello, Heather," he said smiling. "Pull harder! She can be useful to us! Very useful."

"We got this, girl!" Heathet yelled. She then saw more ships arriving. "Or not."

Windshear tried to fly away, but the chains were too strong. Then the new ships fired chains at them as well. One of them wrapped around Windshear's neck, Heather tried to remove it, but the two chains passed her head and before she knew it they wrapped around her pinning her to Windshear's neck.

It was at that point Hiccup and Ragnar arrived and saw the horrifying scene in front of them. Heather and Windshear were in chains, being pulled down towards the ships belong and Dagur laughing evilly.

"Heather!" Ragnar cried.


	11. Have Dragon Will Travel Part II

Dagur was laughing at the ships pulled Heather and Wnidshear down towards him. Windshear try to break loose from the chains, but the matter was too tough.

"Come on, Windshear, get us out of here!" Heather yelled.

"Oh, Heather, don't fight it," said Dagur.

Then he heard a familiar roar and looked up to see Hiccup and Ragnar flying down towards Heather.

"We have to save her," said Ragnar.

"Don't worry we will," Hiccup assured.

"Well, look who the dragon flew in!" said Dagur. "Glad you can join us, brother. It wouldn't be like a family reunion without you." He then looked at his Berserkers. "Now, now take out that Night Fury!"

The Berserkers then began to throw bolas at them, fortunately Toothless was agile to dodge them. Skull on the other hand had to fly up away from their reach.

"Blast the chains, Toothless, now!" Hiccup yelled.

"You as well, Skull!" Ragnar yelled.

The two dragons then fired their fire breath attacks at the chains, but they had no effect. It would appear that the chains were made from the same metal as the cages from the _Reaper_.

"Dragon-proof chains?" Hiccup gasped.

"That's not good," said Ragnar.

Dagur laughed. "Nice try, Hiccup," he said. "You didn't think I'd make it that easy, did you?"

"Would gonna do," said Ragnar looking worried as the Berserkers pulled Heather and Windshear closer and closer to the ships.

Then a bola flew past them, nearly hitting them.

"Whoa! Okay, that was too close. Come on, bud," said Hiccup.

They then flew down towards the ships dodging the bolas and then Hiccup came up with an idea.

"If we can't blast the chains…" he said looking down the winches, "blast the winches."

On its flagship, Savage appeared next to Dagur holding a net as Heather and Windshear were practically seconds away from being captured.

"Come to Dagur," said Dagur.

"Fire!" Hiccup's voice yelled.

Dagur turned and saw one of Toothless' plasma blast blasting the winch. Then they began to do the same to the other winches on the ships, freeing Heather and Windshear.

"Nice shooting, bud," said Hiccup.

Dagur then approached one of the Berserkers that was manning the winch.

"Excuse me, what good are dragon-proof chains will allow dragon-proof winches!" he yelled pushing the Berserker down into the hole that Toothless created.

Heather flew up to Hiccup and Ragnar, she still looked like she wanted to fight Dagur to the death.

"Heather, you can't take on Dagur and his fleet all by yourself," said Hiccup.

"I'm not by myself. I have Windshear," Heather pointed out.

"Heather, be reasonable," said Ragnar as they dodged a bola.

"I'm too close," said Heather looking down at Dagur with rage. "I might not get this shot again."

"But this is suicide!" said Hiccup.

"You can get yourself killed," said Ragnar.

"I'm willing to take that chance," said Heather firmly.

"Are you willing to sacrifice Windshear, too?" Hiccup asked.

That brought Heather back to reality, she eased off and looked down at Windshear. Hiccup was right, she couldn't risk losing Windshear just for revenge.

"Heather, there will be another time. I promise you," said Hiccup.

"This is a fight you cannot win, don't throw your life away just for revenge," said Ragnar.

Heather groaned and reluctantly flew away.

* * *

Hours later, they were flying in silence heading back to Dragon's Edge. Have a look to the two boys, not sure what to say.

Heather then finally spoke. "Blasting the winches, pretty smart."

"Yeah, and a little luck never hurts, either," said Hiccup.

"Good luck or bad luck?" Ragnar asked. "Because we always seem to find both."

They then looked down at Heather, who turned her head away from them.

"We talk to Johann," said Ragnar. "He told us Dagur wiped out your village… and your family. I'm sorry."

"And that goes for me to," said Hiccup.

"Then you two know why he has to pay," said Heather.

"We do," said Hiccup flying up to her. "But you don't have to do this alone."

"I don't know," said Heather. "It seems like I'm destined to be alone. First, when I was a little girl, I got separated from my birth family."

"Your birth family?" Hiccup gasped.

"You're adopted," said Ragnar stunned.

"Guess we have more in common than we thought," Heather joked. "I don't remember much of them. It was so long ago. Just a few pictures in my mind. I remember my father's hands. They were rough, like sandstone, but so gentle. And I remember the smell of his wooden shield. I don't think I was supposed to play with it, but he led me anyway. And this." She then pulled out a horn and showed it to them. "He gave me this horn. I don't know if it means something, but whenever I look at it, I think of him. I just wish I knew who he was."

"Heather, I know exactly how you feel," said Ragnar. "I feel the same way when I look at my mother's bow and wonder what it would be like if I grew up with her."

"Then you know why I must kill Dagur," said Heather.

Ragnar looked at Hiccup and they continued flying in silence as the made their way to Dragon's Edge.

* * *

When they finally reached Dragon's Edge, they explained what had happened last night to the other riders while Windshear hung around with the other dragons.

"Look, I'm sorry I locked up your dragons," said Heather as she placed her satchel on a chair. "I just didn't trust that you guys would let me go after Dagur."

"Trust does need to be earned with people and dragons," said Fishlegs.

"Thanks for understanding, Fishlegs," said Heather smiling.

"I don't really trust these guys either," said Snotlout.

"We can hear you," Astrid pointed out.

"Jealousy is an ugly quality, Astrid. But clearly, I understand where it comes from," said Snotlout smiling at.

This caused Astrid to groan in annoyance and she looked like she was going to throw up.

"The point is, we have your back, Heather," said Hiccup. "You're one of us."

"Yeah, I stocked Windshear's stable with buckets of sea slugs," said Fishlegs.

Snotlout glared at him and then turned to look at Heather and said, "And I made room for you in my hut."

"And I've made it clear to Snotlout that you're not staying in his hut," said Hiccup crossing his arms.

"Yeah, I've made room for you in Astrid's hut," said Ragnar.

Snotlout just crossed his arms and glared at them.

"Even though you were the rogue Dragon Rider and use sabotaged our dragons and you snuck away in the night," said Tuffnut. He then paused. "Wait, why do we like you again?"

"I'm truly sorry, Tuffnut," said Heather apologetically.

Tuffnut quickly backed away. "Whoa! That was… sincere. What am I supposed to do with that?" He then began to breathe very heavily. "I'm feeling a bit flushed and overwhelmed. Little help here? People!"

"Ugh! Help yourself!" Ruffnut groaned.

"And if you need any help with Windshear—" said Fishlegs.

"Why don't I show you around the Edge? I'm basically chief," Snotlout cut in.

Heather quickly backed away from them looking extremely nervous. "Thanks, guys, really. I—"

"Hey, glad you're back. Your dragon rocks," said Ruffnut.

"The take it easy guys," said Ragnar. "This is a whole new experience for her. She needs time to settle in."

"He's right," said Astrid pulling Heather towards and looked at her smiling. "Let's go has girl time."

"Good idea," said Heather gratefully.

* * *

Minutes later both she and Astrid were in the training area. Astrid had just thrown to axes at two different targets, nailing a bull's-eye in the exact same place.

"Two axes are better than one," said Astrid.

"True," said Heather smiling slyly. "Unless you have one of _these_."

She then pulled out her battle-axe and spun it towards the targets. It slashed through the handles of the axes and landed on the target perfectly.

"You really have to show me how you made that," said Astrid looking very impressed.

"Sure, but I prefer close combat to throwing…" said Heather picking up the axe. She then slammed it into the tree next to her, "so I can stare and my enemy in the eye."

"Not a bad tactic," said Astrid pulling out the axe. "But don't discount… hyah!" She then threw the axe at Heather, she dodged it and saw it strike a tree.

She then looked back at Astrid. "Hmm… the element of surprise. I like that," she said.

"It's one of Hiccup favourite tactics," Astrid explained.

Heather then removed the axe from the tree as Astrid grabbed another one and gave her a sly smile.

"So, you two are thing, right?" she asked.

Astrid was about to throw the axe at a target when she said that. At one she lost her grip and the axe threw off striking a tree and nearly avoided a Night Terror.

"What? No, just friends," said Astrid turning very pink.

"Come on," said Heather as she threw her axe as a target. "I've seen the way you two are together."

"No. Seriously. _Friends_ ," said Astrid still looking quite pink.

Heather didn't looked convinced as she picked up another axe. "He's kind of cute," she said.

"I guess," said Astrid feeling quite awkward. "If you like that unassuming, heroic, Dragon Rider type."

Astrid then picked up another axe and through another target, still looking quite embarrassed. She watched Heather throw her axe at the target.

"Bull's-eye," she said.

Astrid was unsure whether she was talking about hitting the target or her relationship with Hiccup. She decided that since they were on the topic of boys, she should discuss Heather's relationship.

"Now, you and Snotlout, that's a match made in Valhalla," said Astrid and the two girls laughed. "I don't know whether to thank you or feel sorry for you."

"I can handle Snotlout. And besides, I'm not into the macho Viking type," said Heather as she went over to the target to retrieve her axe. "I like a little smarts."

"You mean like Ragnar," said Astrid. "I haven't forgotten the kiss you shared three years ago."

"Well, he is funny and cute," Heather admitted.

"I'm surprised you two aren't together, I mean you two have so much in common," said Astrid.

"Okay, all right. Enough boy talk," said Heather laughing. "What else do you do for fun around here?"

* * *

Next minute Astrid and Heather were racing towards the edge of a cliff.

"Keep up!" Astrid yelled.

Then the two girls jumped and began to plummet towards the sea below. Fortunately, there dragons were there and Astrid grabbed Stormfly's tail. However, Heather missed Windshear and began falling towards the jagged rocks below.

Heather screamed, but Windshear managed to grab her legs before hitting the rocks.

"Thanks, Windshear," she said relieved.

"Want to go two out of three?" Astrid asked.

"No," said Heather firmly climbing on Windshear's neck. "I want to show you something. If you can keep up."

Heather then flew off.

"Get 'em Stormfly!" said Astrid and they began to follow her.

* * *

Meanwhile at the clubhouse, Hiccup and Ragnar were busy looking at some maps wondering where Dagur had got to. Hiccup then noticed Toothless sniffing at Heather's satchel.

"Hey, would you knock it off, bud?" he said just as Toothless stuck his head in the satchel. "Okay? Snooping will not gain her trust."

"Yeah, get your dragon nose out of that," said Ragnar pulling the satchel off of Toothless.

Then Heather's horn fell out and landed on the floor. Hiccup bent down to pick it up and then his eyes widened.

"Wait a minute," he said studying the horn. "That's my dad's Chief Seal!"

"What?" said Ragnar stunned and looked over his shoulder.

Hiccup was right, engraved on the horn was Stoick's Chief Seal.

* * *

Meanwhile, Astrid and Heather had landed on the island where Heather had sent up camp. Astrid was still unsure why Heather had taken her here.

"What are we doing back at your campsite?" she asked. "You forget something?"

Heather just jumped off Windshear and began looking around. "Nope," she said.

Deciding that she had better follow her, Astrid grabbed her battle-axe and jumped off Stormfly. "Stay put, Stormfly. Keep your ears up," she said.

She followed Heather to the edge of the island and saw the staring out at sea as though she was looking for something.

"Oh… it must be here," she said impatiently.

"Are you gonna clue me in on what we're doing here?" Astrid asked. Heather ignored her and kept on searching. "Hello?"

"I'm looking for something," said Heather irritably.

Astrid then heard rustling in the bush behind her. "Looking for something like…" she then struck the bush with axe and hooks round the man in it and flicked into the ground. It was Johann. "Trader Johann?"

"Miss Astrid, so nice to see you again!" said Johann nervously. He then looked at the axe that was pointing at him. "Would you mind, please, lowering your axe so my frightened soul might be granted safe passage back to my body?"

Astrid rolled her eyes and lowered her axe.

"Johann?" Heather gasped helping him up. "Thank Thor."

"Ooh. Miss Heather! I'm overjoyed you're not dead," he said giving her a hug. "When the Terrible Terror returned with the message I sent you, I was sick worried. Then, when I arrived here and so your campsite had been abandoned, I feared the worst."

"All right, someone needs to tell me what's going on," said Astrid.

"You see, Miss Astrid, if you need exotic spices from a foreign land, or one-of-a-kind cured leathers or incredibly-difficult-to-obtain information detailing the exact whereabouts of a certain dastardly Berserker," he said pulling out a map, "Trader Johann is your man."

"Dagur."

"And if you need a warrior to take care of that dastardly Berserker…" said Heather and she tossed her twin bladed axe into the air and caught it elegantly, "I'm your girl."

"So he's got the info and you've got the axe," said Astrid simply. "Now what?"

"Dagur is set to purchase a fleet of new ships from a group of salty undesirables in the Sea of Despair," said Johann. "But be wary. These new ships for his armada are outfitted with powerful anti-dragon winches and catapults! After the deal is done, I will be able to find him again. Dagur will be back in the wind. Adrift, like a leaf in a stream." Astrid rolled her eyes. "And I've used my last grapevine, so I will be able to offer my invaluable, yet expensive information."

"Got it. Thanks, Johann," said Heather. She then turned and looked at Astrid. "Come on, Astrid."

Heather then walked away and Astrid noticed that Johann wasn't leaving with her.

"You're not coming?" she said.

"What part of this implies _rushing into battle on a flying lizard_?" said Johann gesturing to himself.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup and Ragnar had reached Berk. The first person they saw was Gobber, who waved at them.

"Hiccup! Ragnar! From my lips to Odin's ears," he said. "I was just saying I could use the two of you and your dragons help. With a pesky flock of wild Nadders that have been driving me batty!"

The flock of Deadly Nadders screeched and Gobber turned on them.

"Yeah, you heard me, you lousy…"

"I'm afraid we have no time, Dad," said Ragnar.

"He's right, we need to see my dad. It's urgent," said Hiccup.

"Oh, in that case, he's in the Great Hall," said Gobber. "But it's Berk's Gripe Day, so there might be a bit of a wait."

Gobber wasn't kidding reaching to the village all the way to the Great Hall was a huge queue of villagers all of them with complaints. Stoick was in the Great Hall sitting on his throne sighing wearily.

Then Sven approached him. "Stoick, them wee ones of mine are making me crazy!" he said getting to his knees. "They run all over the house, breaking and wrecking everything. They won't sit still for a minute. I'm exhausted."

Stoick groaned in annoyance. "That's because they're sheep Sven. And they should be kept outside!" he growled.

"Aw, but they do get so lonely," said Sven sadly stroking a sheep in his arms.

At that moment Hiccup and Ragnar entered.

"Dad!" said Hiccup

"Hiccup!" said Stoick looking relieved.

"We really need to talk," said Hiccup showing him Heather's horn.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Dragon's Edge, Heather was trying to convince the other riders to go after Dagur with her.

"We gotta go now," she said. "Dagur won't be out in the open for long."

"Wait a minute, you wanted to go into battle with the Dagur and the Berserkers without Hiccup and Ragnar?" said Fishlegs.

"Guys, I wish Hiccup and Ragnar were here, trust me. But they're not. And we can't wait," said Heather. "Dagur's ships have dragon-proof chains and grappling hooks. And the ships he's buying are more powerful. But with all of us attacking him at once, he won't know what hit him."

"Ah, any aerial assault of this magnitude without Toothless and without a vanguard like Skull in front would be foolish," said Fishlegs looking concerned. "Those two other bulk of our arsenal." He then saw Meatlug looking quite upset and gave her a hug. "But you're still my favourite, girl."

"Well, it's not like we need Hiccup and Ragnar," said Snotlout. Astrid just glared at him and he quickly added, "But it's nice to know that we have a Night Fury and Boneknapper when things get hairy."

"You heard Johann, Astrid," said Heather looking at her. "This is our last chance. Tell them."

Astrid wasn't too sure about this plan. "Well… look, Heather—"

Heather just stared at her. "You, too? Just forget it," she said furiously and walked off in a huff. "All that stuff about trust and having my back, I guess I was just talk."

Astrid turned and looked at the other riders, Fishlegs whistled, Ruffnut hid arms behind her back Tuffnut fiddling his fingers and Snotlout just looked at Heather amazingly.

"Oh, man! Awkward," he yelled.

Astrid looks back at Heather, who was still walking away in a huff and was unsure on what to do.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Berk, Stoick was studying the horn that Hiccup had showed him curiously.

"Where did you get this?" Stoick asked.

"It's Heather's," said Hiccup.

Stoick turned his head to look at them.

"She's the girl that stole Stormfly a few years back," Ragnar explained.

"Yes. Heather," he said remembering.

"Dad, the horn has your Chief Seal carved into it," said Hiccup.

"It does," Stoick agreed.

"Is there something you need to tell me?" Hiccup asked.

Stoick sighed and looked at Hiccup. "When a Chief has a child, Hiccup, that child receives many gifts from all over," he explained. "When you were born, I asked Gobber to make the smallest axe he'd ever imagined. With a handle tiny enough for baby to grasp. I wanted you to start training the moment you open your eyes," he said laughing at the memory. "I thought your mother was going to feed me to the boars."

"I remember that axe," said Hiccup.

"Yeah, you used it as a paperweight," said Stoick raising an eyebrow.

"Moving right along," said Ragnar hoping to change the subject. "About that horn, sir, Heather told us her father gave it to her. But it has your seal on it."

Stoick looked back at the horn and Ragnar looked at Hiccup, giving him the hint to ask the big question.

"Dad, is Heather my sister?" Hiccup asked.

"Yeah, I also heard Dagur say to Hiccup when we rescued Heather that it's not a family reunion without you," said Ragnar. "Dagur know something we don't and we need to know about it."

Stoick sighed and looked at the two boys.

* * *

Meanwhile at, Dragon's Edge, Heather was at the stables with Windshear still not believing at the other riders refused to help her.

"Looks like it's just you and me, Windshear… as usual," she said.

"Hey!" said Astrid's voice.

Heather turned around and gasped. Standing there were the other riders fully armed and battle hardened.

"If we're gonna do this, it has to be a capture mission, not a kill mission," said Astrid firmly. "Agreed?"

"Agreed," said Heather. "We'll sink Dagur's armada, drag him back to Outcast Island. Let him what there."

"Okay. Then we're you."

"You can thank me!" said Snotlout. "I was the one who rallied these guys."

"Well, that's not really my recollection," said Fishlegs.

"Quiet, Fishlegs!" Snotlout growled.

"As soon as she left, your lips started to do that cute little quiver thing," said Fishlegs in a babyish voice.

"Quiet! That's a tic!" Snotlout yelled looking slightly embarrassed. "It's a tic when I'm about to fight."

"So, what changed your mind?" Heather asked approaching Astrid.

"Hiccup and Ragnar," said Astrid. "Those two would never want you to face Dagur alone again. And neither do I."

"Well, I know right where Dagur is," said Heather pulling up the map.

"Good. Then you won't need this," said Astrid taking the map and pinned it to the stable door. "Now, Hiccup and Ragnar will be able to find us. So, what's your plan?"

"Hit him when he least expects it," said Heather mounting Windshear.

She then took off and the other riders mounted their dragons and followed her.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Sea of Despair, Dagur's ships will reach in the meeting point and he sighed happily.

"It's a good day to strengthen my armada," he said blissfully. "Then again, it's always a good day to strengthen my armada."

He then began to laugh and Savage joined him which made him very annoyed.

"What are you laughing at?" he snapped.

Savage cleared his throat. "The gold is ready for the exchange, sir," he said. "Should we move it to the deck?"

"Leave it down below," said Dagur.

"But, sir, when they arrive with the ships, they'll be expecting our gold," said Savage looking confused.

"Yes!" Dagur yelled furiously. He then can't himself down and showed him his axe. "And instead of our gold, will give them our steel.

Savage got the idea right away and smiled evilly.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup and Ragnar arrived at Dragon's Edge, but found no one at the stables. They had to find heaven tell her what they learned about her family.

"Heather!" Ragnar yelled, but no one answered.

"Guys?" said Hiccup, but there was still no answer. "Where did everyone go?"

Toothless then wondered off to the door where a map was pinned. They approached and saw it was a map of the Sea of Despair and they guessed at once where everyone had gone.

"Oh, no," said Hiccup.

* * *

Meanwhile the riders reached the Sea of Despair and saw Dagur's ships below them.

"There he is," said Heather.

"All right, let me guess. You want to attack like the rouge dragon rider you are. A full frontal assault!" said Tuffnut excitedly.

"No. The element of surprise," said Heather looking at Astrid, who smiled.

On the ships below, Dagur's men were preparing for their double cross when one of the Berserkers noticed something above them.

"Dragons! Incoming!" he yelled pointing up at the sky.

Dagur looked up and saw Fishlegs, Snotlout and the twins exiting from the clouds above them.

"Prepare the grappling hooks! Ready the chains!" Dagur ordered. He then looked up at the riders. "It's hunting season."

The riders began to attack the ships, but their attacks missed the ships, because they were up so high. They stayed up high so that the Berserker bolas and chains wouldn't be able to reach them.

"Ah. Too high to hit anything," Snotlout grumbled as another on of Hookfang's fire blasts missed.

"We're supposed to divert Dagur's attention and stay high enough to avoid his weaponry," Fishlegs reminded.

"We got to get in lower! I can't—" Then several arrows passed his head. "I said higher! Hookfang, higher!"

While they distracted Dagur, Astrid and Heather had sneaked up behind them and clinged onto the ships stern. The two girls then looked over the edge, but quickly hid when a Berserker walked passed after using the little Viking room.

At the riders kept on attacking, Dagur began to suspect something after another one of their attacks missed.

"What are they doing up there?" he said puzzled.

Meanwhile at the stern Astrid had just jumped into front of a Berserker, who had just picked up a barrel. He was so surprised that he dropped the barrel he was holding.

"Nice surprise face," said Astrid.

Then before he could do anything, Heather knocked him out with her double bladed axe. The two girls slammed their elbows against one another.

Then they slowly approached a Berserker, who was working one of the winchers. Then Astrid slammed a basket over his head and Heather grabbed his legs. Together the two girls threw the Berserker overboard.

Dagur heard the sound of the Berserker hitting the wall and turned. "What the…" he said, but saw nothing and turned his attention back onto the riders above.

Astrid and Heather were hiding behind several crates, but then a Berserker walked past carrying several bolas. They stared at one another in silence until the Berserker dropped the bolas and advanced towards them.

However, before he could do anything, Windshear wrapped her tail around the Berserker and smashed against the stern of the ship before tossing him at the crates.

Dagur once again heard the noise and turned, but like before found nothing. Astrid and Heather were still hiding behind the crates, but where now hiding the Berserker from view. But this time he knew something was up.

"What is going on?" said Dagur grabbing one of the chains.

He was making his way towards them, but then one of Meatlug's lava blasts drew his attention away.

"Oh, come on, already!" he yelled in annoyance.

Dagur was about to throw the chain at Fishlegs and Meatlug, who are now flying low enough for him to wrap it around them. But then something grabs hold of the chain and he fell flat on his chest on the deck.

Astrid had caught the chain with her axe, and Heather was now wrapped his hands behind his back.

"What are you doing?" he demanded thinking it was his Berserkers. He rolled over and saw Astrid and Heather looking down at him. "You two?"

"Surprise, Dagur," said Heather pointing her double bladed axe at him.

"Two axes are better than one," said Astrid with her axe over her shoulder.

"And twelve shipped trumps two axes," said Dagur. He then looked up and saw both Stormfly and Windshear snarling at him. "I should've seen that coming."

"Windshear, finish it!" Heather commanded.

Windshear raised her tail with spikes standing on edge.

Astrid stared at her and horror. "No, Heather, don't!" she yelled. "You promised us a capture mission."

"Sorry, Astrid. I changed my mind," said Heather glaring at Dagur. "Dagur didn't _capture_ my village. So this ends here."

Heather then raised her double bladed axe and pointed the tip at Dagur's throat. Dagur began to laugh evilly, not something you would do if a danger is Viking warrior was pointing a deadly weapon at one's throat.

"If you kill me, Heather, you never know—"

Heather then stuck some cloth into his mouth preventing him from speaking.

"Save it for the gods," she said angrily. She then looked up at Windshear. "Wnidshear!"

Windshear prepared to strike Dagur with her tail spikes and Dagur began screaming in his gag. An evil smile appeared on Heather's face as Windshear fired her spikes. Then a plasma blast shot up from nowhere deflecting the spikes.

"Stop!" yelled the voices of Hiccup and Ragnar.

They turned and saw the two boys flying towards them. They quickly jumped off the dragons and onto the deck approaching heaven Astrid.

"Heather, stop," said Ragnar grabbing her arm.

"Move, Ragnar!" she yelled.

"You don't understand," said Hiccup.

"The two of you promised me there would be another time, and this is it!" said Heather knocking away Ragnar's hand.

While they were busy arguing, Dagur attempted to free himself from his bonds.

"Look," said Hiccup pulling out Heather's horn. "You told us your father gave you this."

"He did, but what are you doing?" said Heather confused.

"The engraving on the horn is Hiccup's father's Chief Seal," Ragnar explained.

Heather stared at the two of them completely bewildered and took the horn from Hiccup. "Stoick's seal is carved in my horn?" she said confused now more than ever. "What are you two saying?"

"We're saying, years ago, Stoick gave this on to the Chief of the Berserker tribe, Oswald the Agreeable, as a gift to his new-born daughter," Ragnar explained.

"But?"

"You were that newborn, Heather," said Hiccup. "Oswald the Agreeable is your father. And he is also Dagur's father."

Realisation hit Heather like a thunderstorm. Dagur the Deranged, the man responsible for killing her adopted parents and burning down her entire village, was her older brother.

"No," she said.

Dagur just shrugged, apparently the news wasn't a surprise to him and if it wasn't for the gag in his mouth he will no doubt be smiling.

"Heather, Dagur is your brother," said Ragnar. "You can't kill them. No more than I can kill Alvin."

Heather turned and looked at Astrid, who was completely speechless by the news. "Astrid."

"I—" said Astrid not sure on what to say.

Then the entire ship shook as Dagur armada began firing rocks.

"If the rest of Dagur's ships!" Astrid yelled looking over the side.

They looked up and saw the rocks heading towards the other riders, one of the nearly hit Snotlout and Hookfang as he fired a fire blast. The fire blast was heading straight towards them.

"Look out!" Astrid yelled.

The fire blast hit across the ship causing the ship to shake and knocking everybody off their feet. Then one of Dagur's ships sailed up to them on the port side. The Berserkers on the ship lower the gangplank.

"Heather, we have to go," said Hiccup.

Heather was in shock, she was unable to move.

Then Dagur finally got himself free from his bonds and he looked at them. "I have to admit, you never disappoint, brother," he said. "Or maybe you're actually my uncle. Who knows in this crazy world?"

He then laughed madly, but stop and turn towards Heather.

One by one berserkers were climbing on the gangplank towards them, they only had a few seconds at most.

"Heather, come on!" Ragnar yelled.

Dagur made his way towards Heather, who was still unable to move. "Heather, I'm the only family you've got left," he said. Toothless then blocked his path and growled at him. "Join me, sister! Don't fight destiny. I know you feel the Berserker blood flowing through your veins."

The Berserkers from the other ship began running across the gangplank, but Astrid and Stormfly blocked their path and fired several spikes at them.

Heather then got to a feet and smiled, at first Dagur thought that she was going to join him, but instead she grabbed her double bladed axe and charge straight at him. Dagur got ready to defend himself, but then she jumped right over him.

"What are you doing?" Dagur yelled.

She then landed on Windshear and gave Dagur a resentment look. Them before he could stop them they flew off.

"Come back, sis!" Dagur yelled. " _Heather the Unhinged_ has a nice ring to it, no? You'll be back, and I will welcome you with open arms!" He then turned around looking slightly disappointed. "We'll have to wait on that reunion. Pity."

Then he saw Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar flying towards him on the dragons.

"What?" he yelled, before he got slapped in the face by Toothless' tailfin and landed flat on his back on the deck. "I really should've seen that one coming, too."

"All right, gang, back to the Edge!" Hiccup yelled as the fought their way through the ships.

"Under the circumstances, I wholeheartedly agree with that plan," said Fishlegs.

They then flew off back to Dragon's Edge.

* * *

It was late in the evening and Heather was packing her satchel on Windshear.

"Guess you're leaving. Again," said a voice. Heather turned and saw Astrid. "I thought you were tired of being alone."

"I am," said Heather not looking at her.

"Then don't be," said Astrid approaching her. "It's safer here. You have support. And I'm here."

"I know, I just have a lot I need to figure out," said Heather looking at her.

"You don't have to go to do that you know," said a voice.

Heather then saw Ragnar approaching her. "You of all people know why I should go," she said. "Tell me, did you feel this way when you discover Alvin was your father?"

"Yes, but it eases off in time," said Ragnar with his eyes closed.

"But you and Alvin made up, even after everything he did," she said.

"Alvin used to fight alongside Stoick in battle and he's nowhere near as crazy as Dagur," Ragnar pointed out. "Besides, I can never truly forgive him for what he's done."

"Guess we have more in common then we thought," Heather joked.

They just stared at each other in silence not sure on what to say.

"I met your father, Oswald the Agreeable," said Ragnar. "When he came to sign the treaty. He looked down at me and said 'a battle avoided is a battle won.' I think he would be very proud of you, you do remind me a bit of him."

"Thanks, Rag," said Heather.

The two of them looked at one another and found themselves drawn closer towards each other. It was then that they kissed, Heather wrapped her arms around Ragnar's neck and he wrapped his around her waist. It felt like an hour, but it was only a few seconds when Heather pulled away.

Astrid then handed her double bladed axe and she mounted on Windshear.

"Is it going to be always like this with us?" Ragnar asked.

"I don't know," said Heather. "But it was nice to have friends again like you, Hiccup, Astrid and Toothless."

Hiccup then appeared alongside the two of them and gave her a small smile which she returned.

"If you ever need help don't hesitate to ask," said Ragnar.

Heather didn't answer and instead looked down at Windshear. "Let's go girl," she said.

The free Vikings watched as Heather flew away into the distance and Hiccup could tell that his two friends were upset even if they didn't show it.

"You doing alright, Rag?" Hiccup asked.

"I don't know, but I have this feeling we haven't seen the last of her and I'm going to hold onto that," said Ragnar walking away.

Hiccup then looked at Astrid. "I know you guys were pretty close. I'm sorry you're losing a friend," he said.

Astrid then placed and arm around him. "But I still have you," she said smiling.

Then they turned and looking at the sunset and saw that Heather had disappeared into it.


	12. The Next Big Sting

Hiccup and the other riders were on island, he had insisted to the other riders to meet him on top of a cliff. The riders were all panting for breath when they reached the top and Hiccup still hadn't explained why they needed to be on a cliff.

"Okay, Hiccup, you dragged us all the way up here," said Astrid tiredly.

"Yeah, it had better be good," said Ragnar.

"Now, what is it you have to show us?" said Tuffnut. "It had better involve food or destruction. Or a combination of the two."

"I bet you're wondering why I brought you here today," said Hiccup as reached down for something that was next to Toothless. "And the answer is to show you my latest invention. Presenting the Dragonfly One."

He then showed them a strange kind of backpack with fold up wings attached to it. The riders just stared at it in silence not looking impressed by it. In fact the only sound that could be heard was the soft clucking of Tuffnut's pet chicken.

"The chicken is not amused," said Tuffnut holding up the chicken.

"What is it?" Snotlout asked.

"It's a flight suit," said Hiccup extending the wings. Still the riders said nothing and gave him blank looks. "Don't all applaud at once."

"Hiccup, I don't need to remind you that we already have flying dragons," Fishlegs pointed out gesturing to Meatlug. "Why would we ever need a flight suit?"

"Well, what if we were to get separated from our dragons mid-flight?" said Hiccup as he placed the flight suit on. "We might need to solo fly for a bit until we catch up with them."

"When this doesn't work, and it clearly will won't, can I have Toothless?" Snotlout asked.

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Oh, for Thor's sake," he said and made his way to the edge of the cliff.

Both Astrid and Ragnar saw this and looked extremely worried.

"What are you planning on doing here?" Astrid asked, though she already knew the answer.

"Jumping. Unless someone has a better idea," said Hiccup.

Astrid facepalmed herself. "Boys!" she muttered.

"Hey, don't look at me," said Ragnar. He then looked back at Hiccup. "Hiccup, don't you think this is taking things a little too far?"

"Guys, relax! Feel that updraft?" said Hiccup gesturing to the wind that was coming from the cliff. "That's why I chose this place. It'll pick up my wings and I'll float on bed of air."

Hiccup then pressed down on a leaver and the wings extended. Well, the left one full extended the right one didn't. Hiccup then began to fiddle with it and chuckled awkwardly until the wing full extended.

"Or crashing on a bed of rocks," said Snotlout.

Hiccup growled at him and turned his attention towards the cliff. "Okay, everyone. Dragonfly One, maiden flight," he said.

He then jumped off the cliff and within seconds something went wrong. The flight suit didn't pick up the wings and he began falling towards the ground screaming.

"Hiccup!" Astrid yelled.

And once Toothless jumped off the cliff and glided down towards Hiccup.

"I don't know about you guys, but I was under the impression that a flight suit was supposed to fly," said Tuffnut.

"Yeah, that looks more like a plummet suit," said Ruffnut.

"It just proves that Hiccup still doesn't think things through when he tests his inventions," said Ragnar rolling his eyes.

Fortunately, Toothless managed to grab hold of Hiccup and protected him from the impact of the river that they fell into.

Ruffnut chuckled. "Do it again," she said.

Minutes later, Hiccup and Toothless returned to the cliff and, after making a few adjustments on his flight suit, Hiccup prepared to jump off the cliff again.

"Okay, so I made a few tweaks," said Hiccup. "Now behold some serious flying."

He jumped up the cliff and extended his wings and for a split second it looked like that it worked, but he began to fall and scream.

Toothless sighed and jumped down after Hiccup again and the riders all cringed as they bumped down the cliff hard.

"You know, I am always amazed that he is able to survive every time he tests as inventions of his," said Ragnar.

"How many times has he nearly died testing these contraptions?" said Astrid stunned.

"I lost count after about one hundred," said Ragnar.

Hiccup and Toothless returned to the cliff and Hiccup was still determined to test his flight suit. He had made more alterations to it and this time he was confident that it would work.

"This time, I actually know where I went wrong," said Hiccup. "You see, it's all about the timing. I just judge the updrafts wrong. I assure you, I definitely have it now."

Toothless look like that he was ready to jump in and rescue Hiccup for the third time and this didn't go unnoticed by Hiccup.

"Don't worry, bud, I've got this under control," he assured.

The wind was now blowing a lot stronger than it had done before. "See? There is," said Hiccup looking pleased. "Okay, now!"

Hiccup extended the wings and jumped off the cliff. Astrid and Ragnar looked down and stared worriedly as Hiccup plummeting towards the river and Toothless covered his face with his wing.

"Come on!" Hiccup yelled.

They heard Hiccup's screams and then something surprising happened, he was flying over the river. Much to the surprise of the other riders, even Hiccup was surprised.

"I'm flying?" Hiccup said stunned. He then looked forward triumphantly and yelled, "I'm flying!"

"I cannot believe that hunk of junk actually worked," said Snotlout stunned.

Soon Hiccup was flying towards a dead end.

"Okay, right turn," said Hiccup. He then tried to shift his body to the right, but soon discovered that he couldn't turn and soon found himself flying at high speed towards the dead end. "All right, might have to work on the steering a bit. Toothless!"

At once Toothless jumped off the cliff and made his way towards Hiccup. It wasn't easy, because he was unable to fly without someone operating his tailfin and the riders feared that he would make it in time.

"Oh, Thor! Oh, Thor!" Fishlegs panicked covering up Meatlug's eyes and closing his.

Hiccup tried everything to stop or turn, but soon found himself spinning out of control as he had towards the dead end. Hiccup braced himself for the impact, but then Toothless jumped and grabbed him. The two of them then landed in the river again.

"Thanks for the save, bud," said Hiccup after they pulled themselves out of the river. Toothless responded by spitting water at him and began to do a dragon's equivalent of a laugh. Hiccup took this as a reminder that this wasn't the first time he'd done it. "Again."

Hiccup then got up and found that his flight suit was in ruins.

"Well, it looks like flight tests are probably over for the day," he said looking at the broken wing.

He looked up and saw the other riders approaching them on their dragons. Astrid was the 1st to land and she looked extremely furious.

"Okay, that's it. You're done with this," she said crossly.

"Right," Hiccup agreed and then added under his breath. "For now."

Then they heard a screech in the distance. It sounded familiar, but yet different.

"What was that?" Astrid asked.

"Sounded like a dragon distress," said Fishlegs.

"Uh, guys, something about that call seems strangely familiar," said Snotlout. "Not good familiar. Bad familiar."

He looked back at the others, but soon found that they took off without him.

"Uh, guys," he said.

"Snotlout, come on," Hiccup yelled.

He looked up and saw them flying towards where they heard the distress call, much to his annoyance.

"Argh, you've got to be kidding me," he said as he followed them.

"The calls are coming from up ahead," said Hiccup.

* * *

They kept on flying into the canyon and after they turned the corner they heard the call again. They looked around and saw a Speed Stinger lying on the ground, but unlike the other Speed Stingers they saw this one was smaller, indicating that it was only an infant.

"A Speed Stinger," said Hiccup.

They had some experience with Speed Stingers, three years ago Berk was invaded by them. Speed Stingers are flightless dragons and begin only cross islands by land bridges, or so their sting only can leave a person or fully grown dragon paralysed. Snotlout in particular, had experienced this many times and the memory still left a scar.

"Speed Stinger, why did it have to be a Speed Stinger?" Snotlout moaned.

"Looks like a young one," Hiccup noted. "Why would be out here during the day? They're nocturnal dragons."

"Ah, poor little guy. Let's head home!" said Snotlout. "It started to get dark, and where there's one Speed Stinger, there's usually a whole pack of them!"

The Speed Stinger then got up, but after taking a pasteboard it screeched in pain and fell to the ground.

"Hiccup, its legs seems to be injured and Speed Stingers can't fly," said Ragnar.

"That's exactly why we can't leave it to predators," said Hiccup. He then looked down at Toothless. "Come on, Toothless."

Toothless turned around and headed straight down towards the Speed Stinger, much to Snotlout's annoyance.

"Is he seriously going back?" he yelled in bewilderment.

"Snotlout, meet Hiccup. Of course he's going back!" said Astrid.

"Yeah, since when has Hiccup left defenceless dragon to fend for itself," said Ragnar with a slight smile on his face.

" _Harmless?_ " said Snotlout shocked. "That thing is anything but _harmless_."

He, however, followed them, reluctantly, towards the Speed Stinger.

The Speed Stinger didn't seem to like them, it kept on screeching at them.

"Hey, whoa, no, no," said Hiccup calmly. "Easy there. Easy, little fella."

The Speed Stinger then pointed it sting at them in a threatening way.

"Hiccup, it looks like it can defend itself just fine," said Snotlout, who still wanted to leave it behind. "Let's get out of here."

"Ssh! Quiet down, Snotlout," Astrid hissed.

"You quite down," Snotlout hissed back.

"Unfortunately, this little guy won't be a match for wild boar or dragons. A Stinger without its pack is extremely vulnerable," said Hiccup.

"He must've gotten separated from the others and they had to go for shelter before the sun came out," Fishlegs surmised. "

"Sound right. Let's go," said Snotlout.

"Snotlout, we can't leave him like this," said Hiccup. "We'll bring it back to Dragon's Edge, Ragnar can nurse it back to health, then bring it back here."

Snotlout groaned.

* * *

It was late in the afternoon before they were ready to approach the Speed Stinger. The plan was simple, the twins would hold the Speed Stinger down, while Hiccup and Ragnar tended to it. Hiccup was holding two connecting rods that were from Dragonfly One and Ragnar had his healing kit ready.

"Ruff? Tuff? You understand the plan, right?" said Hiccup.

"Yeah," said Tuffnut.

"Definitely," said Ruffnut.

Both Hiccup and Ragnar stared at them and within seconds the twins both looked at them again.

"No."

"Nope."

"All right," Hiccup groaned. "You securely the Stinger so I can set the spring with these broken pieces of Dragonfly One and Ragnar will tend to it."

"And be careful!" Ragnar said plainly. "I think we all remember what these guys' stings can do to you."

"You don't have to remind me. I know exactly what they can do," said Snotlout.

The Speed Stinger then growled at Snotlout angrily. It apparently didn't like him very much.

"This plan is insane. You know that, right?" said Snotlout looking at Hiccup. "If I'm saying it's insane, it's actually insane."

"Actually, it is insane," said Tuffnut. "And for once, it wasn't our insane plan."

"I'm seeing a pattern here!" said Ruffnut.

"First that lunatic flight suit, now this. Could it be?"

"Is Hiccup coming over to our side?"

"Oh, Loki, please let it be so! We will welcome him with open arms," Tuffnut said ominously. "We will teach him the ways of the truly disturbed!"

"When you two are finished yelling at the sky, we've got something to do," said Ragnar.

"Yeah, let's just do this," Hiccup agreed.

The twins laughed, which was never a good sign.

Then the four of them slowly approached the Speed Stinger. It then swung it sting at them, but they were able to avoid it.

"Come and get me," said Tuffnut as he dance around in front of it. "Fresh meat on the grill, right over here."

"No! Over here!" said Ruffnut poisonous between the Speed Stinger and her brother. "I'm all yours. Turn me into a pincushion. I'll even give you a target." She then began wiggling her butt at it. "It's my butt."

The Speed Stinger roared and swung it sting at them. The twins ducked and it flew over their heads.

"That's it? That's all you've got?" said Tuffnut mockingly.

"Guys, what are you doing? I meant secure the tail!" Hiccup yelled.

"Hey, we know what we're doing," said Ruffnut.

"Well, that'll be a first," said Ragnar.

Then just after he said it the Speed Stinger stuck Ruffnut with its sting. Slowly she felt her body becoming frozen.

"Whoa, whoa, what's happening to me? I can't…" said Ruffnut before her mouth froze.

"Talk? She can't talk!" said Tuffnut excitedly. He then began poking her mouth with his finger. "At least I think that's what she's saying."

However, Ruffnut was full paralysed. She was only paralysed from the waist up, her legs were still moving.

"Hmm. Interesting," said Fishlegs as Ruffnut walked around. "Only part of her is paralysed. Since it's an adolescent, its sting potency must not be at full effect."

"How do we get it to sting her lower half?" Tuffnut asked pondering. He then began to talk to the Speed Stinger like it was some sort of dog. "Here, Speedy. Come on. It's the whole lower half of Ruffnut. Don't you want it?"

The Speed Stinger got to its feet, but was only able to take a single step before collapsing. Tuffnut then jumped onto it pinning it to the ground. However, he forgot all about the sting, which was now pointing at him.

"Someone help Tuff!" Hiccup yelled.

At once Astrid and Fishlegs ran over to the Speed Stinger.

It swung its sting at Astrid, but she dodged it and caught it in her hands. She then pinned the sting to the ground.

"I've got the stinger," said Astrid.

"I've got the head," said Fishlegs pinning the Speed Stinger's head to the ground.

Both Hiccup and Ragnar then rushed towards the Speed Stinger's injured leg. First Ragnar placed some gel on the leg, Hiccup then placed the two connecting rods against the leg and Ragnar tired them together to create a splint.

"There!" Hiccup yelled.

The Speed Stinger then knocked the riders off it and hobbled over to Hiccup and Ragnar, growling at them angrily.

"Hey, okay, okay," said Hiccup calmly. "We're here to help ya."

"He's gonna do the hand thing. Please tell me he's gonna do the hand thing!" said Fishlegs excitedly.

Hiccup indeed did do the hand thing. He outstretched his hand and turned his head away from the Speed Stinger. Then seconds later he felt the Speed Stinger place its snort against the palm of his hand.

Hiccup then turned and looked at the other riders. "Okay, everyone I think we're good," he said. "Now, let's load him up and getting back to Dragon's Edge."

"You know the pack is going to do everything in its power to find it, don't you?" said Astrid looking up at the sky which was now getting dark.

"Yep. That's why we have to get him back onto his feet and back to this island as quickly as we can," said Hiccup.

The riders then hoisted the Speed Stinger on Skull and flew off. However, they were unaware of two Speed Stinger, who had appeared out of the forest in search for the young Speed Stinger and then the pack leader appeared and roared angrily.

* * *

It was late at night, at Dragon's Edge and Fishlegs wanted to show the riders, minus Snotlout, who wanted nothing to do with the Speed Stinger, and Ruffnut, who was still paralysed from the waist up, something inside the dome, which was closed up. He was leaning against Meatlug and the Speed Stinger's cage was standing right next to him

"Have a look at this," he said.

Fishlegs opened the cage and the Speed Stinger hobbled out of it. It then began to run around, not attacking any of them.

"Wow. Nice work," said Hiccup looking impressed.

"Uh-huh. All thanks to the careful designed rehabilitation program based on trust and understanding," said Fishlegs.

Meatlug then ran off chasing after the Speed Stinger and Fishlegs' left arm flopped beside him as if it had no bones inside it.

"Fishlegs, what's with your arm?" Astrid asked.

"I take it that the rehabilitation was easier said than done," said Ragnar.

"Yeah, let's say that there Stinger and I may or may not have had have a few difference of opinion these last few days," said Fishlegs rubbing the back of his head with his good arm.

Tuffnut then poked Fishlegs' arm and what is it flopped around. "Look at that! It's like a dead old fish," he laughed.

Fishlegs then approached the shields. "Okay, Meatlug, back to work," he said. "And we'll bring this, just in case."

He tried to remove a shield off the wall, but he kept on using his paralysed arm. When he finally was able to remove the shield from the wall with his arm it just rolled away. So, instead he grabbed shield with his good arm and strapped it to his bad arm.

He then approached the Speed Stinger, who was standing in front of several logs.

"All right, come on, little fella, you can do it!" he said.

Meatlug notched the Speed Stinger forwards and it began to jump from lock to log.

"There we go, little guy," said Fishlegs eagerly.

"Huh! Ornery and stubborn, but it seems like it's accepting Fishlegs and Meatlug," Astrid noted.

"Well, it makes sense, they are pack dragons. They can only function as a group," Hiccup explained, who was looking at the Speed Stinger curiously. "But if they accept you into the group, well, then you'll have their allegiance."

Astrid at one recognise that look on his face. "Wait, you're not actually thinking of trying to training it, are you?" she said.

"What? No! No. I could never," said Hiccup walking off.

Astrid in look convinced and judging from the work from Ragnar, neither was he.

Snotlout then opened the dome and entered inside and at one saw the Speed Stinger, who was now standard on a wooden wall.

"Well, well, well, lookie here," he said. "Our little friend can stand on his own two claws again. Only a matter of time before it's trying to sting us all into oblivion."

The Speed Stinger then jumped off the wall and screeched at Snotlout.

"My vote is to take it back to where we found it. I'll get the cage," he said to Hiccup and walked off towards the Speed Stinger.

"Snotlout!" Hiccup said warningly.

The Speed Stinger then shrieked at him and he hissed back.

"Snotlout, as the healer here, he is in no fit state for travelling and he would survive long enough and to his pack finds him," said Ragnar.

"Ragnar is right, he's staying here, okay. At least for the time being," Hiccup said firmly.

"Having a Speed Stinger around is way too dangerous, especially for me," said Snotlout and walked up towards the Speed Stinger.

The Speed Stinger then tried to sting Snotlout, but he dodged. "Not even on your best day, pal," he said raising his fists.

Ruffnut then ran to the dome. "Good news!" she yelled. "The stinger venom wore…"

However, she ran into the path of the Speed Stinger, who was trying to sting Snotlout, and ended up getting hit by the stinger.

"Off," she finishes she collapsed to the ground.

"Okay, everyone. No sudden moves," said Hiccup.

Ruffnut, who was paralysed from the waist down this time, was attempting to climb on top of the chest.

"Who's got jokes?" she said. "From the waist down. Come on."

The Speed Stinger was getting a bit more feral. Hiccup was trying his best to calm down, but with little success.

"Hey, settle down, big fella," he said calmly. "I'm your friend, remember?"

Ruffnut finally managed to get herself on the chest and crossed her legs. "Ruffnut, one. Dead leg, zero," she said triumphantly.

Then all of a sudden her right leg kicked Tuffnut, who had his back towards the enjoying the scene with the Speed Stinger, in the butt.

"Oh, not so dead after all," she said looking at her legs.

"Hey, what'd you do that for?" said Tuffnut turning to face angrily.

"Oh, like I have any control—" Then her left leg kicked Tuffnut right in the face, knocking him on his butt.

As this was going on the Speed Stinger was starting to look agitated and this didn't go unnoticed by Hiccup.

"Uh, guys? Quiet down. I think he's agitated," said Hiccup.

"That makes two of us," said Tuffnut getting to his feet. "You'd better control that butt before it gets kicked."

Then the Speed Stinger began racing around the dome looking feral.

"Oh, I was afraid of this," said Hiccup. "Everyone take other!"

Tuffnut ran and Ruffnut try to do the same, but her legs were still paralysed. Astrid quickly grabbed a shield blocking the sting from the Speed Stinger. Ragnar quickly climbed up one of the wooden walls to get away from it.

"Please, remain calm," said Fishlegs. "Anything is going to be okay." Toothless then jumped over the Speed Stinger as it raced towards him. "Remain calm!"

Fishlegs and Meatlug moved when the Speed Stinger headed their way and as it ran past Barf and Belch it stung them. Blech was completely fine, but Barf went limp and is head collapsed to the ground.

"Barf!" Ruffnut screamed and then fell off the chest landing flat on her face.

"Stormfly, spine shot!" Astrid ordered.

Stormfly fired several spikes at the Speed Stinger and Toothless began firing plasma blasts. The two dragons were corralling the little dragon towards its cage. When it finally got inside the cage, Toothless fiery plasma blast locking the cage.

While this was going on Ruffnut had been crawling towards Barf and finally reached him before collapsing.

"Uh, guys, a little help here?" she said.

"Uh, no," said Tuffnut.

* * *

Later that night, Astrid watched as Barf and Belch walked past the clubhouse. It was a strange sight seeing Belch dragging Barf's head along while he spewed gas.

"That is really unsettling," said Astrid.

She then into the clubhouse where the other riders were recovering after their encampment with the Speed Stinger.

"Exactly as I thought would end up," said Snotlout. "That thing is going to paralyse everyone on the island. Before this is over and then there's going to be no one to take that stupid dragon back to where we found it."

Typically, Snotlout had completely forgotten that he was the one who started the entire event. Hiccup and the other riders were too tired to argue with him, though.

"I'm too tired to argue with you," said Hiccup. "We'll talk about this in the morning."

When the other riders left, Ruffnut looked at Snotlout and whispered, "Hey, if you want to get rid of that Stinger, I'm in." Ruffnut then collapsed onto floor. "I don't know how much more of this I can take. I figured it's him or me."

Snotlout just smiled at her.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ragnar and Fishlegs', who's arm was no longer paralysed, were at Fishlegs' hut and were about to remove the splint from the Speed Stinger.

"We've got good news for you, little guy," said Fishlegs.

"Yeah, your splint comes off today!" said Ragnar excitedly like he was talking to a small child. He then turned to Fishlegs. "Dr Fishlegs, you want to do the honours."

"I will indeed, Dr Ragnar," said Fishlegs and looked over at Mwatlug. "Nurse Meatlug, if you would do the honours, please?"

Meatlug then spewed a small amount of lava onto the splint. At once the splint melted away, revealing a healed leg. The Speed Stinger roared at them in gratitude and the two boys smiled.

The Speed Stinger took a step forward and found it leg completely healed.

"Yeah, you see? No more pain," said Fishlegs.

"But as a healer I would suggest taking it easy," said Ragnar.

However, the Speed Stinger would not take it easy and began running around the place at top speed.

"Excitable little fella isn't he," said Ragnar.

"Yeah, he sure had stored up a lot of energy," said Fishlegs.

Then they saw the Speed Stinger running towards the pond and they both stared in horror.

"Oh, dear," said Fishlegs. He could return towards Meatlug. "Meatlug, stop him! Speed Stingers can't swim!"

Meatlug began to chase after the Speed Stingers, but she was far too slow it jumped into the pond. The two boys ran around the hut stared in amazement, the Speed Stinger had forming in, instead, incredibly, it was running across the water and then jumped out as if it was nothing.

"But the Speed Stingers that attacked our island can do that, they had to use a land bridge," said Ragnar confused.

"Yeah, how did you do that?" said Fishlegs amazed.

The Speed Stinger ran up to them and they studied it closely and for the first time they realised something. This Speed Stinger had webbed feet.

"Webbing?" Ragnar gasped.

"Of course. You can't fly, so you needed a way to island hop," said Fishlegs.

"You adapted, evolved," Ragnar finished.

"That incredible!" said Fishlegs. He then looked at Ragnar. "We have to tell Hiccup about this right away."

With that the two boys ran to find Hiccup.

* * *

In the morning, Ragnar and Fishlegs were talking Hiccup and Astrid to the dome where the Speed Stinger was being kept. They had just told them about their discovery.

"This is enormous, guys," said Hiccup as they approached the dome. "Finally, actual proof of dragon evolution. It's historic."

"I know, right!" said Fishlegs excitedly as he opened the dome.

"This is differently going down in the _Book of Dragons_ ," said Ragnar.

"And this Stinger webbing has actually inspired me to make a few changers on a little something I've been working on," said Hiccup as they entered the dome.

"If you say Dragonfly Two, I'm locking you up," said Astrid warningly.

"Guys, we have a problem," said Ragnar.

"He's gone," Fishlegs groaned.

Hiccup and Astrid and saw the Speed Stinger change was empty.

"How could he have gotten out of his cage?" said Astrid.

"He couldn't. At least not on his own," said Hiccup. He had a pretty good guess about who took the Speed Stinger. "And I think I have a pretty good idea who helped."

* * *

It was late in the evening and Snotlout and Ruffnut were on Hookfang's back with the Speed Stinger, who was tired up. Ruffnut then noticed the Speed Stinger was stirring.

"Ah, how cute!" she said. "He's dreaming."

"Ah, no he isn't," said Snotlout in a girly voice. "He's waking up. It's almost sun set!"

"Oh, great," Ruffnut groaned. "Ruffnut gets paralysed. Again."

"Come on, Hookfang, fly faster!" Snotlout yelled. Then, as the sun nearly set, the Speed Stinger awoke. "Oh, no."

"The ropes should hold," Ruffnut assured. "I tried the really…" Then the ropes around the Speed Stinger snapped, "tight. Whoops."

" _Whoops?_ That's all you got, _whoops_?" Snotlout yelled.

"There's other things I'd say, but none of them are very ladylike," Ruffnut yelled.

The Speed Stinger then slowly made its way towards them and then stuck Ruffnut with its sting. This time she the right side of her body was paralysed.

"Uh-oh. Snotlout, Viking going overboard," she said as she began to slide of Hookfang.

Quickly, Snotlout grabbed her leg, but the then Speed Stinger stung Hookfang and like Ruffnut the right side of his body became paralysed.

"Uh-oh. Hookfang!" Snotlout yelled.

They all then crashed towards the ground and were thrown off Hookfang. Somehow Snotlout crashed the ground with the Speed Stinger in his arms and it looked him across the face. He then responded by tossing it aside and ran up to Hookfang.

"Hey, watch the tongue!" he said.

The Speed Stinger then began to approach him and Hookfang ignited. Then the other riders, minus Tuffntu and Barf and Belch, appeared placing themselves between Snotlout and the Speed Stinger.

Ruffnut then waddled towards Hiccup. "Hey, Hiccup. I got stuck again. Just the right side this time," she said in a half muffled voice. She then began walking in circles. "I try to walk it off, but I keep going around in a circle."

Hiccup then turns attention to Snotlout. "Dragon-napping, Snotlout? I mean, this is a new low, even for you," he said.

"I was trying to save us!" Snotlout argued.

Toothless, Stormfly and Skull surrounded the Speed Stinger prevented it from getting any closer to any of them. Then they heard screeching the distance and it sounds awfully familiar.

"Uh, you guys heard that, right?" said Astrid.

"Please tell me that was an echo. Please tell me that was an echo," Fishlegs begged.

Then the screeching became louder as if it was getting closer.

"I'm afraid not," said Ragnar knowing what was making that sound.

"Oh, no. the pack's come looking for it," said Astrid coming up with the same conclusion.

"How is that even possible? Speed stingers can't fly!" said Snotlout looking awfully nervous.

"Yeah, but we just discovered that these particular Speed stingers can travel across water fine," said Fishlegs.

"What? How?" Snotlout gasped in horror.

Hiccup quickly placed his hand over his mouth. "Okay, if we keep quiet, we might not give away our location," he said.

At that moment the young Speed Stinger screeched informing the pack of its location. Next second they heard the pack replying and it sounded awfully close.

The dragons got prepared for a fight, informing the riders that the Speed Stingers were indeed close.

"I'm guessing that very soon I'm gonna wish I could run in a straight line," said Ruffnut.

They then heard the sound of the Speed Stingers rushing towards them and saw them appearing on top of the cliff.

Snotlout turns attention on the young Speed Stinger and approached it angrily.

"You! I knew you'd rat us out," he said.

Then they heard a loud screech and looked up to see the pack leader appearing and it gave the orders the pack to attack.

"Guys! Stand your ground!" Hiccup ordered.

The Speed Stinger began running all around them and Fishlegs, in particular, was whimpering quite hard.

Toothless, Stormfly and Skull were the only dragons doing something to fend off the pack. Ruffnut and Hookfang meanwhile were walking in circles.

Speed Stinger was making their way towards them, but then Meatlug place herself between it and them and took the sting for them.

"Hey, girl, thanks," said Ruffnut patting the now paralysed Meatlug.

Soon the riders found themselves surrounded by the Speed Stingers.

"There's too many of them," said Hiccup as more Speed Stinger appeared out of the forest. "Our only hope is a draw them away."

"I'm not leaving anyone behind!" said Snotlout as he swatted away Speed Stinger with a broken branch.

This comment turned a few heads. Usually, Snotlout was the first to leave when things got bad.

"Really, since when," said Hiccup.

"Since right now," said Snotlout. "Don't ask me why, but I'm suddenly feeling selfless and heroic." The Speed Stinger he was facing then ran off and he swung his tree branch madly. "Back! Get away!"

Slowly more Speed Stingers appeared out of the forest.

"Uh-oh. Gotta get away," said Ruffnut still walking around in circles. "Come on, leg!"

Then Snotlout did something that surprised everyone, he grabbed the young Speed Stinger. He had one arm around its body and another grasping its sting.

"Don't worry, guys. I'll be back for you," he said. He then turned and looked at the pack. "Come and get me, Needle Butts!"

Snotlout then ran off and once the Speed Stingers ran right after him. Everyone just said at him blankly as he disappeared into the forest.

"Go get them, Snotlout!" said Ruffnut.

"Snotlout, Snotlout. Oi! Oi! Oi!" Snotlout yelled as he ran through the forest. He looked back and saw the Speed Stingers were still chasing him. "Keep chasing."

Soon he ran into a clearing and panted for breath releasing the young Speed Stinger. However, when he turned to look back he saw that the Speed Stingers were gone.

"Gone?" he said puzzled. Then he had rustling in the bushes behind and realised at once what it was and turned around slowly. "And that's because they're here for the big ambush."

Indeed, the Speed Stinger were coming out of the bushes one by one and were advancing towards him.

"This was a bad idea," said Snotlout raising his hands up.

Then, from out of nowhere, the young Speed Stinger zoomed out in front of him and began stinging the first three Speed Stingers. And once they collapsed, partially paralysed.

"What the… wait," he gaped looking at the young Speed Stinger. "I'm never going to get you dragon."

The pack leader approached looking at the paralysed Speed Stingers crawling away. It then screeched angrily and advance towards Snotlout, but the younger Speed Stinger stood its ground protecting him.

"What?" said Snotlout confused.

"He is torn between his pack and the one that saved his life," said Hiccup. Snotlout looked up and saw Hiccup hovering above them on Toothless. "Ours."

"But he hates me!" Snotlout.

"But you're one of us," Hiccup pointed out. "It is instinct to protect you."

Toothless by the plasma bass at the pack leader knocking it back a bit.

"Get out of here before you realises he has to choose a side," said Hiccup.

Snotlout looked at the young Speed Stinger, not sure how to take this news.

Hiccup look down at Toothless and said, "Okay, bud. Let's get these guys back into the water."

Hiccup and Toothless then flew towards the pack and started firing plasma blasts at them. The pack then ran towards the beach and the pack leader for them.

Once they were on the beach, but some of the pack began to turn around. Then suddenly Astrid and Ragnar appeared and began to divert them. Skull sent a stream of fire forcing the Speed Stingers into the water and Stormfly began firing spikes blocking their path forcing them to turn around back into the water.

"We brought back up," said Astrid fine up to Hiccup.

Hiccup then saw Tuffnut flying on top of Belch. Barf was still paralysed, but he assisted by spreading gas across the beach and then Blech ignited it. This created a wall fire preventing the Speed Stingers from heading back towards the forest.

"Nice, Barf. I mean, freaky, but nice just the same," said Tuffnut.

The only Speed Stinger that wasn't retreating was the pack leader, he began jumping up the rocks towards Tuffnut and Barf and Belch. They did notice the pack leader landing on the rock behind them and striking Barf and Belch with his sting.

"Oh, no," said Tuffnut as they began to fall out of the sky.

"Barf and Belch are down. We need to get rid of that Stinger chief," said Hiccup.

Then he and Toothless began flying towards the pack leader. The pack leader began running across the rocks towards them and jumped into the air.

It looks assure that the pack leader was going to strike them, but Hiccup pulled down some straps on his armour and looked down at Toothless.

"Toothless, separate!" he ordered.

Toothless then threw Hiccup into the air and everyone discover that Hiccup had completed his Dragonfly Two flying suit. Unlike the previous one, this suit had a pair wings that were strapped to his arms and they almost look like the webbing from the Speed Stingers feet. This made it easier from mobility.

The pack leader went through the middle of them and began to fall towards the ground below him.

"Dragonfly Two, go!" Hiccup yelled.

Toothless and on the ground and saw Hiccup flying across the night sky and the pack leader landed hard on the ground.

"Excellent!" Hiccup laughed as he flew over Toothless.

The pack leader got up, but saw the other dragon riders were surrounding it. It then looked down at the young Speed Stinger and screeched at it, who screeched back.

Seen there was no way he could win, the pack leader followed the pack across the water.

"Yeah! Swim away, Stingers!" Snotlout yelled triumphantly.

Hiccup soon landed on the ground and once he saw the young Speed Stinger looking out across the water where the other members of its pack were leaving and was looking sadly at them.

Hiccup then approached it and raised the palm of his hand and the Speed Stinger placed its snout on it. Hiccup looked at the rest of the pack and knew he couldn't keep the Speed Stinger here and look down at it.

"No. I'm sorry, but, little guy, you need to go back to your own," said Hiccup pointing at the pack which was slowly disappearing in the distance.

The Speed Stinger screeched happily at him and then ran after the pack.

"What are you doing? We can't let go back with them!" said Snotlout, who suddenly had a change of heart.

"Snotlout, it's where he belongs. That's his real pack," said Hiccup.

"And just when we were starting to get along. Why does this always happen to me?" Snotlout moaned.

Astrid and Ragnar then approached Hiccup, both of whom looked completely bewildered at what just happened.

"Can you believe what that dragon did for us?" said Astrid.

"Yeah, he helped us, over his own Alpha," said Ragnar shocked.

"For that time, he was part of our pack. And we were part of his," said Hiccup. "Even Snotlout, somehow."

They turned and saw Snotlout talking to the twins.

"Scared? Ha!" he said. "That Stinger was more scared of me then I was of him."

"Hey, look isn't that them swimming towards us?" said Tuffnut looking out to sea.

"Maybe they're coming back for you, Snotlout," said Ruffnut.

"What? No!" Snotlout yelled running away, not realising the twins had tricked him.

"They weren't swimming this way," said Tuffnut.

"Look at him run. Stupid," Ruffnut muttered.


	13. Total Nightmare

**I'd look to inform you that after the 28** **th** **of September updates will be slower, because I'll be back at university. I also like to inform you that I'll continue this story once more episodes are released.**

* * *

It was a normal day on Dragon's Edge and Hiccup and Toothless had just shot out of a waterfall. They were taking apart in a challenge called the Dome which involved racing from the waterfall to the dome at the basic.

"Come on, Toothless!" Hiccup yelled as they flew around the waterfall. They then flew into the forest and began racing through the trees. "Faster, bud."

Once they exited the forest they came into view of the base. Astrid was watching them through a spyglass.

"There they are," Astrid announced.

"Close the dome," said Fishlegs turning to the twins, who were manning the lever that would close the dome.

This next part of the challenge was difficult; Hiccup and Toothless had to fly into the dome and exited it before it close completely.

"And so the drama begins," said Ruffnut.

"One man, one dragon, one leg…" said Tuffnut as they pulled the lever, "versus one rapidly closing dome."

Today the twins were acting as they were directing a play, much to the annoyance of the others riders.

Hiccup looked down at the closing dome and said to Toothless, "It's going to be close."

They then began flying around the sea stacks and then headed towards the carven below the dome. The carven had a large hole in its ceiling that lead to the dome, it was so began that Skull could enter it.

They entered the carven, but came to an abrupt stop before slamming into the wall. Then they flew upwards towards the hole in the ceiling.

"Ah, no way he's making that," said Snotlout from outside.

"Word of advance Snotlout, never bet against Hiccup," said Ragnar.

Then they saw Hiccup and Toothless flying out of the hole in the dome. They didn't waste a second and flew out of the dome just as it closed.

Astrid cheered and Ragnar mouthed the words "Told you so" to Snotlout.

"Argh, what?" Snotlout moaned.

"Good job, Toothless," said Hiccup.

They then landed on top of the dome with everyone, apart from Snotlout, smiling at them and laughing.

"All right, we're up," said Snotlout gesturing to Hookfang.

"Come on, Snotlout," said Fishlegs. "Nobody's been able to beat the Dome except Hiccup."

"Nobody till now," said Snotlout

"Guys, this was a drill," Hiccup reminded. "Do you have to turn it into a game?"

"Don't we always?" said Astrid.

Hiccup just stared at them in silence and then said, "Fair point."

"I've already given up to correct them," said Ragnar.

"'Twas wants a drill. Then it became a game. Now, it is theatre!" Tuffnut announced.

"Let the drama unfold," said Ruffnut.

"Whatever it is, it's my turn," said Snotlout walking off with Hookfang.

"I'll wager you loses an eye," said Tuffnut as he and his sister crossed their arms.

"Ha-ah! On the contrary, I predict that act one scene one will conclude with the loss of a gall bladder," said Ruffnut.

"Hm. Or perhaps the leg," said Tuffnut and turn to look at Hiccup, who had just landed next to them. "What say you, young Hiccup?"

"Oh, gods," Hiccup murmured.

Meanwhile, Snotlout had just exited out of the waterfall and began the Dome challenge. They are just flown around the waterfall when Hookfang heard a screech in the distance.

At once he began to act up and Snotlout found himself upside down twisting his legs around Hookfang's neck. He also got a face full of leaves as they flew above the tree.

"Stay focused, Hookfang!" Snotlout after splitting the leaves out of his mouth.

Hookfang then swung his neck around, allowing Snotlout to sit upon his saddle properly. They then dyed into the forest, but then he turned his head once again and Snotlout was hit in the face by a branch.

"Keep your head in the game," Snotlout roared and next second they shot out of the forest. "Hookfang!"

Once they exited the forest and came into view from the base, the twins prepared pulldown the lever to close the dome.

"He hath emerged from the forest!" Ruffnut announced lowering the spyglass she was holding.

"And what of his gall bladder?" Tuffnut asked.

"Impossible to say."

"The tension continues to build," said Tuffnut pushing down on the lever.

He then slipped and knocked his head on the lever before falling to the floor.

Up in the air, Snotlout saw the dome closing and knew they had little time. They flew past the sea stacks with these and headed towards the cavern.

"And time runs out for a plucky little anti-hero," said Tuffnut.

"I love a ticking sundial, don't you?" Ruffnut asked.

"Indeed."

"Guys, please," Hiccup begged as he approached them.

Soon Snotlout and Hookfang enter the cavern, but Snotlout's helmet was grazing across the low cavern ceiling. They soon reach the dead-end and Hookfang stopped abruptly, he then flew out of the hole in the ceiling.

"Hookfang, beat the dome! Hurry up!" Snotlout yelled as they exited the hole.

Hookfang flew towards the dome and it looked like very words succeed, but then the dome slam shut and the riders outside had a massive _thump_ as they slammed into it.

Tuffnut quickly pulled the lever up opening the dome and they all rushed over. Once the dome was open they saw that Snotlout was laying on the ground alone, Hookfang was nowhere to be seen.

"Snotlout, are you okay?" Hiccup asked.

"Define _okay_ ," said Snotlout rubbing his head.

"Where's Hookfang?" Hiccup asked.

"That's what I like to know," said Snotlout getting to his feet. "I've got some words for that dragon."

Then they heard Hookfang screeching in the distance.

* * *

It was late in the evening and Snotlout still had not found Hookfang.

"Hookfang!" Snotlout yelled. "Hookfang, where are you?"

He soon passed a few trees and saw Hookfang standing next to the cave as if he was guarding it.

"Finally! There you are," said Snotlout approaching him. Hookfang then turned and ignited. "Hey, whoa! What's with the attitude? I'm supposed to be mad here."

Hookfang then calmed down and his flames dispelled.

"Are you okay, Hooky?" Snotlout asked as he climbed onto his saddle. "You've got to be starving." Hookfang gave one last look at the cave as if he didn't want to leave. "Come on, let's get back to Dragon's Edge."

They then flew off.

* * *

Back at the base, the riders were feeding their dragons in the stable. They gave them a large quantity of fish and they began eating happily, all apart from Hookfang, who was looking at the stable door.

Snotlout approached Hookfang with a bucket of mackerel. "Here, Hookfang," he said holding out the mackerel.

But Hookfang didn't look interested and so Snotlout tossed the mackerel onto his snout, but he just tossed it back right in his face.

"What? You love mackerel," said Snotlout stunned.

Hookfang just grounded him angrily and then jumped and Snotlout grabbed hold of his mouth. Hookfang responded by tossing him over to the other riders feet.

"Hookfang!" Snotlout growled and then a mackerel was thrown right into his face. He then looked at the other riders. "Everyone saw that, right?"

"Yes, we did, my friend, and it was delightful," said Tuffnut.

"Good sir, can you re-enact it for us?" Ruffnut asked.

"No, I'm talking about Hookfang," said Snotlout getting to his feet. "He's acting weird."

"How's that?" Fishlegs asked.

"Well he didn't listen to me during the race, he ran away, he just spit fish in my face and then threw me against the wall."

"And this is weird how?" Astrid asked.

"Yeah, this does look quite normal," said Ragnar.

"You have to admit Snotlout that does kind of sum up your relationship with Hookfang," said Hiccup.

Snotlout glared at them and grabbed the mackerel on the floor, he then threw it at Hookfang. Hookfang growled at him and swatted the mackerel back into Snotlout's face. He then flew up and began hitting his head against the roof.

Both Hiccup and Ragnar approached Snotlout as they looked up at Hookfang.

"If you're coming over here to tell me I'm crazy, save it," said Snotlout.

"You know what, Snotlout? You're right," said Hiccup.

Snotlout turned and stared at him. "I am?"

"Well, he does seem agitated," said Ragnar curiously.

"And no one knows your dragon like you do," said Hiccup. "If you really think something's wrong, lock him up in the pen for the night just so he doesn't hurt himself then we can see how he's doing in the morning."

"Yeah. Maybe I'll do that," said Snotlout.

* * *

Later that night, Snotlout dragged Hookfang to his pen. Hookfang growled sadly at him, indicating that he did not want to go in.

"Don't look at me like that. This is for your own good," said Snotlout.

Once he was able to get Hookfang into the pen he closed the door and locked it.

"See you in the morning," he said and left.

Hookfang growled sadly and began fighting against the door. He then began shooting fire at the door non-stop, until there was a large crash.

* * *

The next morning, Snotlout rushed over to the stables carrying a large tuna for Hookfang.

"Hey, Hookfang, you feeling better? Who wants tuna for breakfast?" he said as he entered the stables.

However when he ended he found the pen door, where Hookfang was placed, burnt to a crisp in the pen empty.

"Hookfang?" said Snotlout dropping the tuna and rushing to the pen door. "Hookfang?"

* * *

He ran towards the dome where the other riders were preparing their dragons for more training. They all stop and saw Snotlout running towards them with panic all over his face.

"Hookfang broke out of his pen last night!" he yelled.

"Then this might be more serious than we thought," said Hiccup.

"Great, I accept your offer to help in the search," said Snotlout.

Then before Hiccup could stop them, he climbed onto Toothless back, much to his annoyance.

"Come on, Toothless. Up, bud. Fly, bud. Do something, bud!" he said shaking around his saddle making Toothless even more annoyed.

"Okay, calm down, Snotlout," said Hiccup calmly. "We'll help you look for Hookfang."

"Oh, yeah, you will, it was your idea to leave them alone in his pen in the first place," Snotlout reminded.

Hiccup rolled his eyes.

* * *

An hour later they were flying across the island in their search for Hookfang. Snotlout was riding with Hiccup, who did not like Snotlout as a backseat driver. Along with them was Astrid and Ragnar, they had decided to split up in search for Hookfang, but yet they had no success.

"Hookfang! Hookfang!" Snotlout yelled pressing Hiccup against Toothless' saddle.

Toothless roared in annoyance. "Easy, bud," said Hiccup patting Toothless on the head. "The sooner we can find Hookfang, the sooner we'll get Snotlout off your back."

Hiccup side as he straightened up, then Snotlout tapped his shoulder. "Give me your eye thingy," he said.

"You mean my spyglass?" said Hiccup in annoyance holding up the spyglass.

Snotlout took it without saying thank you and present against a side looking for Hookfang. Then they heard a low screeching sound that was familiar to Snotlout.

"That sound… we heard that before Hookfang weirded out," said Snotlout. He then knocked Hiccup aside and pointed down where the sound was coming from. "Go that way!"

"Would you…" said Hiccup, but caught himself. He knew Snotlout was just concerned about Hookfang and that arguing with him wouldn't do any good. "Okay, let me fly the dragon."

"That sounded like a Monstrous Nightmare," said Astrid.

"Yes, but the roar was different," Ragnar noted.

He then threw down towards were they heard the screech and as a cave that was very familiar to Snotlout. Once they land on the ground they saw Hookfang guarding the cave entrance, looking quite fierce.

"This place again?" said Snotlout puzzled. He then hopped off Toothless. "This is where I found him last time."

Hookfang then roared fiercely.

Despite this, Snotlout began to walk towards him, but Hookfang was acting quite weird. He was frailing like a fish out of water.

Then they saw another Monstrous Nightmare exiting from the cave, this one had purple and yellow scales and it looked just as fierce as Hookfang.

"Look there's another Monstrous Nightmare," said Astrid.

"That's not just another Monstrous Nightmare. That's a female Monstrous Nightmare," said Hiccup.

"No wonder Hookfang broke out of the pen," said Ragnar as they hopped off their dragons.

The two Monstrous Nightmares began circling around each other and Snotlout just stared at them.

"A female Monstrous Nightmare?" said Snotlout as if he never heard of such a thing. "Now it all makes sense. My dragon has a way with the ladies! Must have picked up a few points from his master."

Astrid pinched the top of her nose and shook her head. "I doubt it. She's not dry heaving," she said.

"Okay, shush. Hookfang, time's up. Let's go," said Snotlout approaching Hookfang.

"Snotlout, you might want to tread lightly," Hiccup advised. "He's looking a wee bit territorial."

" _Bit territorial_ ," Snotlout repeated in a babyish voice. "Thanks for the advice, Hiccup. But like you said nobody knows my dragon like I do. So, when it comes to Hookfang, I handle my own business." He then turned and approached Hookfang with confidence. "Hookfang? Girl Hookfang?"

Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar quickly turned their heads and heard the screams of Snotlout and the sound of dragons breath. Then the sound faded they turned and saw scorched Snotlout approaching them.

"Yeah, he's a little busy right now," he said before collapsing to the ground at their feet.

* * *

At the clubhouse, they explained the situation to the other riders. Snotlout was a bit disheartened that Hookfang wouldn't return to him.

"Snotlout, it's not that bad," said Astrid. "It could have been worse."

"I fear not fair maiden," said Tuffnut. "Hookfang made a decisive choice that moment, and, thus, acted upon it."

"Mm. Showing, not telling. The number one rule in theatre," said Ruffnut. "And what better way to achieve that than by setting one aflame!"

"Kid all you want, but I know that dragon," said Snotlout. "I know what's in his heart and I know what's in his head. He'll come back to me like always, he always does."

"Actually, I agree with the twins," said Ragnar as Fishlegs quivered.

"Oh, what? Are you two tell me he's never coming back?" said Snotlout.

Both Ragnar and Fishlegs looked at each other uneasily.

"Ragnar? Fishlegs?" said Hiccup.

"Hookfang wouldn't follow his training," said Fishlegs.

"He wouldn't eat," Ragnar added.

"He ran away twice."

"He picked another dragon over you."

"Don't forget the fire thing," Tuffnut added.

"Exactly, he pushed you away. All the symptoms of there," said Ragnar.

"Symptoms of _what_?" Snotlout shouted.

"We think Hookfang is going feral," said Fishlegs.

Hiccup and Astrid gasped in horror.

"No, not going feral?" Tuffnut said in horror.

"The cruellest turn of events…" Ruffnut paused and looked at her brother. "Wait, what's going feral mean?"

"I have no idea," said Tuffnut.

"It means that meeting this female Monstrous Nightmare as reawakened his primal instincts. And he is returning to the wild," said Fishlegs.

They all then looked at Snotlout in horror, who didn't believe a word they said.

"You two shut up. What do you know?" said Snotlout he then walked away in a huff. "Hookfang needs me."

"It's nature, Snotlout. You can't fight it," said Fishlegs.

"Watch me."

The riders just stood there in silence, until the twins began clapping ferociously.

"Bravo! Bravissimo! Encore!" Tuffnut yelled. "Ah, what theatre!"

"Yes, and what a cliffhanger," Ruffnut agreed.

* * *

Later that day, the riders were giving their dragons blush down. As they were scrubbing their dragons, Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar began talking to one another about Snotlout and Hookfang.

"It's a scary idea, huh?" said Hiccup. "That one of our dragons might just one day go back to the wild?" He then looked Toothless. "You'd never do that to me, would you, bud?"

Toothless acid by nuzzling him.

"I didn't think so."

"I can't say that I'm not worried," said Ragnar. "Skull's roar is his mating call and I think the reason Howe, female Boneknapper hasn't appeared is because he's still young."

"Come on, it was going to happen to anyone, it'd be Snotlout," said Astrid. "I mean none of us have to worry." She then looked at Stormfly. "Right?"

Stormfly growled softly no doubt informing Astrid that she had nothing to worry about.

Then they smelled something in the air with a beautiful scent.

"What smell so good?" said Astrid.

They wandered around and found Fishlegs in Meatlug's pen rubbing her down with some sort of oil. They just stared at him not quite sure what was going on.

"You're giving Meatlug a rubdown?" said Hiccup in bewilderment.

"Yeah, with a favourite lingonberry oil," said Fishlegs waving a vase of lingonberry oil. "Just letting her know she's appreciated."

The three Dragon Riders just looked at one another, but didn't say a word.

* * *

Meanwhile, Snotlout was trying to get Hookfang back. He was hiding behind the bushes they give a view of the cave and had just seen Hookfang give his girlfriend a fish.

"Primal instincts, Thor's butt!" Snotlout scoffed. "My primal instincts is to get my dragon back."

He then saw Hookfang flying off, he then exited the bushes and approached Hookfang's girlfriend heaving the basket he had brought.

"Hi, Girl Hookfang!" he said and at once she turned to faced him and growled him. "I see you've already got my boy bringing dinner for you. Big step."

She then growled him angrily.

"All right, all right. I just wanted to come over and say hello. Maybe bring a little desert for you," said Snotlout calmly. He then reached into the basket. "I've got something _very special_."

He then tossed the basket towards and it swung open and an electric eel slivered out of it. At one she backed away in fear.

"What? You don't like eel?" said Snotlout smiling evilly. "Oops. If I were you, I'd fly away and never look back."

She growled at him furiously, but backed away from the eel. Then Hookfang landed in between her and the eel and swatted it away with his tail. The eel landed on Snotlout giving him a nasty electric shock.

"A… little… help… here!" he cried out.

Then through great difficulty, he managed to toss the eel away. He then got to his feet and glared at Hookfang furiously.

"I have had enough of you, Hookfang!" he yelled. "It's time you choose, her or me."

Hookfang growled sadly and looked at his girlfriend then back to Snotlout. He then started to back away from him and Snotlout stared at him in horror, he had chosen her.

* * *

Later that evening, he returned to the stables at the base. The other riders enter and the first thing I noticed was he was badly scorched and that he looked extremely depressed. He made his way to Hookfang's pen and studied it sadly.

"Any luck with Hookfang?" Hiccup asked, but he knew the answer already.

"You give a dragon the best years of your life and then—pfft—it's over!" he said.

Fishlegs began to whimper and grab the bucket that was for flocks next to him. "You want a little more bauxite, girl?" he asked as he poured the rocks into a mouth.

"Classic romantic comedy paradigm," said Tuffnut. "Boy gets dragon, boy loses dragon, dragon falls asleep, boy eats, boy falls asleep, dragon eats."

"Oh! Gets me every time," said Ruffnut sobbing.

"I give up," said Snotlout. "If being with her makes Hookfang happy, I guess I should be happy for him, too." He then walked away extremely depressed. "Now if you excuse me, I think I'm going to go lay down for a few… weeks."

The riders just stared at him as he left the stables.

"Wow, it's really not like Snotlout to give up this easily," said Hiccup.

"What can you do? Hookfang hath forsaken him," said Tuffnut. "I, too, will be depress-ed, if Barf and Belch forsook-ed me."

"And if I forsook-ed thee?" Ruffnut asked.

"Ah, that wouldn't bother me."

"We've gotta get him back in the saddle right away," said Hiccup. "That means we've got some work to do."

* * *

The next morning they were at the dome showing Snotlout three different coloured Monstrous Nightmares. They were hoping that Snotlout would choose one of them as his new dragon.

"What's this?" Snotlout asked.

"We stayed up all night wrangling some new dragons," said Hiccup. "We figured, maybe with Hookfang going through… uh, well, whatever he's going through, this might help."

"Guys, I don't know what to say," said Snotlout smiling slightly.

"Thank Thor," said Astrid looking up at the sky.

"Except that you wasted your time."

"Oh, come on, Snotlout, at least try them out," Hiccup said.

"As awesome as Hookfang, Fangmaster and Hook Blazefang are… and yes I named them already. I can't look at them and not think of Hookfang."

"Another cruel twist. Snotlout rejects the new suitors," said Tuffnut and turned and looked at the Monstrous Nightmares. "Begone, pretenders, and never return! I hast forsookenst thou."

The Monstrous Nightmares then took off disappearing in the distance.

"Snotlout, I know you're hurting, but we need you up there with us," said Hiccup.

"You're the muscle on our team," said Ragnar.

"Dagur's out there looking for us. We can't be down a rider," said Astrid.

"What if you tried a different kind of dragon?" Fishlegs suggested.

"I don't know. Maybe," said Snotlout not looking very sure.

"Yeah, there you go!" said Hiccup. "How about a Nadder? Uh, Astrid?"

Astrid didn't look too keen on the idea. "Oh, he doesn't want to ride Stormfly again. He's already—"

"Too small, too big, too slow, two heads," said Snotlout pointing at Stormfly, Skull, Meatlug and Barf and Belch.

"Okay, you don't like any of these dragons," said Hiccup. "So, maybe we try some new ones. A Thunderdrum or a Timberjack? Or how about—"

"Listen guys, I don't want to come off as thankful or anything, but you taught me a lesson today by offering me your inferior dragons," said Snotlout.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that if I can't fly Hookfang, I don't want to fly any dragon."

"How can you be a dragon rider and not write a dragon?" Astrid asked.

"You always the smart one, Astrid," said Snotlout sadly.

Hiccup stared at him. "Wait a minute, you're—"

"Quitting, that's right," said Snotlout. "I shall be a dragon rider no more."

They all gasped in horror at him.

"Time to call the understudy," said Tuffnut.

"Hey, Fishlegs, how's your Snotlout?" Ruffnut asked.

Hiccup didn't want to lose Snotlout and approached him. "Ah, come on, Snotlout, you're just hurting now, that's all," he said. "Give it some time."

"No, Hiccup, my mind is made up," said Snotlout. "I'm going to say goodbye to Hookfang, then _sail_ back to Berk for good." He then walked off. "It's over."

The riders looked at one another not sure how to take this news, but the one thing they knew was that they could lose him.

* * *

Later that evening, Snotlout made his way back to the cave in order to say goodbye to Hookfang.

"Hello, Hookfang? Girl Hookfang?" Snotlout yelled through the bushes. "I've come to say goodbye."

He then saw Hookfang lying on the ground unconscious it looked as though he fought against something and lost.

"Hookfang?" Snotlout yelled and ran over to him. Then he saw Hookfang's girlfriend exiting from the cave and unsheathed his sword. "What did you do? I knew you were bad news!"

Hookfang's girlfriend then placed herself between him and Hookfang. No doubt she thought Snotlout was going to do harm to him.

"Make you move, she-devil," said Snotlout.

They both glared at one another and then charged at one another. However, before they could do some actual fighting, Hookfang got up and roared at two of them to tell them to stop fighting and then collapsed to the ground.

That certainly stopped the two of them from fighting. They both looked at Hookfang, who was pointing at the cave. His girlfriend his reluctant to let Snotlout enter, but moved aside to let him pass.

Snotlout dropped his sword and rushed over to the cave. Then he saw something that confused everything, inside were three Monstrous Nightmare eggs.

"Eggs? What's going on here?" said Snotlout puzzled.

He then heard a loud roar coming from another Monstrous Nightmare, but this one sounded louder. He turned and saw a massive Titan Wing Monstrous Nightmare with blood-red and black scales descending towards them.

"A Titan Wing Monstrous Nightmare, come on? Could this get any worse?" said Snotlout.

Then the Titan Wing roared so loud that it could be heard from all over the island. Snotlout backed away from it not wanting to fight it.

"Whoa. I'd stay away from that guy," he said.

However, Hookfang would not, he had gotten up and he and his girlfriend took up fighting stances. Hookfang then charged at him.

"Hookfang, what are you going?" Snotlout yelled.

Hookfang was knocked aside quite easily from the Titan Wing and then he turned and charged towards them.

"I don't know why, but here goes nothing," said Snotlout picking up his sword. "You want Hookfang's girlfriend , you got to go through—"

Then all of a sudden a plasma blast his the Titan Wing and Snotlout looked up to see Hiccup and the other riders flying towards them. The twins then covered the Titan Wing with gas and then sparked it, coursing an explosion.

Skull then landed in front of, Skull was slightly bigger than the Titan Wing and knowing he was out numbered flew away.

Once he was gone then other riders landed on the ground.

"What are you guys doing here? Not that I'm complaining," said Snotlout.

"We came to convince you not to quite," said Hiccup hopping off Toothless.

"Lucky for you," said Ragnar.

"You mind telling us what's going on here?" Astrid asked.

"To me it looks like two male fighting over the same female," said Ragnar as they got off their dragons.

"Yeah, I've heard male Vikings do it, but I've personally never seen it," said Ruffnut.

"But the Titan Wing heard the female's mating call, too, and was drawn by it," said Fishlegs rubbing his chin.

"Ah-ah! A love triangle!" Tuffnut yelled.

"Wrong. Girl Hookfang has three eggs in that cave. Hookfang has been helping her protect them from giant jerk dragon," Snotlout explained.

"That wasn't a mating call. It was a distress call!" Hiccup gasped.

"Well, we taught him a lesson then," said Astrid proudly. "He won't be back."

"Yes, he will," said Fishlegs.

"Those eggs are probably the eggs of a rival," said Ragnar. "Titan Wings won't give up until they're destroyed."

Hookfang then hobbled towards them, he was still recovering with his fight with the Titan Wing, but he didn't look like he was going to give up yet. Then he and the female Monstrous Nightmare lower their heads towards Snotlout, who rub them.

"So, Hookfang didn't go feral after all?" he said looking at Ragnar and Fishlegs.

"Apparently not," said Ragnar.

"He's actually trying to establish dominance over the Titan Wing so he will leave the eggs alone. Wow!" said Fishlegs stunned.

"I knew it!" said Snotlout.

"A true underdog story," said Tuffnut.

"Yes! The fracture of dramaturgy!" said Ruffnut.

"Ha, I'm proud of you, buddy," said Snotlout rubbing Hookfang's head. He then rubbed the bottom of the female Monstrous Nightmare. "Girl Hookfang just became an honorary Jorgenson."

"Oh, boy," said Astrid pitching the top of her nose again and looking at her feet.

Then Ragnar and Fishlegs looked up in their faces turned to horror and then Fishlegs' tapped Hiccup's shoulder.

"Uh, Hiccup," he said.

"Yeah?" Hiccup asked.

"Remember when we said about the Titan Wing Monstrous Nightmare coming back?" said Ragnar who was looking at the sky.

"Yeah?" Hiccup asked again.

"Well…" Fishlegs then pointed upwards.

They looked up and saw them Titan Wing circling around them. Both Hookfang and the female Monstrous Nightmare roared at him.

"Hookfang can't take on that Titan Wing alone," said Hiccup.

"He won't be alone," said Snotlout climbing onto Hookfang's saddle.

"Neither will you," said Astrid.

"We gotta do this ourselves," said Snotlout.

"No way! That thing will tear you apart. Saddle up, everyone," Astrid ordered.

"You heard Ragnar and Fishlegs. That Titan Wing will only stop if it's dominated by Hookfang," said Snotlout.

"He's right," said Hiccup.

"But, Hiccup, look at that thing," said Astrid pointing at the Titan Wing. "It's—"

"I know. Gigantic, scary, angry," said Hiccup.

"Bloodthirsty!" Tuffnut added.

"Thanks, Tuff," said Hiccup looking slightly annoyed.

"Sorry, writer's embellishment," said Tuffnut.

Hiccup then looked up at Snotlout and said, "Go get him, Snotlout. You guys can do this."

"Hey, be careful. He's pretty nasty," said Astrid.

"Whatever happens, promise me you'll protect those eggs," said Snotlout.

"We will," said Hiccup.

Then he and Hookfang flew up and shot straight at the Titan Wing.

"He's crazy," said Astrid as they watched.

"He's Snotlout," Hiccup pointed out.

"True."

Soon Snotlout and Hookfang full power out of the Titan Wing and it want it fired a fire blast at them. Hookfang was able to dodge, barely, and then fired his own fire blast at its side. The Titan Wing was unable to dodge and took the hit.

From the ground the riders cheered.

They then watched as the Titan Wing try to blast them, but every single time Hookfang dodged and then attacked him from the side.

"Hookfang's smaller but more manoeuvrable," said Fishlegs.

"If they keep this up they may just be able to win," said Ragnar.

"The climax approaches," said Tuffnut.

Snotlout and Hookfang kept on dodging and blasting again and again, but the Titan Wing was starting to learn their tactics. He managed to swat Hookfang with his tail sending them crashing towards the ground.

Hookfang was able to straighten them up before they hit the ground, but the Titan Wing was descending towards them and there was no time for them to dodge.

"This is gonna hurt," said Snotlout bracing for the impact.

Then the Titan Wing was blasted by another fire blast. They looked up and saw the female Monstrous Nightmare had joined the battle.

"Way to go, Girl Hookfang!" Snotlout yelled. "I always did like you."

The Titan Wing recovered and faced the female Monstrous Nightmare, but then Hookfang blasted in the back. He kept on turning around to face Hookfang, but they were able stay on his black and blast him.

But then the Titan Wing was able to face them and fired a fire blast at them. Fortunately, Hookfang was able to dodge it, but Snotlout realise they would be able to beat him with the same tactics over and over again and then he got an idea.

"Okay, Hookfang, time to play _Beat the Dome_!" Snotlout yelled loudly so that the other riders could hear them.

They then flew off heading towards the waterfall.

Riders just stared in confusion not sure what to make of this.

" _Beat the Dome?_ That's his great idea?" said Astrid.

"Whoa, whoa. Snotlout's never beaten the Dome," said Fishlegs.

"You're right, he hasn't," said Hiccup staring towards the waterfall.

"Not like we have any choice," said Ragnar.

"Okay, Astrid, Ruff, Tuff you're with me. Ragnar, Fishlegs, stay with Girl Hookfang and defend the eggs," said Hiccup looking at the riders.

They all then ran their separate ways wondering what Snotlout was up to.

Snotlout and Hookfang to senior flying towards the waterfall making sure the Titan Wing was following them.

"All right, keep coming, keep coming, keep coming," said Snotlout.

Then the Titan Wing fired a fire blast at them and they dive straight into the waterfall. The Titan one stopped and hovered in mid-air and waited for them to come out.

Then Snotlout and Hookfang shot out flying past the Titan Wing. They then went round the waterfall with the Titan Wing, who could make a sharp turn as well was Hookfang.

"Ah, you could make that turn?" Snotlout mocked. "Man, you're gonna hate this."

Then they dived into the forest and the Titan Wing followed. Hookfang was agile enough to fly in between the trees, but the Titan when kept hitting into them. They then shot out of the forest and the Titan Wing followed now getting annoyed.

Hiccup and the others had finally reached the base and approached the Dome and seconds later they saw Snotlout and Hookfang being chased by the Titan Wing.

"Stop the Dome, now!" Hiccup commanded.

The twins rushed towards the lever and press down on it and the Dome began to close.

Snotlout saw that the Dome was closing and smiled. "Yes, they got it!" he said. He then saw the Titan Wing gaining on him. "Oh, no!"

They then dived and began circling around the sea stacks heading towards the cavern. Once they entered Hookfang stopped abruptly and then flew straight up towards the hole in the ceiling. The Titan Wing wasn't as lucky, he slammed straight into the wall and after recovering followed them through the hole.

The riders saw Hookfang shooting out of the hole in the floor, but they did make it in the Dome closed.

"They didn't make it!" said Astrid.

Inside the dome the Titan Wing managed to crawl his way into the Dome, but found no trace of Snotlout and Hookfang. He then roared furiously thinking that he was trapped inside.

However, Snotlout and Hookfang were clinging onto the dome behind him preparing to attack.

"Got you! Ha!" Snotlout yelled as Hookfang fired a fire blast from behind.

The Titan Wing turned, but saw nothing and another fire blast hit him at his back.

"Great shot, Hookfang," said Snotlout.

The Titan Wing then fire blast the hole Dome, but it did very little heating had enough room to manoeuvre inside.

Outside the Dome, Hiccup realised what Snotlout's plan was this or fire shooting out of gaps in the Dome.

"Hookfang's using the Titan Wing's side against him!" he said.

"He's trying to wear it down," said Astrid.

Inside, the Titan Wing realise that it attack failed and tried to fly up towards Snotlout and Hookfang, but hit his head on the ceiling. He then could you firing fire blast, but all of them missed while Hookfang's didn't.

Outside the riders weren't sure what was going on all they could hear were roars and only saw fire shooting out of the cracks in the Dome.

Then they heard something crash to the floor and weren't sure whether it was Hookfang all the Titan Wing.

"Quick, open the Dome!" Hiccup commanded.

The twins pull the level up and the dome began to open. The first thing they saw was the Titan Wing roaring at them making them believe that Hookfang had lost the fight.

Then he collapsed and when the dome was fully open they saw that Snotlout and Hookfang were on his back looking triumphant.

"Now, that's what I call domination. Boom!"said Snotlout triumphantly. Hookfang screeched happily and Snotlout rubbed the side of his head. "You tell them, Fangster."

The Titan Wing looked at Hookfang and flew away in defeat.

* * *

The sun was setting when they return to the cave and when they arrived Ragnar and Fishlegs rushed out looking extremely happy.

"You guys arrived in time," said Ragnar.

"You guys need to see this. They hatched!" Fishlegs yelled joyously.

Quickly the riders jumped off the dragons, apart from Snotlout, who stayed with Hookfang and rushed over to the cave where they could hear baby Monstrous Nightmares cooing happily.

"And to think I saved them," said Snotlout. Hookfang quickly turned on him and growled flames shooting from his body. "Okay, okay! We saved them. We saved them."

Hookfang then flew up into the air and circled around victorious and Snotlout yelled, "Snotlout! Hookfang! Oi! Oi! Oi!"

At the cave the riders were looking down at the baby Monstrous Nightmares and smiled, except for the twin to crying their eyes out.

"Uh, what's wrong with you two?" Hiccup asked.

"Nothing," said Ruffnut.

"You just don't see enough happy endings these days," said Tuffnut. "Snotlout! Oi! Oi! Oi! Oi! Oi! Oi! Oi!"

The other riders to suck their head and looked down at the baby Monstrous Nightmares with huge smiles.


	14. Team Astrid

**Sorry for the two-week lateness, but I had to juggle two stories and I thought juggling a third would be to tricky.**

* * *

Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar were doing night patrol around Dragon's Edge. They had to make sure their security system was operational.

"Well, very good patrol, guys. The edge is secure," said Hiccup.

"Dagur won't be sneaking upon us tonight," said Ragnar.

However when they threw over the edge of the Edge Astrid noticed something troubling and the look hasn't gone unnoticed by Hiccup.

"Uh-oh. I know that look," Hiccup groaned.

"Hiccup, Ragnar? Where are all the Night Terrors?" Astrid asked looking down at the empty perches. "Aren't they supposed to be on watch? They're our last line of defence."

Hiccup look down at the empty perches and he knew exactly who was responsible.

"Tuffnut!" he yelled.

"Not again?" Ragnar groaned.

Down on the Edge Ruffnut and Tuffnut was playing with one of the Night Terrors while the others flew around them.

Ruffnut was waving a stick over the Night Terror. "Yeah, that's good. Right over there. Perfect. Okay. Yes."

Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar landed right behind them.

"Uh, what are you two doing?" Hiccup asked.

"What does it look like we're doing?" Ruffnut asked. Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar gave her blank looks. "Dragon training!"

"You would think that you, of all people, would recognise that," said Tuffnut picking up the Night Terror. "Prepare to be amazed, my friend." He then placed the Night Terror down. "Okay, ready, little guy? Shake!"

At once the Night Terror fell on its back and shook its body around. Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar didn't look impressed.

Tuffnut didn't notice and laughed. "Right? See, you thought it'd be a handshake, he'd put out his claw, but I taught him—"

"Oh, no, no, we understand," said Hiccup. "I'm just not sure how useful a skill that is."

"Well, that's not all he does. You wanna see him get my slippers?"

"These dragons are not our pets, Tuffnut. They're an integral part of our security system," Astrid pointed out.

Tuffnut didn't take any notice. "He can also solve maths problems by stomping his foot, as long as the answer is always three."

"Yes, I see how useful a skill that would be, but I think their talent would be better served to act as security to our base," said Ragnar pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

"They've got a point, Tuffnut. And you've already got a pet already," Hiccup pointed out gesturing to Chicken.

Tuffnut just shrugged.

"Dagur could park a whole fleet right offshore and we wouldn't even know they were there, because the Night Terrors aren't on their perches," said Astrid furiously.

"Lighten up, Astrid," said Snotlout. "Dagur doesn't even know where Dragon's Edge is."

"Not yet," said Astrid and began poking his chest with a finger. "But if you guys don't take this seriously, he will soon enough."

"And with all this fooling around it will take a little effort to conquer Dragon's Edge," Ragnar added.

"I say bring it on! Let him bring that weak sauce in here. Hookfang and I will pummel his deranged butt."

Sharpshot then flew past out of nowhere and slammed into Fishlegs, who toppled over.

"Oh, dear," he said his voice muffled by Sharpshot wedge to his face. He then pulled him off him and found a note attached to his leg.

"Fishlegs, what is it?" Hiccup asked.

Fishlegs began to read the note. "It's Berk. And it's not good."

* * *

The next morning they arrived at Berk to find that some of the houses were on fire. Stoick was flying towards them around on Skullcrusher.

"Son, I'm glad you're here," he said.

"Who did this? Dagur?" Hiccup asked.

Stoick nodded. "It was a hit-and-run attack. Catapults and volleys of fire arrows. Hit a few buildings in town." He then looked at Astrid. "Astrid, one of them was your parents' house. You should probably head over to…"

Astrid then zoomed past and landed in the Plaza. She hopped off Stormfly and rushed over to her house, or what was left of it. It had been completely burned to the ground.

Gobber, who was badly scorched and holding a bucket in his hook, approached her. "Relax, lass. Ya parents are fine," he assured her. "They were at the yak races. And sorry we can save ya house."

Astrid didn't looked very relieved and rubbed her arm. "If they had been home, Gobber—"

"But they weren't. It will be all right, lass," said Gobber placing a hand on her shoulder. "We'll get this place rebuilt good as new."

* * *

Later that morning, after they put the flames out, Stoick and Hiccup were given instructions out to the groups.

"All right, now that the flames out, Sven, you start the wall repairs. Bucket, you're in charge of roofs," said Stoick.

He then turned and looked on proudly as the son given instructions to his friends. "Snotlout, Ruff, Tuff, you ferry whatever supplies they need. Ragnar, you assist Gothi with the injured. Fishlegs, you and Meatlug do heavy lifting."

"Take Skull with you, he can carry more," said Ragnar.

Hiccup nodded. "Meanwhile I'll go looking for Dagur."

"It was a strange attack, son," said Stoick approaching his son. "A single ship. It fired a few salvos, and then just, turned tail and ran."

"That's not Dagur's style. Why attack it all?" said Hiccup as he mounted Toothless.

"Good question."

"Tell you what, I'll ask him when I find him."

"He was heading due north. That's your best bet."

Hiccup nodded. "Let's go, bud!"

Toothless then took off.

* * *

Later that evening Hiccup returned to the arena completely exhausted.

Hiccup shook his head and then noticed Meatlug had a claws in four buckets of water. "Uh, is Meatlug okay?"

"Of course, she'll be fine," Fishlegs assured. "But all that taking off and landing is tough on insoles."

Hiccup looked at Ragnar, who just shrugged. "I take it you want able to find him," said Ragnar.

Hiccup nodded. "No, there was no trace of Dagur, but he did have a full day's head start on me. How the injuries?"

"Not as bad as we thought, few people got some nasty burns, some broken bones from fallen timber, but no fatalities."

"That's good." Hiccup then turned and looked at the twins. "How'd you two do on the repairs?"

"Awesome. We fixed so many houses," said Tuffnut.

"Yeah, but everyone was so grateful. They just, gave us all this food," said Ruffnut gesturing to the table behind and that was for food.

"They also gave us this furniture," said Tuffnut gesturing to some furniture close by to the table. "I mean, they just left it piling in front of their houses for us."

"Hiccup! It's a terrible tragedy!" Sven yelled running into the arena. "Someone's been looting the burned houses, taking food, furniture… anything valuable they can get their hands on."

Hiccup then turn to the twins and saw Ruffnut playing with a golden necklace while sitting on a wooden chair that bore striking resemblance to the one in his house. She then quickly hid the necklace behind her back.

"That's horrible! What kind of world are we living in?" she said.

"Don't worry, Sven. I'm pretty sure it'll reappear," said Hiccup leading him out of the arena. He then glared at the twins. "Very quickly."

Then he saw Stormfly flying into the arena and Astrid jumped off her. She looked a bit shaken up, but considering what just happened he can really blame.

"Astrid, how's your family?" Hiccup asked.

"Their okay. Their house…" She paused and rubbed her arms. "The house I grew up in, is gone."

"Hey, Astrid, do you need a shoulder to cry on?" Snotlout asked leaning on her shoulder.

Astrid then grabbed his arm and spun him around before tossing him to the other side of the arena. She then walked up to Snotlout with a smile on her face and bent down.

"Thanks, Snotlout, I really needed that," she said extending a hand out.

Snotlout grown and grabbed her hand. "You're welcome," he wheezed in pain as Astrid pulled him back up. "I know my role."

"Listen up, everyone," said Hiccup. "Dagur was last seen fleeing due north. By my calculations, he should be heading out of the archipelago. So, we go back to Dragon's Edge first thing tomorrow. We'll use that as our base to search for him. Now just go back to your houses, get a good night sleep." He then looked at Astrid as she walked up to Stormfly. "Where you guys saying tonight?"

"I figured Stormfly and I could just bed down here," said Astrid retrieving her blanket from Stormfly.

"What a coincidence. I'm sleeping here, too," said Hiccup rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

Astrid blinked. "Why? You have a warm bed and a house."

"Yeah, but, the way my dad snores, sawing logs, you know. Toothless and I wouldn't get a wink."

"Funnily enough me and Skull are staying here to," said Ragnar retrieving a blanket from Skull. "I enjoy the peace and quiet and sleeping under the stars and is a lot better with friends."

"Yeah, Meatlug and I were staying here too, just for old times' sake," said Fishlegs, who was also holding a blanket.

"Uh-huh. Nobody is having a sleepover," said Snotlout, who too was holding a blanket. "Without Hookfang and me."

* * *

Later that night all the Dragon Riders and their dragons were sitting around in a circle in the arena with a fire in the centre. Astrid knew they were doing it just for her sake and she really appreciated it.

"Thanks, guys. This is kind of nice," she said.

A few hours later and she still hadn't fallen asleep, the others were fast asleep and then she decided to go for a walk around the village with a trusty battle axe over her shoulder.

"Can't sleep, eh?" said a voice.

Astrid turned and found Stoick walking towards. "Not a wink."

"Can't stop thinking about what you might have done to prevent the attack?" Astrid in answer, but her silence told him enough. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "There's nothing you could have done. You know that."

"I know that up here," said Astrid gesturing to a head, "but in my gut—"

"You still blame yourself, aye," Stoick finished. Astrid nodded. "I know the feeling. We're warriors, you and I. Sworn to protect."

"How do I make this feeling go away?" Astrid asked.

"You don't. You can't." He then raised her cheek so she could look at him in the eyes. "So, you own it. You remember it. And you do everything you can to make sure you never feel it again."

Astrid sighed and Stoick guided her down to the docks. "Come on, I'll check the docks with you."

* * *

The next morning, Astrid still hadn't born asleep and was extremely depressed. Hiccup could see her looking troubled and bent down to look at her.

"Hey. You get any sleep last night?" he asked.

"Eh, I spend most of the night thinking," she said.

"So we slept on the ground for Astrid?" Tuffnut asked Fishlegs blankly.

"Yes, in a show of support."

"Wow, I completely missed that!"

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me," said Ragnar.

Snotlout had the most uncomfortable nights had woken up with a sore back. "Ow, my back," he moaned. Hookfang then slapped him with his tail and he slammed right into the wall of the arena. Strangely now that sort out his back problem. "Ah, thanks, Hookfang."

Hiccup rolled his eyes and looked at Astrid. "Well, we're wings up in an hour. Let me help you with your gear."

Astrid looked up at Hiccup with a firm look on her face. "Hiccup, I've made a decision. I'm not going back to Dragon's Edge. I'm staying here, on Berk."

Hiccup was slightly taken aback. "Whoa! You're staying here? When did you decide this?"

Astrid got up onto her feet. "Last night, when I was talking to your father."

She gestured to Stoick behind Hiccup, who just entered into the arena. Hiccup turned and looked at him.

"We're warriors, Hiccup. We live by a code," he said.

"I'm not leaving Berk defenceless again. I can't," said Astrid firmly.

Hiccup placed a hand on her shoulder. "Astrid, one dragon wouldn't have made a difference."

Astrid removed the hand. "I know that. Hiccup, I'm gonna stay and train new riders."

"What?"

"An auxiliary. A backup team just for situations like this."

"That, uh, actually a pretty good idea."

"Excuse me, I couldn't help overhearing your conversation, because I was eavesdropping," said Snotlout. "If you need instructors for this new dragon-training deal, I'm your man. A Snotlout-trainer rider will be able to anticipate his dragon's every move. It's like chess, except I don't know how to play chess." Hookfang then swung his tail again, but this time Snotlout was able to dodge it. "See what I mean?" However, Hookfang swung his tail back and this time it hit Snotlout send him flying into several of the arena's equipment. "Checkmate."

"Sorry, Snotlout, but I'll be doing all the training myself," said Astrid. She then looked back at Hiccup. "This is something I need to do, Hiccup."

Hiccup nodded. "Okay, change of plan. Snotlout, twins, Fishlegs, Ragnar, you'll follow Dagur's Trail north of the Archipelago. If you don't find him, resupply at the Edge and keep searching."

"Hiccup, what part of 'I'll be doing all the training' wasn't clear to you?" Astrid asked.

"I'll just patrol the area around Berk in case Dagur doubled back. You won't even know we're here," said Hiccup and looked at Toothless. "Right, bud?"

"I think its best I stay as well," said Ragnar. "There's still quite a few people who need a healer's hand."

"Okay, then," said Astrid. "Of course, this all assumes anyone would even want to try-out for are B-team."

* * *

A few hours later, half the village entered into the arena. Word got around fast that Astrid was training new riders.

"Nice turnout," said Hiccup surprised by all the volunteers.

"Let's see how many are left after Astrid's training methods," said Ragnar.

"Yeah, look at them all, fresh-faced and full of dreams," said Tuffnut. "Dreams that are soon to be crushed. Huh, Hiccup, where we ever that young?"

"Not really, because most of them are twice our age," Ragnar pointed out.

"Hey, Snotlout, isn't that your dad?" Fishlegs asked.

Snotlout looked down and found that his father, Spitelout was amongst the volunteers. "What! Hiccup, you have to let me stay!" Snotlout begged. "I will get to make the rules. I will get to point out every one of his mistakes."

"Not gonna happen, Snotlout," said Hiccup.

"Oh, you owe me this!" he yelled in annoyed. "The world owes me this! Snotlout! This is Snotlout!"

"Looks like I made the right choice of staying, because I see Gothi down there," said Ragnar.

"Well, you better get going and so should we," said Hiccup. "Astrid's got work to do, and so do we."

They then flew off leaving Astrid alone with the volunteers. She placed her hands behind them and looked at them as if they were something she would peel off her boot.

"So, your wannabe Dragon Riders, huh?" she said pacing up and down while tossing an apple in the air. "Looks like fun, right? Well, it isn't. It's hard. And it's dangerous."

Spitelout laughed. "Dangerous? You came to the right place if you want dangerous."

"Well, that's a relief," said Astrid and place the apple on top of the head. "Stormfly, spine shot."

Stormfly fired a single spine shot and shot the apple on top of Astrid's head. Spitelout just stared at her as she handed him an apple.

"Your turn."

"Oh! Uh… hold on. I'll need to stretch first," said Spitelout stretching his arms. "Limber up. I don't want to pull a hammy."

Astrid then began to walk down the line showing the apple to everyone. "Who's next? You? You?"

At that point about half the volunteers ran out of the arena fear stricken. Leaving behind Gustav, Bucket, Mulch, Gothi, Sven and Spitelout, who was still stretching.

Astrid then turned to what remained of her class. "Okay, for those of you that are left, I suppose you'd like to meet your dragons."

All them nodded and cheered excitedly, but soon stopped when Astrid handed them all a boom. "Here you go," he said handing one to Spitelout and moving on to Mulch. "This looks like a Changewing." She then handed one to Gothi. "You get a Gronckle." Gustav just laughed, but start when Astrid handed him a broom. "What are you laughing at? Hey look, it's a Sweeping Death."

They then began running around the arena with their brooms in between the legs with Astrid leading them.

"Flying in formation can save your life. It can hide your numbers, like the single file formation," Astrid instructed. She then stopped and began running on the spot and they followed suit. "It can allow you to cover each other's flank or—"

She never finished because Bucket slammed into them and they all toppled over. She glared down at him. "Nice move, Bucket. You just got everybody killed."

"Sorry, everyone," said Bucket.

"Drop and give me twenty!" Astrid ordered.

Bucket then began doing push-ups, which wasn't easy when you have a hook for a hand.

* * *

Meanwhile, Fishlegs' and the others were still looking for Dagur, but found no trace.

"Well, I give up. I don't see any sign of Dagur's ship," said Snotlout. "Let's just head to the Edge. I'm hungry."

"Agreed. All this focusing wears you out," said Tuffnut.

"Yeah," Ruffnut giggled.

Unbeknownst to them, Dagur's ships had been were white behind them. Savage was marking down their positions on a map.

"Well, I'm waiting!" said Dagur impatiently.

"Using their direction and our other men's sightings, their base should be in this general area," said Savage circling on the map.

"Oh, Hiccup, so soft-hearted and soft-headed," Dagur smirked. "I knew my little attack on Berk would draw him and his lizard-flying friends out into the open." He then walked off with one last look at Savage. "And you doubted me."

Savage frowned. "Uh, I don't recall that I did." Dagur then turned on him with a death glare. "Then again, maybe it was me."

He took in a sigh of relief as Dagur turned around. "Hoo-hoo-hoo! The noose tightens," Dagur laughed. He then looked at his men. "Assemble the fleet. We'll scour this area until we find Dragon's Edge."

* * *

Meanwhile, at Berk, Astrid recruits were finally on their dragons. Sven had a green Monstrous Nightmare, Gothi a purple Gronckle, Gustav was mounted on his own dragon Fanghook, Spitelout had an orange and blue Deadly Nadder and Bucket and Mulch were sharing a greeny blue Hideous Zippleback.

"Okay. Repeat after me," said Astrid, who was mounted on Stormfly. "'This is my dragon. There are many like it, but this one is mine!'"

"This is my dragon. There are many like it, but this one is mine!" the recruits said, except for Gothi, who wrote symbols on the ground with her staff.

"I can't hear you!"

"This is my dragon. There are many like it, but this one is mine!"

Astrid then made her way over to Gothi, who was writing as fast as she could in the dust. "I still can't hear you!"

"This is my dragon. There are many like it, but this one is mine!"

Astrid looked at Gothi, who was completely exhausted. "Drop and give me twenty."

Gothi groaned and hopped off her dragon and began doing press ups, which he was struggling to do because of her age.

* * *

Meanwhile at Dragon's Edge, Snotlout was lazing around next to Hookfang and the twins were playing with the Night Terrors.

"All right," said Fishlegs approaching them. "Who's ready to get out there and search for Dagur?"

Snotlout just snored and the twins were too busy playing with the Night Terrors.

"Come here," said Tuffnut waving a stick in front of a Night Terror. "Yes, that's it." He then looked up at Fishlegs. "Sorry, I'm very busy with research."

"Guys! Astrid, Ragnar and Hiccup told you to leave the Night Terrors alone. And you have a pet already, remember?" Fishlegs reminded.

Chicken ruffled her feathers.

"I know you're nodding back there. I hear your feathers ruffling," said Tuffnut. "You stay out of it!"

Fishlegs rubbed his forehead. "They're supposed to be lookouts."

"Oh, yeah? Then how come he's so good at fetching things? Leg!" Tuffnut commanded.

The Night Terror then bit down on Fishlegs' leg. "Meatlug!" Meatlug bounced over and knocked the Night Terror away with her bludgeon. Fishlegs sighed. "Okay, I guess Meatlug and I are going searching alone."

He then walked off and took one last look back to find that Snotlout was still snoring away and the twins still playing with a Night Terrors.

"See ya!" Tuffnut waved.

Fishlegs shook his head and walked off.

* * *

The next day, Hiccup and Toothless joined up with Ragnar and Skull, at the arena.

"How's it going?" Hiccup asked.

"Well, there's been no injuries," said Ragnar.

"That's a good start."

"Except her teaching methods are…" Ragnar paused. "Well, see if yourself."

They watched as Astrid was beginning her second lesson and was moving a target into the centre of the arena.

"Today's exercises is to drive at the target, do a barrel roll to avoid enemy fire, and then hit the target with a blast. Like this," said Astrid as she mounted Stormfly.

She then took off and flew up into the sky and dived while doing a barrel roll. Stormfly then fired a burst of fire at the target hitting it dead centre and finish that off with a single spine shot in the centre of the target.

Spitelout was the first one up and he just dived down at the target.

"Roll!" Astrid commanded.

"Die, target, die!" Spitelout yelled.

Spitelout perform the roll perfectly, but missed the target completely.

"Fail!" said Astrid.

"You've got to be joking!" Spitelout complained.

Next was Gothi, who dived and rolled perfectly, but instead of hitting it with a lava blast she kicked the target with her own feet. The end result resulted in them crashing to the floor.

"Yes! Gothi coming in hot!" Hiccup cheered.

"Fail!" Astrid yelled crossing her arms. "To be a Dragon Rider, you actually have to ride on the dragon."

"See what I mean," said Ragnar.

"A bit tough, but she has a point," said Hiccup.

Next came Bucket and Mulch and rolled screaming and blasted the target upside down. They then began flying around in a circle upside down with Bucket's bucket sending sparks everywhere.

"Fail," said Astrid.

"Oh, come on! You got to count that," said Hiccup. Ragnar raised an eyebrow. "Okay I see your point."

Next was Sven and perform the barrel roll perfectly, but the fire blast missed the target. So, instead he tossed his accent the target.

"Cheating. Fail," said Astrid.

"What is she doing?" Hiccup asked puzzled.

"Well, it looks like she is failing them on purpose," said Ragnar.

"But why?"

Lastly was Gustav, who had to be the most energetic of the recruits. "Yes! Ah, Gustav," he said blasted the target dead centre.

"F—lucky shot," said Astrid. "Do it again."

Gustav flew around again, barrelled rolled and fired at the target. However, Astrid shopped the target away and it missed.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Gustav yelled.

"Element of surprise, key to every battle," said Astrid. "Now landing give me twenty. Everyone else we need to start over. From scratch."

Astrid then pulled out the brooms again.

"I see what you mean," said Hiccup looking at Ragnar. "It's like she wants them to fail."

"Perhaps that's exactly what she wants," said Ragnar.

"Who wants to fail next?" Astrid yelled as her recruits ran around the circle rooms between the legs.

"At this rate, she'll never be finished," said Hiccup.

* * *

After the end of the class they entered into the arena and found Astrid leaning against the target shopping in her axe as Spitelout began doing push-ups.

"So what did he do?" Hiccup asked.

"He's Snotlout's dad," said Astrid simply.

"Enough said," said Hiccup. "Can we talk?"

"I would, but I'm busy."

Hiccup and Ragnar looked around but the only person other than them was Spitelout. All the others had gone home.

Hiccup then marched up in front of Astrid. "Hey, Astrid, I know what you're doing."

"Really? And what am I doing?" Astrid asked.

"Well, you're being overly tough on these guys. I saw what he did to Gustav."

"The element of surprise? How is that being overly tough?"

"It's not that. It's…" He paused and took a deep breath. "You want them to fail. That way you have an excuse to stay here on Berk, we both know what's going on here."

"As do I," said Ragnar.

"You're wrong, guys. You're wrong," said Astrid turn her back on them.

"Astrid, I get it," said Hiccup. "You want to stay on Berk and protect your family. But you can't be there every second of every day for the rest of their lives." He outstripped his hand to touch her shoulder, but he stopped knowing that the last thing she wanted. "Just think about it. Ragnar and I are going to head out to Dragon's Edge, see if they've have spotted Dagur. I'll be back in a few days. We can talk about it more then."

Astrid watched as Hiccup and Ragnar mounted their dragons and took off. Part of her knew that they were right, but the other part just want to protect your family. She then walked off shoving the target away and Spitelout collapsed, exhausted.

* * *

Hiccup and Ragnar arrived at the Edge late at night and what they found surprised them. The entire island was at siege by Dagur's ships. They saw the other riders retreat into the dome and sealing it up.

"Dagur's found the Edge. This is not good," said Hiccup.

"That's an understatement," said Ragnar. "At least we know why he attacked Berk now. He was trying to get us to search for him while he pinpointed location."

"Never mind that right now, we need to reach the others," said Hiccup.

They then dived into the fray and managed to bypass the shift without them spotting them. However, there was soon spotted when they approached the crevice and looked up in time to see boulders and flaming arrows heading straight towards them.

Hiccup flew into the crevice while Ragnar flew up towards the dome. Hiccup sword up into the dome where we just witnessed it closing as Ragnar entered.

"Hiccup! Ragnar!" Fishlegs cried.

"Is everyone okay?" Hiccup asked hopping off Toothless.

"Meatlug took one in the wing, but she'll be okay in a few days," said Fishlegs hugging Meatlug.

"Sadly I don't think we have a few days," said Ragnar listening to the barrage that was going on outside.

"They got the drop on us! Hit us before we knew they were here," said Snotlout. He then glared at the twins. "If our early-warning system hadn't been—"

"Hey, hey, let's not start throwing the twins under the yak cart," said Tuffnut clutching a Night Terror.

Suddenly the entire dome shook indicating that Dagur wasn't letting up.

"We have to fight back!" Hiccup yelled.

"We tried. It didn't go so well," said Ruffnut.

The dome shook again and the impact sounded a lot closer.

"Dagur has us pinned down!" said Snotlout.

"With a dozen ships," Fishlegs added.

"And they have is catapult that can launch twenty arrows at a time," said Tuffnut. "It's a pretty cool. I'm asking for it for Snoggletog. Think Dagur will give it to me?"

"Somehow I think Dagur would more likely give you a sword through the gut then catapult," said Ragnar.

"It doesn't matter, okay? This is our home! We're defending it," said Hiccup firmly. "Now, think. What are our advantages?"

"Well, we do have the high ground," said Fishlegs.

"That's right."

"And good cover," said Snotlout.

"And supplies," said Ruffnut.

"And we have dragons," Tuffnut added picking up a Night Terror that was eating a chicken leg.

"Oh yeah, that's pretty much implied, but I like the spirit," said Hiccup. "We'll send a Terror mail to Berk for reinforcements. In the meantime, we hold the Edge."

The dome shook again as more catapults fired on it Hiccup knew they would last long without reinforcements and hoped that Astrid would arrive in time.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Berk, Astrid was beginning her next lesson. She had painted a target in the middle of the arena.

"Not all combat is in the air," said Astrid placing the brush back in the bucket. "Today, were going to practice precision landings." Stoick then arrived on Skullcrusher and landed dead sent on the target. "Like that."

"Astrid, we just got a Terrible Terror from Hiccup. Dragon's Edge is under siege by Dagur's fleet," said Stoick.

"How many ships?" Astrid asked.

"At least a dozen."

"Ugh, long odds," said Astrid mounting Stormfly.

"Let me help even them," said Spitelout.

"I'm coming, too," said Gustav.

Gothi waved her staff, indicating that she wanted to come to.

"Absolutely not. You're not ready for combat," said Astrid firmly. "You will all stay here. That is in order." She then looked at Stoick. "Let's go."

She and Stoick then took off.

* * *

It was late in the afternoon and Dagur was still attacking the Edge. The Dragon Riders were putting up a good fight, but they were losing ground. They had just launched several boulders at the crevice.

"Now Hookfang, slat!" Snotlout commanded.

Hookfang fired a fire blast, but was forced to retreat to avoid the boulders which now block the crevice. A couple of Berserkers men began to climb over the boulders but screamed when they saw Hookfang igniting.

Meatlug, who still haven't fully recovered from her injury, was flying over the ships firing lava blasts. She then flew up to Fishlegs' hut and attended to provide covering fire from there, but there were just too many.

"Meatlug!" Fishlegs cried dragging her inside his hut just as several arrows flew past.

Ragnar was a platform taking on two berserkers with his two swords. He blocked one and arch his back to dodge the other one. Then Skull landed behind him and swung his bone tail knock in the two berserkers of the platform. Ragnar then quickly mounted Skull as more berserkers came towards them.

The twins were attacking from the cliff firing arrows and boulders at the Berserkers. Then Tuffnut spotted Chicken hiding behind a barrel with several arrows stuck on it. He yelled and began climbing down like a maniac and grabbed Chicken.

"No chicken left behind," he said he got up and began to run to safety.

However, a berserker on a nearby ship was taking aim at him. "Ready! Aim!"

He then heard a whoosh in sound and turn to find Hiccup and Toothless was zooming towards the ship he was on.

"Toothless! Plasma blast!" Hiccup ordered.

Toothless fired a plasma blast and destroy the ship completely.

"Is that the best he can do, Hiccup? Because it's not enough!" Dagur yelled. He then turned to Savage. "Focus all your fire—"

"Dragons! Approaching from the…" Dagur then knocked the berserker overboard and grabbed his spyglass. "South!"

Dagur looked and saw Astrid and Stoick flying towards them.

"Two late guests. Clearly the not aware of party etiquette." Dagur then looked at his men. "Take 'em down!"

The berserkers then aim the crossbows at the two Vikings and they managed to avoid the arrows. Stoick then came charging down and slammed right through one of the ships causing it to sink while Astrid fired spikes at another ship.

Then suddenly Stoick was caught in a net and was dragged on board a ship with two armed berserkers on it. Stoick looked at them without any fear and patted Skullcrusher.

"Don't worry, boy," he chuckled and grabbed his axe. "This should only take a minute." He then heard laughter and saw another berserker behind him aiming a crossbow. "Maybe two."

He then charged the two berserkers just as the berserker the crossbow fired, avoiding the arrow. A berserker tried to swing his sword, but Stoick sidestepped and elbowed him in the face. Then just as the other berserker swung he blocked it with his axe and then punched him in the face.

The first berserker got onto his feet and began to wrestle him while the berserker the crossbow stood behind taking careful aim. Stoick was so busy with the first berserker he didn't notice.

Hiccup was flying above them and saw the berserker with a crossbow. "Dad!" He was about to help, but noticed several bolas been tossed at them. "Toothless, look out!"

Toothless nimbly dodge them and blasted the third one with a plasma blast.

Astrid and Stormfly were now flying straight towards Dagur's flagship and fired several spikes added. Dagur was only saved by removing one the shields from the hull and using it as a normal shield.

He then aimed one of the chain cannons and fired it straight at Astrid. The chain wrapped itself around Stormfly's legs and Dagur's men began to reel her in as Dagur himself black maniacally as he swung an axe.

Astrid grabbed her own I slid down the chain attacking Dagur and berserkers. This caused the berserkers to release the chain and Stormfly fell into the water.

Astrid and Dagur were now in a duel axe versus axe. Astrid kept on swinging her axe, but Dagur was able to dodge the swings and then one of the berserkers grabbed her axe removing it from a hands. He then grabbed her preventing her from moving.

Dagur laughed as he raised his own axe ready to deal the final blow, but then out of nowhere a fire blast knocked it right out of his hand. They looked up to find Gustav and Fanghook flying overhead.

"Element of surprise, key to any battle," he said.

They looked up and saw the rest of Astrid recruits flying down towards them.

"More Dragon Riders?" Dagur cried.

"Yes!" Astrid cheered.

"That's cheating!" Dagur yelled in frustration.

While there were so busy occupied with the arrival of the other Dragon Riders, Astrid managed to free yourself from the berserker and jumped. Gustav flew overhead and caught her and she landed back on Stormfly.

On the ship Stoick was on, Hiccup lands on the deck and Toothless grabbed the crossbow from the berserkers hand with his teeth. The berserker, who had his axe around Stoick's neck realised that he was in trouble.

Stoick removed the axe and head-butted him and just as he was running away Toothless fired a plasma blast ride on his backside.

"Nice shot, son!" Stoick cheered.

"You're good to go, Dad!" said Hiccup before taking off.

Soon the other Dragon Riders rallied to their side. Snotlout and Hookfang blasted the boulders blocking the crevice and the two berserkers ran away screaming.

"Yes!" he cheered taking off.

Behind him was Ruffnut riding on Bard and Belch and out of nowhere Tuffnut landed on Belch and they followed his lead.

Stoick and Spitelout blasted a ship in spectacular form.

Bucket and Mulch flew towards a second ship, but were stopped by a berserker aiming a crossbow.

"Surrender or perish!" he said.

He then smelt something and saw green gas surrounding him. Next I there was an explosion and Ruffnut and Tuffnut appeared and they just stared at Bucket and Mulch.

"Whoa! It's like looking in a mirror, but you're better looking," said Tuffnut at the blank looks of Bucket and Mulch.

"Yeah!" Ruffnut agreed.

Dagur watched as Stoick and Spitelout destroyed two more ships. He screamed in frustration and began throwing weapons madly, even despite the fact they were out of range.

Savage then ran towards him. "Sir, they're cutting us to pieces! We need to withdraw!"

Dagur looked up in time to see Gothi firing a lava blasted them and behind her was Ragnar blasting a nearby ship with a fire blast.

"Oh, come on! Her? Since when does she ride a dragon?" Dagur yelled outraged.

"Sir!" Savage yelled.

"Yes, I know!" Dagur yelled. He then looked up at Hiccup. "You're a cheater, Hiccup! You've always been a cheater!"

The Dragon Riders watched as Dagur sailed away into the distance as Astrid recruits kept on firing at them.

* * *

The next day, Astrid marched over to a recruits with a firm expression on her face with her hands behind her back.

"You all disobeyed my direct order. Whose idea was this little mutiny?" she asked.

"It was mine," said Gustav and began doing push-ups.

"No, it was mine," said Spitelout following Gustav's lead.

"Mine," said Sven doing push-ups.

"Not, mine," said Bucket, but he did push-ups anyway.

"Mine," said Mulch also doing push-ups.

Gothi drew in the dirt and was no doubt saying 'mine' as well.

"Okay, everyone get up," said Astrid. At once everyone stop doing push-ups. "What he did was dangerous, foolish and completely not what you are trained to do." She paused for a moment and then added, "But it was also brave. And you work together as a team. I couldn't be more proud to call you fellow Dragon Riders."

At once they began to cheer one another.

Astrid then looked at Gustav. "Gustav, as the most experienced rider, I'm pretty new in charge of the Dragon Riders' Auxiliary."

"Oh, yes!" Gustav cheered and hugged Fanghook. "Gustav! That's me."

"I'll be staying here on Dragon's Edge," Astrid added. She then looked at Hiccup. "After all, I can't protect Berk all by myself every second of every day." She then looked back at the new riders. "And you guys proved you're ready to do the job."

"They did handle themselves pretty well, for the B-team," said Snotlout.

"B-team?" said Hiccup. "No. This is Astrid's team. The A-team."

"I like it," said Ragnar.

Apparently so did the new riders, but stood at attention when Astrid walked up. "But, if I hear you're slacking off one inch, I'll be on you guys like a Gronckle on granite."

"We'll keep the brooms handy," said Gustav. He then looked at his new team. "Mount up, A-team!"

They watched as the A-team mounted their dragons and took off, except for Bucket, who was running around on a boom.

Snotlout then walked up to Astrid and placed an arm on her shoulder. "They grow up so fast, don't they?" Astrid responded by flipping him over her shoulders. Snotlout gave a thumbs up and wheezed, "You're welcome."

After then looked at her newly formed team and was soon joined by Hiccup and Ragnar.


	15. Night of the Hunters Part I

It was early in the morning on Dragon's Edge and every single person and dragon was fast asleep, except for two. Astrid and Stormfly having an early morning flight and Astrid was enjoying herself.

They had just shot up the side of a cliff and Astrid was screaming joyously.

"We're going for vertical, Stormfly!" she yelled.

Stormfly then perform a vertical manoeuver and Astrid screamed as they dive down into the forest. Stormfly then pulled up and they soared over the trees. She then dived down into the forest began zigzagging through the trees at the neck breaking speed.

"Catch ya on the other side!" Astrid yelled jumping off Stormfly and landed on a tree branch.

She then jumped off the tree branch and grab a vine and swung over the treetops. Then performed a perfect three point landing on Stormfly's saddle.

"Miss me?" Astrid asked petting Stormfly.

Stormfly responded with a happy screech.

They then flew through the canyon and landed next to the river.

Astrid then sit back and relaxed against Stormfly.

"Nothing like an early morning ride to start of the day," she said. Stormfly screeched happily and Astrid petted her. "I know, we should do it more often. For now on, I promise we'll—"

She stopped when she saw a pack of Terrible Terrors flying out of the trees scared. Knowing that something was wrong Astrid mounted Stormfly and soared up into the sky. They then heard a roar in the distance.

"That way," said Astrid.

* * *

They followed where the roar was coming from and found several ships docked at the beach. It looked like they were loading supplies onto their longboats. They landed a safe distance away and Astrid looked at their colours, but was unable to recognise them.

"Hmm, I've never seen those colours before," she said. However, she recognised the insignia on the sails. "But I have seen that insignia. It was on the _Reaper_." She gasped when she realised who they were. "Those are Dragon Hunters."

She then looked down at Stormfly. "Come on, Stormfly, let's get a better look."

They then flew down to the beach and hit quietly behind several rocks. She saw a Monstrous Nightmare in a cage trying to free itself. One of the hunters then slammed his mace against the bars joyously.

"Quiet down, ya useless lizard," he said.

Astrid glared at the Hunter.

Then another hunter, obviously the captain, slammed the hunter against the bars. He was very muscular and completely bald with a black moustache and goatee.

"Just load 'em up," he growled.

"Yes, Ryker. Sorry, Ryker," said the hunter.

Ryker was always not very forgiving and shutting closer towards the dragon. "Look at him. Powerful. Perfect. Remember, they're smarter than you."

The Monster Nightmare then try to grab a bite out the hunter, but Ryker pulled him away and he slammed into a cage holding a Gronckle.

Ryker looked at the Monster Nightmare with an evil look and chuckled. "But not me." He then stopped and began to sniff and turned and looked in the direction Astrid and Stormfly were hiding.

Astrid kept as quiet as she could hoping that Ryker hadn't seen her. However, it wasn't her that he was interested in. "And grab at Nadder!"

At once all the hunters ran towards their hiding spot and realising that there cover was blown, Astrid mounted Stormfly and took to the air. Apparently the hunters weren't expecting to see someone mounting a dragon.

"Get us outta here, Stormfly!" said Astrid.

Stormfly flew over the hunters heads and out towards the sea.

"Archers!" Ryker ordered.

When several archers appeared firing arrows at them. Fortunately, storm fly was nimble enough to avoid them and she simply went around in circles around them.

"Come on, Stormfly! We gotta get Hiccup!" said Astrid frantically.

Ryker shoved one of the archers away and took his bow. He then prepared to aim at Stormfly, who then fired several spikes at the hunters. Apparently that was what Ryker was waiting for and he let loose the arrow.

The arrow hit Stormfly at the base of her tail just as she was about to fly away. She squawked in pain and was flying with great difficulty trying to keep them aloft.

"Stormfly!" Astrid yelled as they began to fall out of the sky.

"When a Nadder shoots its spines, it always leaves its belly exposed," said Ryker handing the hunter back his bow.

"Whoa, Stormfly!" Astrid yelled trying to keep her under control.

However, Stormfly was unable to keep them a lot and the two of them began to fall straight into the ocean. Astrid lands in the water first and managed to support herself on a log.

She watched as Stormfly try to maintain control, but then a chain shot out of nowhere and wrapped itself around her. She watched helplessly as Stormfly was brought on board of the hunters' ship.

"Move out!" Ryker ordered.

"What about the rider?" a hunter asked.

"Never mind! We got the dragon," said Ryker.

Astrid watched as the hunters ship sailing off into the distance as she clinging to the log tightly.

"No. Stormfly!" she said weakly. "I'll find you."

* * *

It was late in the evening on Dragon's Edge and Hiccup and Toothless were standing outside trying to spot either Astrid or Stormfly.

There were soon joined by Ragnar and Fishlegs.

"Still no sign of 'em?" Fishlegs asked. "They're probably just out exploring and lost track of time."

"Astrid never loses track of anything," said Ragnar.

"Ragnar's right, she's never been gone all day like this," Hiccup agreed. Not without telling someone."

"You remember she didn't show up for her own surprise party, because she was all setting up a defensive perimeter around Berk?" Fishlegs reminded.

"Yeah," said Hiccup.

"Yeah, but that might have something to do with the fact that the twins forgot to tell Astrid to meet us in the Great Hall at sunset," Ragnar reminded.

Fishlegs blinked. "All right, what about the time she decided to work on her late-night axe throwing and surprised Silent Sven in the woods."

Hiccup nodded. "Yeah, but—"

"You know, I don't think he recovered from that," said Fishlegs. "And there was the time—"

"Fishlegs, thank you for trying to make me feel better, but this is different," said Hiccup. "Something is wrong. I can feel it."

They then saw storm clouds approaching them and they could hear the thunder.

"We should at least send out a search party," said Ragnar.

"You know, if anyone is equipped to survive out there, it is Astrid," Fishlegs pointed out.

"No, you're right, Fishlegs. You're right," said Hiccup. "But I agree with Rag, we're gonna to find her anyway."

* * *

Minutes later they were flying through the storm which was now raining down hard, plus the lightning didn't help.

"We'll all go different directions," said Hiccup. "I'll head south."

"No. I should head south," said Snotlout.

"And, why is that?" Hiccup asked.

"Because Astrid likes to fly south and she'll obviously be expecting me to rescue her," Snotlout explained.

"Or more likely she would want to drown herself," said Ragnar under his breath.

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Like I said, I'll go south."

"Rain, wind, all of us splitting up, sounds like the perfect opportunity for a rogue sea beast to leap from the depths of the ocean and pick us off. One by one," said Tuffnut.

"All right, gang, let's go find," said Hiccup.

Then all the dragon riders flew off in opposite directions, except for Snotlout. He was too upset that he wasn't going south.

"She's gonna be so sad when you rescue her instead of me," said Snotlout.

"Oh, don't worry, I'll tell it was all you," Hiccup assured.

Snotlout blinked. "You'd do that for me?"

"No. No, of course I wouldn't."

Hiccup then took off flying down south.

* * *

The twins were looking for Astrid in their own unusual way.

"Astrid!" the twins yelled.

They move their heads of Barf and Belch away from each other, but that only led them hitting into each other.

"Astrid!"

Again they move the heads of Barf and Belch, but this time in the opposite direction which ended up with the same result of them hitting into one another.

"Bad dragon!" Tuffnut scolded. He then looked at his sister. "Okay, new plan. I'll look for Astrid, you fly the dragon."

"Good idea!" said Ruffnut.

"Astrid!" Tuffnut yelled.

However, he was looking in one direction while Ruffnut flew Barf and Belch in the opposite direction. This of course made them hitting to each other once again.

"Okay, okay, new plan. I'll fly the dragon, you look for Astrid," said Tuffnut.

"Good idea!" said Ruffnut. "Astrid!"

However like before they were looking and flying in the opposite direction which naturally made them hit into one another once again.

* * *

Meanwhile, Snotlout was still out looking for Astrid hoping that he would find her before Hiccup. He then spotted a fire in a nearby cave.

"Look! That must be her," he said pointing at the cave. "Take us down, Hookfang."

They flew down towards the cave and ended inside the moment he entered inside Snotlout hopped off Hookfang. "Astrid! You're Viking in shining Gronckle iron is here!"

However, it turned out that it wasn't Astrid in the cave, but a Typhoomerang and he wasn't too pleased to see Snotlout in his cave.

And once Snotlout ran jumping on Hookfang and they flew out of the cave just as the Typhoomerang let loose its fire.

"Not Astrid! Not Astrid! So not Astrid!" Snotlout yelled.

* * *

Hiccup and Toothless were still looking for Astrid down south and Toothless was using his roar to locate Astrid, but he was unable to sense a presence.

"Still nothing," said Hiccup now getting very worried.

They then flew across the open sea, which was now getting very choppy because of the storm.

"She's gotta be out here somewhere," he said they flew down close to the water.

* * *

Astrid was still hanging on to log, barely. Her body temperature was dropping and her strength was leaving her. Then the big wave came and knocked off the log and desperately she tried to grab it, but it was out of her reach.

She tried to swim back up, but her body had failed her and she began to sink into the ocean. Everything was turning black, but before she blackout she saw someone diving into the sea.

That someone was Hiccup and he grabbed her and slammed back to Toothless, who would also dived in after her. They then shot out of the water and Hiccup begin to wonder if he arrived too late.

"Astrid! Astrid! Astrid!" he yelled.

Astrid opened her eyes. "What took you so long?" she asked with a small smile.

"Oh, thank Thor," he said relieved hugging her tightly.

It was then that Astrid lost consciousness.

* * *

When she opened her eyes again she shot right up.

"Stormfly!" she gasped.

"Easy, Astrid, you've had a rough night," said Ragnar's voice.

Astrid looked around and found she was sitting in her bed and the other riders were in her room looking at her.

"He's right," said Hiccup. "You should try and relax, Astrid."

"No, no, no. You don't understand," she said. "They were all in cages. And they have Stormfly!"

"Whoa, whoa, wait, slow down," said Hiccup calmly. "Cages? What are you talking about? What happened out there?"

Astrid closed her eyes. "Dragon Hunters."

The all gasped and Fishlegs flinched.

"Dragon Hunters?" said Hiccup.

"A whole fleet of 'em," said Astrid.

"And they have Stormfly?" said Hiccup.

"Yeah, this big one, ugly one…" Astrid then clenched her fists furiously. "Oh, when I get my hands on him…"

"And, welcome back," said Fishlegs.

"Come on! Let's mount up!" said Astrid jumping out of her bed. She then ran down the stairs to the lower floor. "Stormfly!"

Seconds later her head popped back up when she remembered that Stormfly had been kidnapped.

"You can ride with me," said Hiccup.

Astrid smiled.

* * *

Astrid lead them to the beach where she last saw the hunters, but all that was left were a few empty crates and barrels. There was absolutely no trace of the hunters or any clues on where they went.

"Ugh! There has to be some clues here somewhere. Something," said Astrid.

"How many cages were there?" Hiccup asked.

"Remember all the cages we saw on the _Reaper_?"

"Yeah."

"Double it."

"We've got nothin'," said Tuffnut.

"Just a bunch of trash," said Ruffnut. "Looks like these Dragon Hunters are also litter bugs!"

"Yeah, there should be a penalty or fine for littering. I mean, am I wrong, people. What if everyone where this careless and inconsiderate?" Tuffnut then grabbed his sister and began to shake. "What then? Where would we be then?"

"Anyway," said Hiccup turning to look at Ragnar. "Did you find anything on the logbook?"

Ragnar shook his head. "Still tough to translate, but it did mention this Ryker guy and he's one of their best hunters. From what I can find out the _Reaper_ was transporting goods when it got shipwrecked in the graveyard, but I can't find any ports or outposts."

"I knew coming here was a bad idea," said Snotlout slamming a chest shut. "What did we hope to find anyway?" Then when he moved away from the chest something sharp dug into his foot and fell on his butt clutching his foot. "Ow! Something bit me! I'm allergic to sand crabs! They make my toes fan out. Ow, ow, ow!"

Astrid quickly came over and began to examine his foot. "Whoa. Look at you. Rushed right over to help me, didn't you? You know what that means, Astrid."

Astrid ignored him and pulled something sharp out of his foot causing him to yell in pain once again. It was an arrow head covered in a strange green substance.

"This is a dragon hunter arrow," she said.

"Or that," said Snotlout quietly.

"Stormfly was bit by one of these right before she was caught," Astrid explained. She then handed the arrow over to Ragnar. "I never seen her act so out of control."

Ragnar began to study the arrow and he sniffed it and licked it. "Hmmm."

"Mind clueing us in on what ' _hmmm_ ' means?" Hiccup asked.

"He looks to me like reformed dragon root," said Ragnar.

Fishlegs gasped. "I've heard that at high concentrations, it can overwhelm a dragon's senses completely, making it almost impossible for them to fly."

"That's exactly what happened to Stormfly," said Astrid.

"I'm afraid it gets worse," said Ragnar. "I recognise the metal, its Gronckle iron."

Everyone gasped. "Rag, are you sure?" Hiccup asked.

"I helped create the metal remember," said Ragnar handing the arrow to Fishlegs.

At once Fishlegs began to study it. "Think of it. Just one quiver of these arrows could decimate an entire flock of dragons."

"How are we gonna find Stormfly?" Astrid asked. "We have no idea where they're going."

"Maybe not. But we do know where they've been," said Hiccup.

* * *

A few hours later they reached the _Reaper_ , which thanks to Dagur had been pulled out of the sea. They then began looking for anything that could help.

"All right, look for anything that might help us track down the Dragon Hunters," said Fishlegs. "Maps. Coordinates. Hidden compartments."

"There's nothing here. Someone totally looted this boat," said Tuffnut.

"I'm willing to bet it was Dagur, but he might have missed something it wasn't always the most observant Viking," said Ragnar.

"This ship gives me the creeps," said Ruffnut hugging her arms.

"Sunken ship, Dragon Hunters, the creeps. I bet this thing is crawling with ghosts and other such spirits planning on dragging us down to the dark Viking underworld where they were torture us by tickling us for eternity!" said Tuffnut using his cyst as a human shield.

Ruffnut gasped. "Niflheim?"

"Gesundheit."

"Niflheim? I knew coming here was a bad idea," Snotlout yelled. He then walked off in a huff and kicked the mast. "What we hope to find anyway?"

He just took a single step and something the floor gave way and he fell below decks. Everyone looked down and found himself in some sort of storage compartment.

"Get me outta here!" Snotlout wailed.

"What if that's what the ghosts want us to do?" Tuffnut asked.

"Tuffnut!" Snotlout yelled.

Hiccup and Astrid were searching through the other compartment of the ship, but they weren't having any better luck than the others.

"There's nothing here!" said Astrid.

"Just keep looking. We'll find something," Hiccup assured.

"What if we don't? What if we can't track them down? Hiccup, I'm—"

"I know. But we have to stay positive."

"I'm trying. But you didn't see Ryker. He actually enjoys hunting and caging dragons. And he has mine!" Astrid then slammed her act against the shield.

Hiccup looked at her with his most reassuring face he could muster. "We're going to find her, Astrid, and the other dragons, too. I promise."

Astrid looked at him. "Hiccup, I don't know what I would do without Stormfly."

"Don't worry. We'll get her back," Hiccup assured. "Now let's go see the other guys found anything."

Astrid then removed her acts from the shield and when she did something fell out and landed on the floor. Hiccup and Astrid stared at it, it was a Dragon Eye lens.

Hiccup picked it up. "Dragon Eye lens."

* * *

Soon the others met them below decks and began testing the new lens with their dragons, but nothing seemed to work. Toothless was their last chance, but nothing appeared.

"Well, none of our dragons work with this new lens," said Hiccup.

Astrid looked like she was about a panic. "If we can't figure out what dragon we need—"

"I know. I'm thinking."

Tuffnut then moved towards the shield that Astrid damaged and looked at it closely. "Yep. It's either the inside of a yak, or a Changewing in a cage."

Hiccup turned and looked and found that Tuffnut was right. The image on the shield was that of a Changewing inside a cage. There was a hole in its right eye where the lens used to be.

"Tuff! You're a genius!" Hiccup declared.

"I'm actually a 'geologenius'," he said smiling. "That's a geologist who's also a genius."

"Looks like we're going to Changewing Island," said Hiccup looking at the lens.

* * *

Hours later they landed on Changewing Island.

"Changewing Island. Ah, such a peaceful place," said Fishlegs. "Except for all the Changewings of course."

"Okay, guys, we need some glowing Changewing acid to shine through the Dragon Eye so we can see what's on this lens," said Hiccup.

"Let me guess," said Snotlout. "That means we have to somehow find a Changewing, an ambush predator that can blend in perfectly with its environment, and milk it acid before it rips us to shreds? Great idea, Hiccup."

" _Au contraire, mon ami_ ," said Tuffnut, whose face was now covered in mud and placed leaves helmet. "In order to find a Changewing, you must become a Changewing!"

They watched as he ducked behind rocks, behind trees and running around roaring his lungs off. He then jumped behind a bush and they heard screaming in pain, apparently he just jumped off a cliff and landed in a horn bush full of blackberries and they clinched at every thud they heard.

"Such stealth," Astrid muttered.

"He's so dead," said Ragnar.

"They'll never see me coming," said Tuffnut's echoed voice.

* * *

They then hid behind a bush waiting for a Changewing to come out to drink some water out of the watering hole.

"Hiccup, this is taking too long," Astrid whispered.

"Changewings can be a bit skittish," Hiccup admitted. "We just gotta be patient."

On the other side of the watering hole was Snotlout and Ragnar.

"How do we even know a Changewing isn't standing right there? Or there? They're invisible, remember?" Snotlout asked. "Oh, and did I mention, this is a terrible idea?"

"How can I forget you constantly remind me?" Ragnar muttered.

"Someone has to and it certainly can't be Hookfang," said Snotlout angrily.

Hookfang then snorted and accidentally set to spark into the bush setting it alight. Hookfang then tried to blow it out, but of course he blew out fire that ignited the bush. Snotlout quickly tore the part of the bush there was a light away.

"Hookfang," said Snotlout glaring.

"This day just gets better and better," Ragnar mutters.

On the other side of the watering hole Fishlegs and Ruffnut will remaining perfectly quiet. Ruffnut had no idea what was going on or why they were sitting around at a watering hole.

"I'm bored. Why we just staring at the water?" she asked.

"All animals need to drink, therefore all animals will visit the watering hole," Fishlegs explained.

"Great. Now I'm bored and thirsty," Ruffnut muttered.

"Shh," said Hiccup and pointed at the watering hole. "Look."

Everyone stared and saw an outline of the Changewing on a nearby boulder. They saw a brief glimpse of it as it rushed over to a tree and again when it moved to a fallen log. It then revealed itself and made its way over to the watering hole and after making sure it was saving began to take a sip of water.

Slowly the riders sneaked up behind it without noticing.

"Come on," Hiccup whispered and they slowly made their way towards it.

Then out of nowhere Tuffnut appeared right in front of them.

"Hey! You guys having any luck?" he asked a bit too loudly.

The Changewing heard him and took off.

"Ugh! Tuffnut!" Astrid yelled furiously. "We were just about to—"

"Oh, look at that," said Hiccup looking up into the sky.

Everyone looked up and saw that a rope was attached to the Changewing's neck to a tree. It was now circling around trying to free itself from the rope.

"Like I said, ' _See the Changewing. Be the Chagewing,_ '" said Tuffnut proudly.

However, the Changewing wasn't too happy been tied up and fired acid at them. Everyone was able to dodge the first shot, but Snotlout was unable to dodge the second one. The acid landed on his helmet and he began to scream in agony.

Then the rope snapped and the Changewing took off.

* * *

A few moments later they were inside a cave using the acid on Snotlout's helmet to light the Dragon Eye. The only problem was they could move the helmet in case some of the acid fell off and so Snotlout was forced to remain in agony as Hiccup tried to position the Dragon Eye just right.

"Would you just hold still, Snotlout?" said Hiccup.

"Easy for you to say," Snotlout glared. "You don't have Changewing acid burning through your skull."

"If we take off the helmet, we'll spill the acid. Hold still," said Astrid firmly.

The lens revealed some sort of chart of ship movements and Ragnar and Fishlegs began to study it.

"This doesn't help. We've seen this map before," said Fishlegs.

"Though judging by the ships some sort of port," said Ragnar.

"And it's the closest one to the beach where Stormfly was captured," Hiccup added. "Odds are, that's where they're headed. After that, who knows where?"

"Then we have to hurry!" said Astrid.

"Yes, please. Let's hurry!" said Snotlout tossing his helmet away.

"Uh, but how going to avoid those dragon root arrows?" Fishlegs asked.

"In truth the only dragons who can getting close are Skull and Meatlug," said Ragnar. "Skull's armour should be tough enough to withstand those Gronckle iron arrows and Meatlug is immune to the effects of dragon root."

"Funny should ask, guys," said Hiccup. "My plan to work, someone's gonna have to get shot."

Fishlegs whimpered because he had a good idea who was going to get shot.

"Yeah! Looks like we're up!" said Tuffnut high-fiving his sister.

"Cool!" said Ruffnut.

* * *

Ryker was sailing peacefully to the hunters port with his new catch of dragons. Then suddenly he heard the men screaming and turned to see Hiccup, Astrid and Toothless flying overhead and finding a plasma blast at his ship.

"I'm here for my dragon!" Astrid yelled pointing her axe at him.

Ryker attention was more on the dragon they were riding. "A Night Fury!"

Then the twins, Snotlout and Ragnar flew down attacking the ship. However, Ryker wasn't too concerned.

"Fire!" he ordered.

The hunters manned the ballistas and fired several bolt at the Snotlout, who began to panic.

"Hookfang!" he yelled.

He boy would have been shot if Skull had blocks the bolts with his body. Like Ragnar said his armour was tough enough to withstand the Gronckle iron arrow heads.

"Is that all you got?" Snotlout yelled. Then the hunters aimed more bolts at them. "Oh, no!"

One of the bolt bounced off Snotlout's helmet.

"Whoa. How 'bout a little heads-up, Hookfang?" Snotlout glared.

"And how about we not get them anymore angry than we need them to be," Ragnar advised.

Toothless then came flying in and blasted one of the ballistas and then several hunters fired arrows at them. Astrid knocked them away with her axe and then she looked at Hiccup looking slightly concerned.

"You sure your plan's gonna work? That was pretty close," she said.

"Fishlegs! You're up!" Hiccup yelled.

Fishlegs gave them the thumbs up and looked down at Meatlug. "Okay, girl, let's give it all we got."

They then flew down at the ship screaming a battlecry. Once there are close nut they fired a lava blast on the ship's deck and then several archers took aim at them.

"Oh, Thor!" said Fishlegs as they dodge the shots.

But then an arrow struck Mealtug on the leg and Meatlug began to lose control, except that she was faking the entire thing due to her being immune to dragon root.

"We're hit! We're hit!" Fishlegs screamed.

Then a hunter fired a chain cannon and wrapped around Meatlug's neck and they landed on the deck. At once the hunters restrained the two of them.

"They've got Fishlegs and Meatlug!" Astrid yelled.

"Get up, girl! Oh, please! You'll be okay!" Fishlegs begged. Ryker then approached them and Fishlegs glared at him. "You monster!"

"Take 'em below and toss 'em in a cell!" Ryker ordered.

The hunters then began to drag the two of them below decks. "Meatlug! Can you hear me? Oh, stay with me, girl!" Fishlegs cried. The hunters then dragged him away. "Get off me! Get off me!"

Ryker then turned his attention to the remaining riders and narrow avoided taking a plasma blast. He then looked up at Toothless in envy.

"What I could get for that Night Fury…" he said.

* * *

Meanwhile, the hunter were dragging Fishlegs and Meatlug to a cell.

"Please, help us. There was dragon root on that arrow. Look what it's doing to her," Fishlegs wailed.

"In you go," said the hunter closing the cell behind him.

Once the hunters were gone, Fishlegs noticed Stormfly in the opposite cell and winked at her. He then looked at Meatlug.

"Just try and be still. We'll be all right," Fishlegs assured.

* * *

Meanwhile outside the battle was still waiting on and this time there are aiming boulders that them.

"Fire!" a hunter yelled.

They fired a catapult straight at Toothless.

"Look out!" Hiccup yelled. Toothless was able to avoid getting hit, but he lost control. "Hang on, Astrid!"

Toothless was able to pull up, but Astrid lost her grip and fell off him.

"Hiccup!" she screamed.

"Come on, bud, dive!" Hiccup urged. Toothless dived and Hiccup outstretched his hand. "Grab my hand!"

However, a chain wrapped around her chest and she was pulled towards the ship.

"Astrid!" Hiccup yelled. Astrid landed in the sea. "No!"

He was unable to dive down to rescue her, because the ship was locking his pad and the archers were firing arrows at them.

* * *

Meanwhile, Fishlegs still performing his acting job below decks.

"Help us. Please, I think she stopped breathing," said Fishlegs to the guards. One of the guards sighed. "You think your boss is gonna want his newest dragon to die? And on your watch!"

The guard grown and made his wailed to the cell and saw Meatlug lying on her back. He then open the cell door and to believe he realised that it was a trick and was not across the room.

Fishlegs then rushed out of his cell to grab his keys, but the other guard saw what was happening and rushed over.

"Hey!" he yelled.

However, before he could grab them Stormfly fired a spike from a cell pinning him to the wall. He tried to free himself, but saw two very angry dragons and a Viking looking at him.

"I will make a sound if I were you," Fishlegs advised. "Stormfly can shoot a flea off a yak's tail from 20 yards."

The garden nodded as Fishlegs freed Stormfly and they made their escape just as the first guard regained consciousness.

"What happened?" he asked, but Meatlug slammed her tail bludgeon on top of his head knocking him out again.

* * *

Outside Astrid was being dragged aboard the ship.

"Hey! Come on! Let me go! Let go of me!" she yelled as the hunters grabbed her.

"Oh, feisty one, aren't you?" said Ryker.

Astrid then freed herself from the chains and knocked the two hunters back. She grabbed her accent charge straight at Ryker, but he blocked her attack with his arm guard and then knocked back with a back fist.

The two hunters then grabbed her and Ryker approached her. "I like your spirit." He then looked at the two hunters. "Throw her in a cell."

"You're gonna be sorry!" Astrid yelled as she was dragged away. "You're messing with the wrong Vikings."

"Well, so are you," said Ryker.

Then suddenly bursting through the door that led to the lower decks was Stormfly.

"Stormfly!" Astrid yelled freed herself from the two hunters and rushing over to her dragon.

She quickly mounted Stormfly and together they knocked the two hunters away. They were soon joined by Fishlegs and Meatlug and they charged at Ryker.

Up in the air the other riders pairing for the final attack.

"Now!" Hiccup commanded.

They then charge straight down towards Ryker's ship, but Ryker just smirked. "Fire!"

Then suddenly both Stormfly and Meatlug were caught in a pair of bolas and they topple to the deck. Seeing this new development Hiccup and the other riders halted their attack.

"It didn't work," said Hiccup.

Then suddenly the ships began to fire so many arrows enough aloes to take down an entire army of dragons.

"Evasive action! Now!" Hiccup yelled.

The twins then got hit and Barf and Belch began to lose control as the spun around towards the ocean.

"Not good!" Tuffnut yelled.

"Getting worse!" Ruffnut yelled.

"We're going down!" they yelled in unison.

Next second Snotlout and Hookfang were hit. "We're hit!" Snotlout yelled as he tried to regain control of Hookfang. "Whoa! Hookfang!"

Hiccup and Toothless would have been hit if it wasn't for Ragnar and Skull blocking the arrows. "Go! I'll cover you!" Ragnar yelled.

Hiccup nodded and flew down to assist Snotlout and Hookfang. Toothless grabbed Hookfang's tail and pulled them up into the air. Snotlout then removed the arrow from Hookfang.

Ryker approached Astrid and Fishlegs smirking. "Your pathetic tricks won't work on me," he said. "I'm a Dragon Hunter! I know that Gronckle's are immune to dragon root. I use your worthless escape plan to lure your friends in closer."

The twins and their dragon were still plummeting towards the sea.

"Coming in hot and blowin' out shot!" Tuffnut yelled right before they landed in the sea.

Then they were snagged in net by the hunters and pulled on board.

Hiccup, Snotlout and Ragnar were the only riders left and Hookfang was in no fighting condition and there was no way Toothless could outmanoeuvre the arrows while dragging Hookfang along.

"Hiccup! We need to leave!" Snotlout yelled.

Hiccup look back and saw more arrows aiming towards them and like before Ragnar and Skull blocks them.

"He's right, we need to retreat," said Ragnar.

Hiccup didn't like it but he knew they were right. There was no way that Ragnar could rescue the others all by himself even with Skull's armour. He nodded and they flew away from the ships, but not before taking one last look back.

* * *

On the ship, Astrid and the others were forced into a cell.

"Where are our dragons? What did you do to them?" Astrid demanded.

"Oh, if I were you, I'd worry about yourself," said Ryker.

Then they saw something shocking, they saw Heather.

"Heather?" Astrid gasped.

"No way," said Tuffnut.

"Run!" Astrid yelled.

Then out of nowhere Dagur appeared in place an arm around Heather. "Surprise! Did ya miss me? Of course you did!" They just stared at Dagur and then at Heather, who was smirking. "Oh! Did you miss my sister? Wait a minute, sure you do! You guys were little pals and buddy buddies."

Heather shrugged. "Hey, family is family."

Astrid just stared at her. "I can't believe this, Heather."

"I know it's not Dragon's Edge, but it'll have to do." Heather then slammed the cage door and looked straight into Astrid's eyes. "Enjoy your new home, Astrid. You're gonna be here a while."


	16. Night of the Hunters Part II

It was late at night and Astrid, Fishlegs and the twins were still trapped on Ryker's ship. There are still shocked to discover that Heather had joined up with Dagur and that they joined up with the hunters.

"Dagur is here? And Heather is with him? I don't believe it," said Fishlegs. "Ragnar's going to be heartbroken… again"

"Yeah, trusting her turned out to be a big mistake," Astrid agreed.

"Yeah. Who puts loyalty to their brother ahead of loyalty to their friends? Right?" Ruffnut asked.

"I heard that, sister," Tuffnut agreed.

"The bigger question is who are these Dragon Hunters and what do they want with us?" Astrid asked.

"You're about to find out," said a voice. They turn and found Heather and two hunters approaching their cell. They then open the cell and approached Astrid. "Ryker wants to have a little chat with you."

She then shoved Astrid out of the cell. "You're lucky these guards are here or I'd take your head off."

Heather laughed. "You'd try."

"After everything we did for you. Took you in. Taught you to ride. Save your life more than once."

"And I thank you for all of that. But I have to follow my destiny."

"Betraying your friends and joining these Dragon Hunter scum?"

"Hey, you don't know what it's like to be truly alone, Astrid. Dagur is my brother. I trust him with my life."

"You'll regret that. Believe me and what of Ragnar, he was heartbroken before when you were working with Alvin I do think you'll feel now?"

"Trust me it was a difficult decision, but I made my choice." They then reached the captain's quarters. "And your concern is touching, but if I were you, I'd be more worried about yourself."

She then knocked on the door.

"Come in," said Ryker's voice.

"Ryker wants information and he can be very persuasive," said Heather.

She then led Astrid inside.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup, Ragnar and Snotlout spend the entire night at a beach recovering from their encounter with the hunters. Hiccup and Ragnar had spent most of the night planning the next move and then Toothless and Skull awoke.

"Morning, bud," said Hiccup.

"Hope you had a good sleep, boy," said Ragnar.

The two dragons then began to chasing one another along the beach and the two young Vikings approached Snotlout and Hookfang, who were both still asleep.

"Hey, Snotlout. You up?" Hiccup asked.

"Yes," said Snotlout he then glared at Hookfang. "Somebody snores."

Apparently Hookfang wasn't as asleep as they thought because upon that comment he woke up and spat fire at Snotlout.

"Hookfang!" Snotlout yelled.

Toothless and Skull then returned with a mouthful of fish.

Snotlout looks at the fish hungrily. "Great. I am starving. We'll cook these up and—" Hookfang then snagged when the fish he was about to grab. "Okay. Okay, all right." He then reached for another one, but Hookfang snagged about one. "Okay. No. Stop it." He then grabbed the third one, but Hookfang took that and Snotlout began chasing him down. "Hey! Hey! Gimme that!"

Hookfang then ate the fish whole.

"Looks like somebody's feeling better," said Hiccup.

"Good thing that the dragon root is only temporary," said Ragnar.

Snotlout then attempted to grab the remaining fish, but Hookfang kept on snagging them. He then noticed that Hiccup and Ragnar were looking at a map.

"What are you two doing?" he asked.

"Trying to figure out where the Dragon Hunters are headed," said Hiccup.

"That's a bad idea," said Snotlout. "Even if we find them, they have those 'one shot and you drop' poison arrows. What do we do then?"

"I hate to say it, but he's got a point," said Ragnar. "Skull is the only one of our dragons whoever shot getting anywhere close to that ship and we can't take on an entire ship road of bloodthirsty Dragon Hunters."

"Yeah, so what's your plan?" Snotlout asked.

"Well, I have no idea," Hiccup admitted.

Snotlout nervously laughed. "I gotta be honest. That's on the as I was hoping for." Hookfang then swatted him with a fish. "Hookfang!"

"Whatever were going to do we can't underestimate these hunters they certainly know their dragons," said Ragnar.

"I know," Hiccup agreed.

"Okay, we always knew this day would could happen. The day has come. Hiccup's gone dry. It's up to Snotfang to come up with a plan," said Snotlout as he pace up and down the beach. He then began to hit himself with a fish. "Just squeeze some brilliance out of this big beautiful skull."

"It's a shame that the rest of our dragons can't wear armour," said Ragnar.

Hiccup eyes widened. "Ragnar, your genius!" he yelled.

Snotlout sighed in frustration. "I would've come up with something. I was so close."

"I beg your pardon," said Ragnar looking at Hiccup confused.

"Come on, guys, we've got some hard riding to do," said Hiccup mounting Toothless.

Ragnar and Snotlout looked at one another and shrugged and mounted their dragons following Hiccup and Toothless to who knows where.

* * *

Meanwhile the other riders, except for Astrid, were sleeping in their cell when they were suddenly awakened by the opening of the cell door. They looked up and saw a hunter shoving Astrid into the cell, she looked extremely tired as if she hadn't slept all night.

"Astrid, are you okay?" Fishlegs asked.

"Just tired. They questioned me all night. Wouldn't let me sleep," said Astrid tiredly.

"They?"

"Dagur and Heather mostly. That Ryker guy doesn't say much. He just… stares."

"Yeah, but you hung tough. You didn't crack. You never talked. Way to go, Astrid," said Ruffnut.

"Actually, I did talk," said Astrid.

"Oh," Ruffnut sighed. "Way to go, Astrid."

"I told Ryker what he wanted to know," said Astrid. "The location of the Dragon Eye."

"They're after the Dragon Eye?" Fishlegs asked.

"It's very important to the Dragon Hunters. They've been looking for it for a long time," said Astrid.

"And where did you tell them it was loose lips?" Ruffnut asked.

"Back at Dragon's Edge where it's been guarded by all the other riders we left behind," said Astrid loudly making sure the guard could hear her.

"What?" Tuffnut blinked. "No one's—"

"Supposed to know about it. I know," said Astrid quickly and placed a finger on her lips.

Fishlegs got the idea. "Yeah, Dragon's Edge is like a fortress. Lots of Dragon Riders."

"Under the command of 'Captain Gustav,'" Astrid added.

"Wait. 'Captain Gustav'? He outranks me?" said Tuffnut.

"Only thing I could think of to keep them sailing in and taking over Dragon's Edge," Astrid whispered.

"Ha! And they bought it?" said Ruffnut.

"For now. Eventually, Ryker will send someone down there to check it out," said Astrid.

"You bought us time," said Fishlegs.

"Exactly. We need to get out of here before they find out I was bluffing." She then looked at them all. "Any ideas?"

"Way ahead of you," said Tuffnut. "I have the perfect plan." He then held out a tankard. "We tunnel out."

He then began to dig at the wooden floor with the tankard.

"Through the bottom of the boat?" said Astrid.

"Into the middle of the sea?" Fishlegs added.

"Exactly. They will never see it coming. Even I won't!" said Tuffnut as he kept on digging. "Especially because I don't know how to swim. Okay, mental note, learn to swim. By tomorrow, or mid next week."

Astrid and Fishlegs looked at each other and shrugged.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup, Ragnar and Snotlout were flying over islands. Hiccup still hadn't told the other to what his plan was and Snotlout was beginning to get impatient.

"Is that the island we're going to?" Snotlout asked.

"No," said Hiccup.

"How about that one?"

"Also no."

"That one?"

Hiccup was beginning to get frustrated. "For the last time…" He then saw the island Snotlout was pointing at. "Oh, yeah, that's exactly the one. My bad."

Ragnar looked at the island and he realised which island it was. "Is that—?"

"Yep," Hiccup nodded.

"Isn't that where—"

"Yep."

"That's brilliant!"

"I thought so."

Snotlout just stared at the two Vikings puzzled about what they were talking about. As they got close to the island he soon recognised very familiar holes in its surface.

"Hiccup, I recognise these holes," said Snotlout. "Why didn't either you are Ragnar tell me we were going to an island full of Whispering Deaths?"

"Actually, I didn't know until we got here," said Ragnar.

Snotlout then looked at Hiccup. "Then why didn't you tell us?"

"Because I knew you would react exactly like this," said Hiccup. "Besides, this isn't an island full of Whispering Deaths. Somebody else lives here, too."

Suddenly the ground began to shake and shooting out of the ground was the Screaming Death, only it was a lot bigger than last time they saw it three years ago.

"Oh, the Screaming Death? Why didn't we wave them over and having kill us?" Snotlout asked panicky.

"Will you just relax? When he gets closer, he'll recognise us and calm down… I hope."

The Screaming Death roared at them and judging by the way he was moving he didn't recognise them.

Snotlout chuckled nervously. "' _Come on out to Screaming Death Island. We'll have a few laughs. Get killed._ '" The Screaming Death then charged down at them. "Worst plan ever. This guy hates us. Let's get out of here."

"Have you forgotten? We reunited him with his mother," Hiccup reminded.

"No, but it looks like he has."

"Let's move!" Ragnar yelled.

They quickly took off into the air, but it began to follow them close behind.

"Come on, bud. Faster!" Hiccup yelled at the sword straight into the sky.

"Or maybe he does remember what we did and he just has a lousy relationship with his mum?" said Snotlout.

"Either way he seems to want to kill us," said Ragnar.

"Had for those clouds. As soon as we enter, bank right," Hiccup ordered.

But then saw up into the clouds and the Screaming Death followed. They quickly hid behind a cloud bank and watched as the Screaming Death flew past.

"The plan is, waiting to be tired himself out then head home, right?" Snotlout asked.

"Nope. We're going back down there," said Hiccup. "There's something in those tunnels we need."

Hiccup then flew down towards the island.

"Why can't you ever say yes?" Snotlout asked.

"Because if we don't get down there are friends could end up dead," said Ragnar and followed Hiccup down to the island.

Snotlout groaned and followed.

* * *

Meanwhile, Astrid and the others still hadn't escaped from their cell. In fact Fishlegs and Tuffnut were fighting over the tankard. Then Fishlegs pulled it out of Tuffnut's hands and flung it out of the cell.

Tuffnut rushed to the cell door and side and shot up. "How about this? We set our cell on fire and—"

"Uh, no!" said Fishlegs.

Ruffnut then stepped forward. "I have an idea, we—"

"How about psychology warfare?" Fishlegs suggested. "We learn our guards' names. Get them to like us. And then eventually they'll lower their guard and…"

"Boring," said Tuffnut drawling.

Ruffnut then spoke up again. "What if—"

"Acid!" Tuffnut exclaimed.

Ruffnut crossed her arms annoyed. "Okay, fine. Shutting down the Ruffnut idea farm. No milk served here."

"But the Tuffnut idea farm has a mighty fine harvest," said Tuffnut. "We use acid to cut through the bars!"

"And where do we get the acid?" Astrid asked starting to get annoyed.

"I'm still working on that."

"That plan won't work anymore than your 'Ruffnut marries the guard, divorces him and gets the key in the settlement' plan."

It was at that moment Heather arrived. "Ryker wants to see you," she said.

Fishlegs blinked. "Me?"

"No, all of you." She then opened the cell door. "Let's go."

They then walked out the cell and Astrid made sure she shoved Heather on the shoulder. They were then escorted to Ryker and Dagur.

"I am Ryker. This is my ship. You are my prisoners," said Ryker. He then leaned in closer to them. "And your dragons are now my dragons."

"And how they get treated is entirely up to you," Dagur added.

Before then just looked at each other wondering what Dagur meant and then one of the guard shop and towards the door. They followed Ryker through the deck of the ship and the first thing they saw was Meatlug chained up in force-fed rocks.

"Meatlug!" Fishlegs yelled.

Meatlug turn to look at him, but the hunter that was force-feeding her shoved her back towards him and dropped a spade load of rocks into her mouth.

Fishlegs try to make his way over to her, but Ryker stopped him. "This Gronckle is being very helpful."

"Her name is Meatlug," Fishlegs glared.

"I don't care. All I care is that it makes me metal, all day and all night," said Ryker as Meatlug shot out some lava into a bucket.

Fishlegs looked at the larva she spewed and recognise it as the same lather they used to make Gronckle iron three years ago. He was then brought out of his thought by Heather, who shoved him along to the next cell.

There they found Stormfly chained up and two hunters. One of them was holding a shield while the other one was swinging an axe at her. Stormfly then fired several spikes and they were caught onto the shield.

"Hm, perfect. Razor sharp tips for spears and ballistas," said Ryker smiling as he caught a spike that was aimed at him.

"You can't do that her," said Astrid.

"Oh, I can. And I will," said Ryker pointing the spike at her.

Astrid clenched her fists she wanted nothing more than to punch his lights out, but in the present situation she was unable to do so. She was then shot straight towards the next cell.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut who was coming up next and they were extremely worried after seeing what they were doing to Stormfly and Meatlug.

"Oh, poor Barf and Belch. What torture are they enduring?" Ruffnut asked.

"I can't look," said Tuffnut covering his eyes. "Because… my hands over my eyes." When they reach the cell he peaked and then removed his hand from his face. "Well, this is more like it."

Barf and Belch were being fed and being rubbed down by the hunters. They seem to be quite enjoying themselves.

"Someone recognises quality," said Tuffnut.

"He likes the first," said a hunter.

Ruffnut then went up to the bars. "Hey, rub me down with some of that grease, I'm feeling dry."

Astrid then pulled her away from the bars.

"This hide'll fetch top prices in the northern markets," said Ryker.

Tuffnut nodded. "Sure. Soft and supple, the colour… Oh, the col—" Tuffnut then realised what Ryker had just said. "Wait. What?"

"Ooh, Zippleback boots. I always wanted a pair," said Dagur.

"This is what faces all your dragons," said Ryker taking the grease from the hunter. "Of course, they could get better treatment."

"Don't just leave me hanging," said Ruffnut. "How?"

Ryker then tossed the jar straight at them and looked at them furiously. "Start giving me real answers! Tell me what you know about the Dragon Eye." He then grabbed Fishlegs' throat. "Exactly how many riders guard your base?"

Riders looked at one another and then looked at Ryker in silence. "Very well." He then moved to Barf and Belch's cell. "Keep fattening this one up. More to sell."

Ruffnut quickly threw herself onto a guard. "Please! Please, don't hurt our dragons. I'll do anything."

"Then tell me what I want to know," said Ryker.

Ruffnut began to slid off the guards waist. "Come on."

"Ruff. Stop. Thorstons don't beg," said Tuffnut. "Except for food… Or money, or housing. Or any other thing that we might need. You know what this isn't a good argument."

Ruffnut was now at the feet of the hunter groaning in despair.

"You want to save your dragons? Then give me some information," Ryker demanded.

Ruffnut then got to her feet. "No, never!" She then made her way over to the other riders. "Sorry. Lost my head there for a second."

"Interesting," said Ryker. "Something you and your dragon may soon have in common." He then turned to his guards. "Get them out of my sight."

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup, Ragnar and Snotlout were flying through the tunnels that the Screaming Death had made there were so large that even Skull could spread his wings.

"Did the Screaming Death look even bigger to you?" Snotlout asked.

"Yes, that's what I was counting on," said Hiccup.

"Oh, really? Thanks for letting me know."

"With any luck will be able to find what we're looking for and hopefully before big tall white and scaly reappears," said Ragnar.

"Well, if he grew that means he had to moult. And if he shed his skin, there should be some old scales around here somewhere," said Hiccup. He then found what he was looking for. "Like those!"

They soon landed as a whole collection of Screaming Death scales. Hiccup and Ragnar dismounted began to collect them and Snotlout finally realised what they were planning.

"If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, I think you're thinking is the worst plan ever," said Snotlout as he hopped off Hookfang.

"Well, I disagree," said Hiccup.

"As do I. This is our best bet to rescue the others," said Ragnar.

"I stand corrected. There was that whole 'let Meatlug get captured' idea," said Snotlout. "That was genius. Really brilliant. A work of art."

"Come on, let's get to work," said Hiccup shoving a scale into Snotlout's hands. "We probably have an hour or two before the Screaming Death…"

Then they heard the Screaming Death roar nearby.

"Hiccup, start acting like you're friends," said Snotlout. "You don't know this dragon and he clearly doesn't know you."

Hiccup then gave his scales to Ragnar. "Toothless and I will draw his fire. You to try to make it outta her with as many skills as you can carry."

However before he could mount Toothless the Screaming Death appeared and he wasn't too happy to see them in his tunnel.

Snotlout looked at Hiccup. "Hiccup…"

"No, don't even say it," said Hiccup.

The Screaming Death towered over them and Toothless, Skull and Hookfang stood their ground though in this space the Screaming Death had more than advantage.

Snotlout chuckled nervously and dropped the scales he was carrying, except for one which he used as a shield. "We're gonna die."

The Screaming Death the pared to blast them with his fireballs, but then a Whispering Death appeared out of nowhere. It was his mother and she roared at him and at once he retreated back into the tunnels.

"What just happened? Did we die?" Snotlout asked.

"No, the Screaming Death didn't remember us, but it looks like his mother did," said Hiccup gesturing to the Whispering Death in front of them.

"Saved by mum," said Ragnar.

Hiccup extended his hand and the Whispering Death allowed him to rub her. "Okay, we're good," said Hiccup and looked at Ragnar and Snotlout. "Now get those skills together, fast!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Astrid, Fishlegs and the twins were still stuck in their cell and hasn't come up with the perfect escape plan yet.

"What if we tunnel through the ceiling?" Tuffnut asked holding out a tankard.

"Technically, that's not a tunnel," said Fishlegs.

"Oh, it isn't? There's no such thing as a ceiling tunnel, Fishlegs?"

Ruffnut rolled her eyes. "Guys, I have—"

Astrid then cut across her. "Listen up. I've memorised the guards' schedule and I have a plan. But we need a way to get this door open first."

Ruffnut then held out a key. "You mean like this key I stole from the guard?" she asked smugly.

The three of them just stared at her dumbfounded.

"Wait," said Astrid tried to figure out what just happened. "But, how did you…"

Ruffnut got to have been began to explain that during her begging to one of the guards, she pickpocketed him and took his key without him noticing. The three of them just at her and Tuffnut dropped his tankard.

"Yeah, you guy should listen to me every now and again. Ruffnut idea farm. Back in business," said Ruffnut giving the keys Astrid.

Astrid just shook her head and turned to look at them all. "All right. As soon as I take out the guards, we split up and get our dragons. Then we blast our way outta here."

"Okay, and go where?" Tuffnut asked.

Astrid looked up at the ceiling. "Straight up. Out of the range of those arrows."

Astrid then made a way over to the door and Stormfly looked up and Astrid placed a finger on her lips. She then unlocks the cell their door and cleared her throat.

"Guard! Guard! I can't take it," Astrid yelled. "I want to save my dragon. I'll tell Ryker what he wants to know."

She then saw the guard approach their cell and waited until he was right in front of it. She then slammed open the door and it hit right under the chin knocking him out cold.

She quickly grabbed it enclosed again just in time as a second guard appeared. Then before he knew what happened Astrid slammed the door open and he was sent flying across the room.

Astrid then look to the others. "All right, one last thing, if this ship is like the other Dragon Hunter ship, there could be booby-traps anywhere, so be careful."

"Oh, great. Now she tells us," Tuffnut muttered as she walked away.

"See ya up there," said Fishlegs walking away.

"He means up in the sky, right? Not Valhalla?" Tuffnut asked looking at his sister.

"Not sure. Let's ask him," said Ruffnut. They turned and found that Fishlegs had already left. "Oh, he's gone."

* * *

Fishlegs made his way over to Meatlug's cage and the moment he was in sight he gave her a big hug.

"Meatlug! Oh, I missed you too, girl," he said before getting to his feet. "We're getting you out of here. Just let me check something first."

Fishlegs' checked one of the blades of the axes that were hanging on the wall and recognise the metal instantly.

"Gronckle iron! Ragnar was right! They must have the formula," he said he then began looking at the rocks that were in Meatlug's cell. "Hm, now what was that guy feeding you?"

* * *

Meanwhile Astrid had made a way over to Stormfly. She nearly stepped on a booby-trap, but was able to avoid setting it off and then hugged her dragon.

"Hey, girl," she said with a sigh of relief. "You didn't think I'd leave you here, did you?"

* * *

The twins made their way over to Barf and Belch, who were busy eating a barrel of fish.

"Hm. Barf, Blech," said Ruffnut. "We are here to save you."

The dragon's heads looked at one another and then carried on eating the fish out of the barrels. The twins looked at one another.

"You heard her, you pampered lizard," said Tuffnut. "We're here to rescue you, so let's go."

Barf and Belch ignored him and carried on eating.

Tuffnut then approached the two-headed dragon. "Looks like somebody forgot who the boss is."

"Yeah!" Ruffnut agreed.

Then suddenly a Barf and Belch swung their tails at Tuffnut and he snarled at them.

Ruffnut looked at her brother. "Who's the boss?"

Then the two of them approached their dragon, who then swatted their tails at them. Then Tuffnut accidentally stepped on a booby-trap and alarm sounded.

"Uh-oh," said Tuffnut banging on the trigger trying to stop the alarm.

* * *

Fishlegs was still trying to figure out how to create Gronckle iron.

"If I could just find out what the last ingredient was…" He then heard the alarm sounding. "Oh!"

Next second day hunter open the cell door and dragged him out. "Come on!" he said.

* * *

The twins try to move Barf and Belch, but they remain content in staying in their cell.

"Come on!" Ruffnut yelled. "We're trying to save you."

"You're gonna get us caught," said Tuffnut.

They then looked at their dragon's eyes, who are looking directly behind them. They turned around and found two hunters aiming crossbows at them and immediately they held their hands up.

"Hey, what are you guys up to?" Ruffnut asked.

* * *

Astrid was so busy freeing Stormfly she did notice Heather walking into the cell.

"You're not going anywhere, Astrid," said Heather.

Astrid then grabbed a spear. "Maybe not. But I'm really going to enjoy this," she said.

"Oh, I doubt that," said Heather closing the cell door with her twin bladed axe.

* * *

Fishlegs and the twins found themselves on the deck of the ship with Ryker and Dagur looking down at them from the bridge.

"Did I, or did I not warn you about them?" said Dagur looking annoyed. "They never quit. Annoying."

Then Heather soon arrived with Astrid in tow, who was rubbing her arm.

Dagur then turned and looked at Ryker. "Ryker, Rykey, Ryker-man. Can we please just work together on this? You know dragons. I know Dragon Riders."

Ryker narrowed his eyes. "And…"

"Send a message. Throw one over the side," he said sniggering. "It'll be so fun."

"An excellent idea," said Heather joining them on the bridge. "Unless, of course, you think Viggo might want to question them personally about the Dragon Eye." Everyone just stared at her. "I have a better idea. Why not put them to work?"

"I prefer to go overboard," said Tuffnut.

"Uh-huh," Ruffnut agreed.

"Split them up so they can't plot any more escapes," Heather suggested. "And make them serve you, as their dragons do."

Ryker smiled at the idea. "You know? I like that idea. Put 'em to work. But the next one who tries to escape goes over the side."

They watched as the hunters took them away.

Ryker then looked at Dagur. "Well, it's obvious who got the blame is in your family, eh?"

He then slapped him across the back and walked away laughing and Dagur chuckled.

"Oh, I get it, that's a…" He then stopped and turned at his sister. "What was that all about, sis?"

"I was protecting you, brother. From what you told me about him, I doubt Viggo takes kindly to losing valuable property," said Heather placing a hand on her hips. "If anything happens to the riders, let Ryker be on the hook for it, not you."

Dagur blinked at her and then smiled before hugging her. "You are my sister, aren't you?"

He then dragged her way across the bridge.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup, Ragnar and Snotlout had gathered as many Screaming Death scales as they could possibly carry began sewing them together. Surprisingly, Snotlout was very good at sewing dragon scales together.

"That's amazing," said Hiccup surprised. "You're almost done already. And Snotlout, your workmanship…"

"I've gotta admit, I didn't expect this from you," said Ragnar.

Snotlout laughed. "My mother taught me everything I know."

"Well, if this works, remind me to thank her," said Hiccup. He then pulled out a map. "All right, next step, find those Dragon Hunters."

* * *

Meanwhile, on the hunters' ship, Astrid and Tuffnut were scrubbing the deck with brooms.

"So, let me get this straight, Heather took you down all by herself?" said Tuffnut leaning on his broom handle.

"She had an axe," Astrid reminded.

"Yes, and you had arms, which are axes without blades," Tuffnut pointed out.

"Ugh!" Astrid groaned.

"This is yet another argument for why I say always carry an axe," Tuffnut yelled turning away from Astrid. He then met face-to-face with a hunter, who glared down at him. "I mean, cleaning. Yeah, my fine fellow."

Tuffnut then began to scrub the deck with his broom.

* * *

Ruffnut was in the brig scrubbing Barf and Belch.

"Don't try and make up with me, mister. This is your fault," said Ruffnut glaring at Barf. Belch then growled. "Don't you go taking his side, other mister. You're in this, too."

Then the two dragon heads began to lick her.

* * *

Fishlegs was also in the brig with his dragon Meatlug. He was sorting through the rocks in the barrels. However, he was doing a lot more than just working for the hunters he was watching as the hunter shoved rocks into Meatlug and took note what he used.

"Three parts limestone, two parts sandstone…" he said counting the ingredients of his fingers. His eyes then shot up when he realised what he was missing three years ago. "One part iron ore, one giant spoon of hardened Gronckle lava, yeah!"

He talked a bit too loudly and one of the guards glared at him and gestured to him to get back to work.

"Right, back to sorting," he said nervously.

* * *

Back on the deck, Tuffnut was standing silently leaning on his broom handle and Astrid were starting to get annoyed.

"How do you not get having an axe is a huge advantage in a fight?" she snapped.

"It is and if you have a mace," said Tuffnut simply.

"I didn't have a mace, or a sword, or a crossbow," said Astrid gritting her teeth.

"Oh, so now where getting hypothetical? Bet you didn't have eyes that could shoot fire either."

Astrid clenched her fists and was resisting the urge to throw him overboard.

Fortunately for Tuffnut, an announcement from a hunter from the crow's nest caught their attention.

"Dragon cited starboard bow. With riders!" the hunter yelled.

"It's Hiccup, Ragnar and Snot-hat," said Dagur.

"Standby catapults. Arches at the ready," Ryker ordered. He then looked at the incoming dragons and their riders. "That Boneknapper is going to be hard to take down, but if we take down the other two taking it down will be easy."

The hunters man the catapult and the arches aimed their arrows at the upcoming Dragon Riders.

"Wait until they're in range," Ryker ordered.

* * *

Snotlout was slightly nervous about charging an entire fleet of Dragon Hunters and he wasn't exactly confident that Hiccup's plan would work.

"Hiccup, as far as worse plans go, this has to be, by far, your best worst plan ever," he said.

"Uh, I'll take that as a compliment," said Hiccup.

"Don't worry, Snotlout. We're prepared this time and knowing Astrid she and the others will cause a nice little distraction on the flagship," said Ragnar.

They then flew down straight towards the flagship.

* * *

Dagur looked very excited. "Oh, look at…" he laughed. "He's coming straight in. Suicide run. I didn't think he had it in him."

"The fool," said Ryker.

Heather on the other hand looks quite serious. "Hiccup is no fool and neither is Ragnar. What are they up to?"

"Well, I'll be sure to ask them after I knock them out of the sky," said Ryker. He then looked at his men. "Hunters, fire at will!"

The arches fired arrows and they hit both Toothless and Hookfang.

"Oh, oh! Look!" Dagur yelled excitedly. However, the two dragons were still flying in the air. "Uh, what is going on?" He grabbed his spyglass and his eyes widened, both Toothless and Hookfang were wearing armour. "They're wearing some sort of dragon armour!"

Then the three dragons blasted the three ballistas right next to Dagur.

Ryker then pulled out his sword. "Come at me."

Heather then knocked him to the ground just as the three dragons by their breath attacked at him.

Astrid and Tuffnut saw their chance.

"Now or never," said Astrid.

The two of them then whacked two of the hunters with their brooms.

"I hate cleaning…" said Tuffnut whacking a hunter with his broom and knocked him overboard. "A lot, as you can see."

Astrid is just not down her hunter and they both saw more hunters charging at them. "Yeah? Well, looks like there's some more cleaning up to do," she said.

They then charted the hunters with their brooms held high. Several hunters try to attack them from behind, but Snotlout appeared across the side and blast them with a fire blast. Hiccup and Ragnar are also doing their part in tackling the ship.

* * *

Inside the brig the entire ship shock from the three riders combined attack and Fishlegs toppled over. He then saw his chance grab an axe and cut the chains that bind Meatlug. The hunter that was guarding them approach them and pulled out two axes and gave him an evil smirk.

"Meatlug, hug!" Fishlegs commanded.

At once Meatlug tackled the hunter and he banged his head against the forge and was knocked out cold.

* * *

In another part of the ship, Ruffnut and a hunter were circling one another. She then grabbed a pair of fish and began slapping them against the face of the hunter. However, he simply swung his axe and sliced them into pieces.

Ruffnut smiled nervously as she backed away from the hunter. The hunter then knocks her aside which cause great anger in Barf and Belch. Before he could deal the final blow Belch slammed his head against the hunter and he hit the ceiling. Then Barf slammed him into the wall with his head and he was not out cold.

"Okay, that's a start, but don't even think for a second that we are close enough to be even, misters," said Ruffnut to the two-headed dragon.

* * *

Outside Ragnar and Snotlout concentrated their fire on the escort ships and when they pull alongside Hiccup Snotlout notice something troubling. The stitches on Toothless' armour were coming loose.

"Your armour's loose," he said. "Ah, I knew I should have used a lockstitch, not a cross-stitch. Stupid, Snotlout, stupid. Oh, mum's gonna be so disappointed in me."

"We can't break off now that was so close," said Ragnar.

"Let's hope it holds," said Hiccup and looked at Ragnar and Snotlout. "Now, take out those two support ships."

Ragnar and Snotlout began their attack on the support ships while Hiccup focused on the flagship.

On the deck Astrid had just whacked a hunter with her broom and then block the attack of another hunter and then hit him with the broom. She then noticed that Tuffnut was in trouble trying to hold back a hunter. She rushed over to him and slammed the handle into the hunter's face.

"Let's go get dragons," said Astrid.

They then began to head straight down towards the lower deck and in notice to hunters aiming arrows at them. However, Heather pushed them aside and looked down at Astrid.

"She's mine," she said and jumped in front of Astrid as Tuffnut ran up the steps to the bridge.

She then began swimming her axe at Astrid and sliced her broom and have. However, this didn't dishearten Astrid and she used the two broom handles as weapons and managed to get the upper hand on Heather. Heather was so busy trying to block Astrid's attacks but she did notice the wooden plank she tripped over and Astrid walked away dropping the two handles.

* * *

Moments later she was inside Stormfly's cage and began undoing the chains around her legs.

"Stormfly, we're leaving," she said. She then heard someone entering into the cell and turn to find Heather standing there. Astrid sighed and grabbed hold of Stormfly's cages. "Don't you ever give up?"

"Don't you?" Heather asked closing the cell door behind her with her axe.

* * *

Outside a great majority of the hunters ships were now on fire and still Hiccup, Ragnar and Snotlout were still flying. Toothless spun to dodge some arrows, but end up losing more of his armour.

Dagur laughed triumphantly. "He's lost some of his armour. We've got now!"

Ryker smiled and looked at his men. "Men! Concentrate all fire on the Night Fury."

All the hunters then began firing arrows at Toothless, who was so busy dodging the arrows that he was unable to fire a plasma blast.

Seeing that he was in trouble both Ragnar and Snotlout charge straight towards the ship. Snotlout blasted the ballistas and Skull sent a powerful war that forced the archers to cover their ears. This gave Toothless the opportunity to fire a plasma blast knocking several arches of their feet.

Ryker growled and picked up a fallen bow and arrow. "Looks like I'll have to do this myself."

He began to aim the arrow at Hiccup, but before he could release the arrow the entire ship shock. Ryker turned and found Astrid and Stormfly flying out of the hold.

"I told you, you were messing with the wrong Viking," Astrid yelled.

Then came Fishlegs and Meatlug and they slammed into several hunters before joining up with Astrid. Then green gas began to exit from the hold and the hunter quivered when he saw Barf and Belch with the twins riding on their necks. Then Tuffnut ignited the gas causing a large explosion and they took the opportunity to fly away.

"Yeah!" Ruffnut yelled.

Ryker looked at his burning ship and then to the Dragon Riders that disappeared into the distance.

"I may have underestimated these Dragon Riders," Ryker admitted.

* * *

Once they were safe distance away from the hunters' ships Hiccup looked at Astrid dumbfounded.

"It did I see Dagur on that ship? Is he with the Dragon Hunters?" Hiccup asked.

"Not just Dagur!" Ruffnut yelled.

"Hiccup, we have a lot to talk about," said Astrid. She then looked at Ragnar apologetically. "And Ragnar you better prepare yourself for shock."

Fishlegs was more fascinated on the armour that Toothless and Hookfang wore. "Screaming Death armour? Yeah, makes sense. Figure scales of any dragon."

"Yeah, I got the idea from Ragnar and Skull," Hiccup explained. "Of course we can use dragon bones. So, we use the next best thing."

"Woo! Excellent workmanship," said Ruffnut.

"Uh, I don't know. I'm surprised you didn't use a lockstitch," said Tuffnut.

"Oh, I'll use it right now on your mouth," Snotlout snapped.

"Hey, it did the trick," said Hiccup.

"Yeah, now you make sure that all your dragons have armour," said Ragnar.

"It looks heavy," said Fishlegs. "Maybe we should try set made out of Gronckle iron, now that I have the formula."

"Well, we might need to do just that," said Hiccup. "I'm pretty sure we've not seen the last of the Dragon Hunters."

* * *

On Ryker's ship, Dagur and Heather, who was rubbing her arm due to the fight with Astrid, joined up with Ryker.

"So, what's next?" Heather asked.

"We will report back to Viggo," said Ryker.

"And, we tell him what?" Dagur asked.

"That we're one step closer to the Dragon Eye," said Ryker smirking evilly.


	17. Bad Moon Rising

It was a nice peaceful day on Dragon's Edge and Ragnar and Fishlegs were explaining to Gobber how to create Gronckle Iron. They had created a Gronckle Iron target and the other riders were testing its durability.

"Are ya sure yeh got the recipe right?" Gobber asked.

"Of course we're sure," said Fishlegs. "Three parts limestone…"

Snotlout then came flying on Hookfang and blasted the target with a fire blast. The metal was red-hot, but it did not melt.

"Three parts limestone," Gobber nodded.

"Uh-huh," said Fishlegs as he and Ragnar gave him a low five.

They looked up to see Hiccup and Toothless taking their position in the sky.

"Give it all it all you got, bud," said Hiccup.

"Two part sandstone…" said Ragnar.

Toothless then blasted the target were plasma blast, but all he did was knock it off its plinth.

"Sandstone, check," Gobber nodded.

"One part iron ore," said Fishlegs. "Up high." He then high-fived Gobber and Ragnar. "Down low." Then he gave them a low five again. They then leaned over to Gobber. "And now, the secret ingredient."

Barf and Belch then began stomping on top of the target.

"One giant spoon of cooled and hardened…"

"Gronckle lava," Ragnar and Fishlegs said together.

Gobber looked as Barf and Belch try to tell it apart with their heads and Ruffnut joined in. "Gronckle lava! Of course!"

Meatlug then spewed some lava. "Viola! You have Gronckle lava," said Fishlegs.

"All right. Let's see how your Gronckle Iron holds up against a close range spine shot," said Astrid as she and Stormfly approached.

"Be our guest," said Fishlegs.

"Stormfly! Spines!" Astrid commanded.

Stormfly took a step back and prepared herself to fire her spikes. Then out of nowhere Tuffnut appeared, looking ragged and delirious and clutching his arm. He was approaching the target right where Stormfly was about to fire.

"Giant, furry… teeth," he said.

"Tuff, no!" Hiccup yelled.

Tuffnut didn't hear him and still approaching the target not aware that Stormfly was about to fire her spikes that it. "Even the teeth with furry."

Fortunately, Stormfly missed him and still managed to hit the target. He then looked to them as if nothing happened.

"Thank Loki!" he said. "You guys are not gonna believe what just happened. It was—" Then the target fell on top of him and at once they all rushed over towards him. "We'll talking a little bit."

* * *

Later that afternoon Ragnar tended to his injuries while Tuffnut explained what happened or at least try to explain.

"There I was, me and my inner not," he said.

"Tuff, what happened out there?" Hiccup asked.

"He probably just fell off a cliff again," said Ragnar as he pleased ointment on Tuffnut's bruises.

"I fell over nothing, at least I don't think I did," said Tuffnut. His eyes and darkened. "It was dark. So dark, Hiccup, not even the moon to like my merry way. And then all of a sudden, out of the darkness, red eyes, ferocious teeth, a growl that could peel the big off a chicken!"

Chicken then clucks fearfully and Tuffnut looked down at her. "Sorry. Metaphor." He then grabbed Chicken and continued with his story. "It grabbed me and tossed me around like a ragdoll, a very handsome rag doll. And then, it left me for dead."

"Tuffnut, can you tell us anything else about what attack you?" Fishlegs asked.

Tuffnut shook his head. "It was far too fast. Too cagey, too quick… Quick give me another adjective."

"Ooh, how about, 'imaginary'?" Snotlout offered.

All the riders and Gobber laughed.

Tuffnut was not amused. "Laugh and guffaw, if you must. But would an imaginary beast give you one of these?"

Tuffnut then showed them a bite mark on his right forearm.

* * *

Later that night, Ragnar and Fishlegs looked through everything they had on dragon bites in order to figure out the species.

"Oh, there's nothing anywhere that matches this," said Fishlegs furiously. "The Book of Dragons, Bork's papers, even the Dragon Eye."

"I suppose it could be an undiscovered dragon, but we would have known if one was roaming the woods by now," said Ragnar.

"Won't be in any of those and the dragon that did this certainly is known," said Gobber as he picked his ear and flicked some wax.

"Gobber?" Hiccup blinked.

"It's obvious we're all thinking the same thing," said Gobber.

"Well, I can pretty much guarantee you we're not," said Hiccup. "But why don't you tell us what you're thinking, Gobber?"

"Yeah, don't leave us in suspense, dad," said Ragnar.

Gobber looked at them with a firm expression. "Lycanwing." Everyone just stared at him. "The Lycanwing Dragon is a rare beast, and a vicious one at that. Those who survive its bite are not actually survivors at all. They're doomed to a life as half-man, half-Lycanwing. At the height of every full moon, the condemned Viking transforms into a terrifying dragon! Wings the size of a house, teeth stronger than Gronckle Iron and a first for blood."

Tuffnut yelped in flight.

"Tuff, the Lycanwing is a legend. It's not a real dragon," said Hiccup calmly. He then looked at Gobber. "Gobber, have you ever seen a Lycanwing?"

Gobber shook his head. "No."

"Has anyone on Berk ever seen a Lycanwing?" Hiccup asked looking at the riders.

Everyone does looked at one another and shrugged. Hiccup then looked at Gobber. "Not that I can recall."

"I rest my case," said Hiccup.

"But the stories…" said Gobber trembling. "They'll straighten the hairs on the curly-haired yak."

* * *

Later that night, all the riders sat around Gobber as he told his frightening tale of the Lycanwing.

"His name was Kessler!" said Gobber leaning towards Snotlout sharply.

Snotlout backed away at once in fear. "That's a weird name."

"Weird kid," said Gobber pulling away from Snotlout. "Bright red hair, eyes as black as night. And naughty as a Nadder in a chicken coop."

"That's seriously naughty," said Tuffnut. He then looked at Chicken. "Am I right? High three." Tuffnut raised three fingers and waited for Chicken to slap his hand with her wing, but she did nothing. "Never mind."

"One night, little Kessler against his parent's wishes, when exploring in the forest," Gobber continued. "Days went by, no sign of him." He then moved closer to Fishlegs, who squealed. "Only a far away screen coming from the woods." He then turned his back on them. "The little bug and never returned."

Then suddenly he spun around and screamed at them causing them all to yelp. "Or did he? Every year from then on, when little Kessler's birthday rolled around, a red black-eyed dragon flying over his parents' house, and pluck one of their sheep right out of the paddock! The dragon would look back, taunting them."

His scary voice vanished and he looked at Tuffnut reassuringly. "But I wouldn't worry, Tuffnut. You're not exhibiting any symptoms."

"Hey, hey, hey," said Snotlout quickly. "Can we really say for sure what our pal Tuffnut is exhibiting?" He then looked at Gobber smoking slightly. "Come on, Gobber, lay 'em on us. Just for sake of argument."

"I don't think that's a good idea, Snotlout," said Ruffnut firmly.

"Well, first off, ya be lookin' at sensitivity to light," said Gobber.

"Aren't you always telling me that it hurts your head when you look at the sun?" Snotlout asked with a large smirk on his face.

"Yeah, I did say that," Tuffnut nodded. He then looked at the coal fire of the forge and at once turned a yelled yelping.

"Unquenchable first," said Gobber.

Tuffnut then began rubbing his tongue with his hands.

"You look thirsty," said Snotlout smirking.

"Hey! He always looks thirsty!" Ruffnut interjected.

Snotlout then looked at Gobber his smirk getting bigger. "What else, Gobber? There's got to be more than that."

"Fidgety arms, on account of the wings starting to sprout," said Gobber.

Tuffnut's arms then began to twitch up and down uncontrollably and the accidentally knocked Ruffnut off the bench.

"Ow! Watch it, would ya!" said Ruffnut.

"Gee, sorry, I'm fidgety," said Tuffnut.

Snotlout laughed. "What else?"

"Finally, the overwhelming desire to eat fresh fish," said Gobber.

Then all of a sudden Tuffnut rushed over to Barf and Belch, who were eating a trough for fish, and began eating from the trough.

"Taste terrible!" Tuffnut yelled and ran away with a fish in his mouth and two others in his hands.

Snotlout laughed. "How awesome was that? What an idiot."

Ruffnut glared at him. "You have no idea what you've done!"

* * *

At the clubhouse, the riders were having dinner, except for Tuffnut who was nowhere to be seen. Then they saw Tuffnut wheeling a wheelbarrow towards them with a grim look on his face.

"Uh, Tuffnut, what are you doing?" Hiccup asked.

Tuffnut stopped by Snotlout and pulled out the mace he got from Trader Johann three years ago and presented it to him. "I give you Macey. Hold her dearly. She likes sitting by the window, looking at the moon. The full moon. Hah, the irony."

"Oh, my Thor. That's so thoughtful!" said Snotlout taking Macey from him. Then when he wheeled the wheelbarrow away he tossed Macey aside.

Tuffnut stopped by Fishlegs and pulled out a bowl. "Fishlegs, I give you my favourite bowl."

Fishlegs looked at it and recognise once. "Hey, that my bowl!" he yelled.

"And now, now you have it," said Tuffnut and placed a hand on his shoulders. "Each well, my friend. Eat well."

Tuffnut then made his way over to Hiccup with wheelbarrow in tow. "Hiccup, Hiccup, Hiccup, what do you give the Viking who has everything?" He then grabbed Ruffnut. "Here."

"Hey! You can't give me away!" she yelled indignantly.

Tuffnut ignored her and looked at Hiccup. "In time, she'll come to you. She's going to take this very hard and will certainly go through to prolonged mourning period. She's gonna need a new twin brother. I nominate you." He then looked at him sympathetically. "It's a terrible job and she smells horrible. You'll have a dress like me and grow your hair long, so there are perks."

"All right, all right. What did I miss?" Hiccup asked.

"I'm just…" Tuffnut sighed as he looked up at the moon. "Preparing myself."

"For what?" Astrid asked.

"Astrid, have you seen that moon?" Tuffnut asked gesturing to the moon behind him. "When it rises to its apex, which I think is a word that means the tip-top, I'm going full dragon. Tuffnut Lycanwing."

Snotlout laughed, it stopped when Tuffnut approached him. "You're funny guy, Snotlout. I'll eat you first," said Tuffnut as he backed away snarling and slurping.

"Tuff, we went over this. The Lycanwing is a myth. It's not real," said Hiccup. "You're not turning into a dragon. Fishlegs, will you please tell him?"

Fishlegs, however looked extremely nervous.

"Tuff, it's an impossibility for anyone to become a dragon and there haven't been any accounts that the Lycanwing actually exists," said Ragnar. "It's all in your head, those _symptoms_ you experienced only happened because you think you had them."

Tuffnut either wasn't listening or didn't hear him as he left the clubhouse. "Now, I must go and say my most difficult goodbye of all. If you excuse me."

Once he left Snotlout laughed and Ruffnut marched up to him glaring at him. "What did I tell you? What did I tell you?" she screamed. "You are gonna help me fix this, Snotlout! You hear me?"

She then walked off fuming.

"Wow. They can really get riled up, huh?" said Snotlout.

Hiccup just looked at him and glared.

* * *

Tuffnut was at the stables saying his goodbyes to Barf and Belch.

"Barf, Belch, my winged brothers, I'll see you in the family skies," he said. "Who knows? Maybe we'll slide down a rainbow together."

Then they heard Chicken clucking and Tuffnut looked at her. "Okay, you ready?" he asked.

Tuffnut then made his way into the stables and made his way over to one of the pens. "Hmm, this should work. Good view, adequate ventilation…" He then opened the pen invented inside. "Will keep the other safe from me when I turn."

He waited until Chicken ended inside before he closed the pen door and sat down on some crates. He was soon joined by Chicken, who clucked at him.

"I feel you, my animal brother," said Tuffnut. He then took in a deep sigh and looked at the moon. "My last night as me. For tomorrow, at this time, alas, I shall no longer be human." He then grabbed Chicken and looked at her. "I will be Tuffnut Lycanwing! Killing machine!"

He then began to snarl like an animal.

* * *

The next morning, Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar were at the stables and watch as Gobber emerged from them.

"Well, I did my best," said Gobber. "He's not talking to anyone but that chicken. And he's convinced the moon did apex last night, so it must be tonight."

They leaned over Gobber's shoulder and watched Tuffnut talking to Chicken. "Talk to me, chicken, talk to me." He leaned over a shoulder to look at them and then looked back at Chicken. "What are they saying?"

"Well, that's great," said Hiccup.

Then they heard the flapping of dragon wings and turn to find Hookfang flying towards them. However, it wasn't Snotlout flying him it was Ruffnut.

"Is that…" Astrid asked.

"It is…" said Ragnar.

"Ruffnut. Flying hookfang?" said Hiccup.

"Where's Snotlout?" Astrid asked.

"There he is," said Gobber pointing out Hookfang. They narrowed their eyes and saw Snotlout leaning over Hookfang's neck behind Ruffnut and he didn't look well. "Big lump behind her. Tear-stained face."

Then Hookfang crashed on the platform and both Ruffnut and Snotlout were thrown off him and landed face first on the platform.

"Wow, a rough one," said Ruffnut picking herself up and brushing herself down.

Hookfang snorted smoke at her and got up and walked away in a huff. Snotlout was laying on the platform still groaning in agony.

"W-what are you two doing?" Hiccup asked. "We could use you right now."

Ruffnut picked Snotlout up harshly and dragged him towards them. "We've been gathering samples."

"Samples of what?" Astrid asked.

Ruffnut then showed them Snotlout's arm and the three of them backed away in disgust. His arm was covered in bites which explained why Snotlout was so teary-eyed.

"Dragon bites. One of these have to match Tuff's and convince him that this Lycanwing deal is just another one of his paranoid fantasies," said Ruffnut.

Hiccup looked at the teary-eyed Snotlout and then to Ruffnut. "And, why is Snotlout—"

"He started this stupid thing with his impressive, yet sinister, powers of suggestion," said Ruffnut releasing Snotlout's arm harshly and glaring at him. She then elbowed him and he winced in pain. "It's all Snotlout's fault my dopey brother thinks he's turning into a dragon."

Snotlout groaned as he clutched his arm.

"Well, looks like you earned this one, Snotlout," said Hiccup crossing his arms.

Ruffnut turned to Snotlout with a very harsh look. "Not so funny now, is it?"

"No. Ruffnut, not funny at all," said Snotlout wincing in pain.

"Let's go, pal," said Ruffnut and dragged Snotlout into the stables.

"Hate to be him," said Ragnar shaking his head.

"Hiccup! Hiccup!" Fishlegs yelled as he flew down on Meatlug. "Oh, do not gonna believe this." He soon landed and hopped off Meatlug. "I was at my wits end, trying to think of something, anything that could help with this, when my perfect little angel crushed my desk and look what I found!"

Fishlegs then presented a Dragon Eye lens. "It's the one you found in the cave with Gustav. I've been meaning to give it back to you, Hiccup. I'm usually not so irresponsible with priceless artefacts."

"Fishlegs, we have to go see what's on it!" said Hiccup.

"Like right now," said Ragnar.

Astrid rolled her eyes, she hated when the three of them went into dragon geek mode.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tuffnut was still in his pen talking to Chicken. He was at the moment pacing up and down talking about the moon's apex.

"I'm telling you, it's not flat. Got to be round or oblong at the very least," said Tuffnut. "Think about it. The moon, round. Sun, round. My head, oblong."

He then noticed that Ruffnut and Snotlout were watching him for the pen doors.

Ruffnut just gave him a weird look. "Uh, I hate to interrupt this fascinating debate, but—"

"Stand back, sis!" Tuffnut yelled backing away from them. "It's not safe to be around me right now. I could go at any minute."

"Yeah, whatever," said Ruffnut rolling her eyes. "Just hold out your arm, we need to check something."

She then pulled Snotlout's arm and pulled it through the bars.

"Oh, for the love of Thor, do it," Snotlout begged. "I'm pretty sure. I need serious medical attention."

Tuffnut approached Snotlout and noticed the bite marks on his arm. "Whoa, what happened to you?"

"Ask her," said Snotlout gesturing to Ruffnut.

Tuffnut then looked at his sister. "What happened?"

"Helping me find out what happened to you," she said simply.

"I think we all know what happened to me."

"Any day now!" Snotlout yelled.

"Hold still!" said Ruffnut dragging Tuffnut's arm closer to Snotlout's.

Once they lined up she began trying to find a match to his dragon bite, but none of the bites on Snotlout's are matched.

She sighed. "Well, we can cross, Terrible Terror, Night Terror, Wild Nadder and Gronckle of the list." She then looked at Snotlout. "Let's go."

"I'm not going anywhere with you. You're stark raving mad!" Snotlout yelled.

Ruffnut responded by pulling him at his ear. "Let's go, I said!"

"Okay, okay, I'm coming!" he said as Ruffnut dragged him along.

Tuffnut watched as they left and heard Snotlout yells of pain.

* * *

They soon returned later that evening they returned with a whole new range of bites on Snotlout.

"This is the last one, and I'm officially paid back," he said. "And anyway, how was I supposed to know that he'd go this crazy?"

Ruffnut stared at him. "What? Have you met my brother?"

"Fine. Whatever," said Snotlout rubbing his left arm and that was covered in bites. "Man, I'm so glad you're not my sister."

Ruffnut held her hand out stopping him and forced him to look at her. "No. You wish I was your sister," she said with a death glare that matched Astrid's. "You think I'll be dragging your monkey butt all over the jungle risking your life if my brother wasn't the most important thing in the world to me?" She then dragged him along to the stables. "Think about that!"

When they entered the stables they found Tuffnut, who seem to be mimicking Chicken. He had his legs bent and he was flapping his arms like a chicken as if he was preparing to fly and jumped off the clay he was on and he flew just like a chicken and landed face first on the wooden floor.

Ruffnut just stared at him. "Uh…"

Tuffnut looked up and found his sister and Snotlout, who had just put his arm through the bars which was covered in a new range of bite marks one of them was covered in pus.

"Whoa, awesome. I love the pus," he said as he placed his arm next to Snotlout, but like before none of the marks matched. "What kind of bite is that?"

"Sea snake," said Ruffnut.

"I don't feel so good," Snotlout groaned.

"Another no match," Ruffnut sighed.

"Hey, aren't those things opposed to be poisonous?" Tuffnut asked looking at Snotlout's bite.

"Don't think so," said Ruffnut.

Tuffnut shook his head. "Nah, I'm pretty sure they are."

"Nope, you're wrong."

"I'm pretty sure I'm not."

Snotlout then produced the answer. "Oh, guys, there's definitely pois…" He then fell to the floor unconscious.

"Hah! Told you," said Tuffnut triumphantly. "Do I know my sea snake, or not?" He then looked at Snotlout, whose face was twitching uncontrollably and eyes rolling at the back of his head. "That is seriously creepy. Hey, should we check is breathing?"

"Eh, wimp," said Ruffnut and dragged Snotlout's body out of the stables.

* * *

It was late at night and Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs still hadn't been able to figure out the new Dragon Eye lens.

Fishlegs grumbled in frustration after another failed attempt. "Well, that's it," he said placing the Dragon Eye down. "That every combination I can think of."

Ragnar yawned. "It's getting a bit late at night let's try and sort this out in the morning and hope Tuffnut finally realises that he is not turning into a Lycanwing."

Then as Ragnar and Fishlegs left, Hiccup noticed the Dragon Eye glowing. It seemed to be reacting to the moonlight.

"Wait, wait! I see something," Hiccup yelled. Ragnar and Fishlegs stopped and looked at him. "Let's try this. Toothless?"

Toothless got up from the floor and stretched for making his way over to the table. He then produced a slow burn and with the combination of that and the moonlight it showed a very interesting image.

The image showed a human, but his arms resembled a great deal like dragon wings.

"Now, am I crazy, or is that a man with dragon wings instead of arms?" Hiccup asked.

"No I see it to," said Ragnar.

"You're not crazy," said Fishlegs and began to turn the dial showing even more images. It showed the human again, but this time he had a tail as well as the wings. "And there he is again, with a tail to go over the wings."

"I don't like where this is going," said Ragnar.

Hiccup looked the side and saw some sort of writing. "Can you make out what this says?"

Ragnar looked at the writing. "' _No man shall tread on the shores, lest he becomes what he has mostly feared._ '"

"That must be Lycanwing Island," said Fishlegs.

"And why, my friends, is what we always listen to Gobber," said Hiccup.

"Hiccup, Ragnar, this Lycanwing, it could be, well, not a myth," said Fishlegs.

"There is often truth in myth," Ragnar admitted. "After all there was some debate whether Bonenappers existed or not."

Hiccup looked at the map. "That island's not far from here."

"It's only a few hours journey," said Ragnar.

Then the two of them looked at Fishlegs, who realised for the two of them were thinking right away. "Why do I get the feeling were going on a little Hiccup-Ragnar-Fishlegs recon mission?"

* * *

Moments later they were at the stables getting Skull and Meatlug.

"Okay, guys, if we do happen to run across a Lycanwing, we need to have a really good plan," said Hiccup.

"How about, don't get bitten?" Fishlegs offered as he opened Meatlug's pen. "That sounds like a good one to me."

"And to me," said Ragnar opening Skull's pen.

"Yup, me too," said Hiccup. They then made their way outside. "Okay, Lycanwing Island, here we come."

Unfortunately, they had completely forgot that Tuffnut was in the stables with them and he had heard every single word they said.

"Lycanwing Island?" he gasped. He then looked up at Chicken, who was sitting on his helmet. "Okay, don't tell anyone, but I do naturally believe it before."

He then placed Chicken down and began to pace the pen. "I was just trying to mess with their heads, you know because quirky and eccentric by giving way my stuff and locking us in here. Plus, I get along really well with you."

How could I know it'd come to this? How could I know it was real?!" he screamed. He looked down at Chicken, who then tried to fly off but was stopped by Tuffnut. He then began to talk and growled whisper. "How could I know?! How could I know?"

* * *

Meanwhile, unaware of these events, Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs were making their way towards Lycanwing Island. They found the island is easy enough and entered into a cave.

"Okay, Toothless, give us some light," said Hiccup as the three of them hopped off their dragons.

Toothless fired a plasma blast into the cave, but the light from it showed nothing and then they had the explosion further down. Then they could hear the fluttering of wings heading straight towards them.

Fishlegs screen as they covered their heads, but he only turned out to be a flock of bats that were spooked by Toothless' plasma blast.

"Let's go, guys," said Hiccup. He then saw Fishlegs' worried look. "Don't worry, we'll be right next to you the whole time."

They then enter the cave and Fishlegs quivered slightly as they entered.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ruffnut return to the stables with Snotlout, who is now in worse shape than before. He now had a bandage over his left eye.

"All right, this better match 'cause I don't know how much you can take," said Ruffnut as she dragged a battered Snotlout over towards the pen. She started when she didn't hear her brother's voice and looked at the pen horrified. "Tuff?"

"Do you see what I see, Snotlout?" Ruffnut asked.

"I don't know," said Snotlout sickly. "I think I'm going blind from all the venom." He then stopped as he toppled over and landed face first on the floor. "Ugh!"

Ruffnut entered the pen, which was wide open and completely empty. There was no sign of Tuffnut or his chicken.

"He's out. Tuffnut's on the loose," she said. "This is bad. This is very bad."

* * *

Tuffnut was in the forest growling and snarling as he walked away from the Edge. Chicken stood by his side all the time.

"I can't be contained," he said. He then looked up at the full moon. "Look at that moon. It's a matter of…" He then began to growl, "hours, it will finally apex, and I will be transformed into a giant scaly beast with nothing to do but feast on my pray!"

He then fell on his hands and knees and began to sniff the ground like a wild animal. He then warred at the moon and looked at his hands. "It's like, all my senses are alive for the first time. I can feel things, see things, here things I've never been able to before. You know what I mean, Chicken?"

Now for some unexplained reason, Tuffnut began to believe that Chicken was able to talk. It was believed that this was because of lack of food since he refused to eat believing that taking a bite of meat but given the first four blood.

" _Yes, Tuffnut. I understand_ ," said Chicken without moving her beak. Tuffnut screamed apparently wasn't expecting to hear Chicken talk. " _What's the problem? I thought you wanted to come first with Chicken_."

Tuffnut sighed. "Oh, Chicken, I did! I've longed for this moment." He then picked up and hugged her. "If only it could last forever. But only a fool lives his future in the past. Our time is short, Chicken. Come, our fate awaits."

He then placed Chicken down and they began to walk deeper into the forest while he held onto her wing.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup, Ragnar, Fishlegs and the dragons had just the cavern and so far there was no sign of the Lycanwing, but there were markings on the wall.

"' _Beware the beast. Turn back before you become him. Your fate is sealed!_ '" Ragnar read.

Fishlegs quivered in fright. "Did you hear that, Hiccup? Our fate is sealed!"

"Fishlegs, we're fine," Hiccup assured. "It's just an old cave drawing."

Fishlegs either didn't listen or didn't care. "I can't believe we're gonna die chasing an imaginary dragon."

"If it's imaginary then it won't be killing us," Ragnar pointed out.

Suddenly Toothless growled and they turned and found out the reason why. Right in front of them was a large shadow of a dragon.

"Hiccup? Ragnar? There it is!" Fishlegs yelled. He then hugged Meatlug tightly. "If I have to go, girl, I'm glad it with you."

"All right, Toothless, light," Hiccup commanded.

"Skull get ready," said Ragnar.

Toothless fired a plasma blast at some stalactites in the glow from the rocks let the entire cavern. Fishlegs quivered in fear at the sight of the large shadow while Hiccup and Ragnar prepare themselves for battle.

However, the battle never came, they had no movement it even roar. Hiccup and Ragnar exchange looks and they came to the same conclusion. They turned around and found the the creator of the shadow.

"Look. It's eyes," said Hiccup.

"I know," said Ragnar.

"I'm not looking into that thing's eyes," said Fishlegs, who still hadn't removed the hand from his eyes. "Do you know me?"

"Fishlegs! Would you just look?" said Hiccup.

Slowly Fishlegs turned around and removed his hand. He saw Hiccup and Ragnar kneeling next to a stone sculpture of a dragon that was casting a large shadow making it look like a large vicious dragon. However, the thing a much greater interest was its eyes they were Dragon Eye lenses

Fishlegs stared at the two of them. "Hiccup, Ragnar are those…"

Hiccup and Ragnar pulled the lenses out of the sculpture and held them out.

"Dragon Eye lenses," said Hiccup.

* * *

A few hours later they returned to Dragon's Edge and land at the stables. Though met at by Gobber, who just exited out of the stables.

"Gobber, how's Tuff doing?" Hiccup asked.

Gobber chuckled. "Gone. He and the chicken through the coop. Said something about taking flight off the tallest clear when he went 'full dragon.'"

"You didn't try to stop him?"

"I was a bit busy."

"Doing what?" Fishlegs asked.

"Extracting sea snake venom from Snotlout," said Gobber pulling out a strange device with a very sharp needle. "You should've heard him. He sounded like a yak been turned inside out."

"Well, we better go tell Ruffnut," said Hiccup.

"Gone, too," said Gobber. "Went to look for her brother. She seemed to think whether he was a dragon or not he would survive 'the flight.'"

"I can understand that," Ragnar nodded.

"She dragged Snotlout with her," said Gobber. "Personally, I'm surprised he made the trip. The boy's not looking so well."

* * *

Ruffnut and Snotlout were trekking through the forest looking for Tuffnut, though finding him wasn't easy because the fog had rolled in. Snotlout was still feeling sick and woozy and felt as if he was going to fall over any minute now.

"I don't know if Gobber got it all out," Snotlout belched. "I'm starting to feel a little woozy, and all I can see is fog."

"It's foggy you mutton-head," Ruffnut snapped. "Hurry up, before Tuffnut jumped off a cliff or something."

"You think when he's a full Lycanwing, who remember all the nasty stuff I said to him?" Snotlout asked.

"Well, he did say he was gonna eat you first," Ruffnut pointed out. "Hopefully, it'll be quick. No, actually, I hope it'll be slow and painful."

Then all of a sudden Tuffnut popped out of nowhere upside down with Chicken in his hands growling.

"I am Lycanwing! Run! Run for your lives!" he yelled.

Snotlout naturally ran away screaming. "No! No! They're all going to laugh at me!"

Ruffnut just shook her head. "Oh, Gods."

She then turned and found Tuffnut had vanished. She looked around madly for him and then heard the sound of leaves rustling and Chicken's clucking.

"Tuffnut! Get back here!" she yelled running after him. "I command thee! Lycanwing!" However Tuffnut was a lot faster than her to quickly ran out of breath. "Oh, slow down. Slow down."

* * *

Snotlout kept on running through the words unaware that Tuffnut had ran in the opposite direction. He then came to a stop when he heard a low growling sound and assumed it was Tuffnut.

"Tuff? Is that you, buddy?" he asked nervously.

Then something pounced on him and he screamed.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tuffnut had reached the edge of a cliff and was howling at the moon with Chicken under his arm.

"The apex is upon us! Come on, do it with me, Chicken. It feels so good!" he yelled. "And we only have a few moments left kill we can fly! Fly! Riding high, the current of the wind blowing through our hair!" He then remembered that Chicken didn't had any hair. "I mean, your feathers, you have feathers, not hair. Free from the bonds that bind humankind!"

Chicken just clucked. "We have to fly away, right? I would never forgive myself if I ate the other Dragon Riders." He then snarled. "I mean, on the other hand though, I'm sure as a dragon I would find delicious, especially that Fishlegs. Good Thor, he looks like a marshmallow. Flesh coloured, and with a little hair on the top."

He then began squirming and growling. "It's happening. It's happening. I can feel it!" He then looked down at the cliff. "Are you ready, Chicken? Are you finally ready to be free?"

He then extended his leg out preparing to jump. "Tuff, don't do it!" said Ruffnut's voice.

Tuffnut glared at Chicken. "Ugh! We've been through this, Chicken. Don't try and impersonate my sister! We made a pact. I'm doing it, and you're coming with me."

"Tuffnut, it's me," said Ruffnut's voice. "Look at me, bro." Tuffnut turned and found Ruffnut standing there with a fearful look on her face. "You can fight this!"

"I can't, sis," said Tuffnut. "You don't know the hold it has me. It has its claws in me."

"What we fight it together?" she asked. "We do everything together. We always have! Look I refuse to spend the rest of my life doing anything alone. Do you hear me?!"

"You always the brave one," said Tuffnut whimpering slightly. "Mum should have named you Tuffnut."

"But she didn't. She named you Tuff," she said and placed a hands together. "I'm begging you! You know how much I hate to beg! Just get down from there."

"It's too late to stop the metamorphosis," Tuffnut groaned. "Can you not see what I've become?"

Then Hiccup and the other riders appeared on the dragons.

"Tuff, stop!" Hiccup yelled as they landed. "There is no metamorphosis, all right? You're not turning into a dragon. Ragnar, Fishlegs, please tell him."

"It's true," said Fishlegs. "We found the cave of the Lycanwing. It was just a myth to keep people away from these."

Fishlegs then showed the two dragon lenses they acquired.

"Like I told you before you only think you're turning into a dragon and that's why you keep growling and snarling," said Ragnar.

"No. No! I don't believe you," said Tuffnut. "Look at me, I'm hideous. I'm terrifying!"

"Tuff, you're not hideous!" said Astrid. "Terrifying at times, yes. But hideous, no."

"Well, then how do you explain this?" Tuffnut asked showing them his bite mark. Every single one of them were silent unable to produce an answer. "Can't do it, can you? Hmm? That's what I thought. Now, it's time to fly!"

Tuffnut was about to jump and before anyone could stop him Snotlout emerge as the words dragging a bag behind him.

"Wait, wait, wait!" he yelled. "I can explain…" He paused to take a deep breath. "I can explain it!"

"Whoa! You look worse than I do," said Tuffnut.

"Uh, Snotlout, what do you have in that bag?" Hiccup asked.

"I have what did this!" Snotlout then showed them his left arm which resembled the bite on Tuffnut's arm perfectly.

Tuffnut yelped. "The Lycanwing got him, too. Save yourselves!"

"It's not a Lycanwing," said Snotlout. "It's not even a dragon. It's a wolf. And I caught him! You're not turning into a dragon, Tuff."

"I'm not?" Tuffnut gasped. "I'm not!"

"That's what we've been trying to tell you," said Hiccup.

"I just made you think that!" Snotlout yelled. "But it's not true. It's funny, but it's not true."

Tuffnut smiled and then all of a sudden the edge of the cliff he was standing broke away he began to fall into the ravine. Toothless quickly rushed and grabbed his leg, but Chicken had slipped from his arms.

"No…" Tuffnut yelled extending his arm to grab her. He was able to grab her leg and she began to cluck furiously. "Don't worry, buddy. I got you. We're going home, Chicken. We're going home."

Toothless then drag the two of them back onto the cliff.

"Oh, thank Thor," said Hiccup relieved.

Ruffnut quickly wrapped her arms around her brother and he smiled. "Oh, I know what you'll saying. You realise how much you love me. You are scared you are gonna lose me. And I better never do that again."

"Actually, I was gonna tell you what an idiot you are," she said. She then turned around and hugging once again. "Come here." Over his shoulder she looked at Chicken and whispered, "thank you."

Hiccup then notice the empty bag. "Uh, Snotlout, where's the wolf?"

Snotlout turned and saw the empty bag and then he saw the wolf pouncing on him and he screamed.


	18. Snotlout Gets the Axe

**I begin university tomorrow so update will be slower.**

* * *

It was another peaceful day on Dragon's Edge and the riders were training. Snotlout was fine around hitting the target with his axe he seemed to be enjoying.

"Coming in heart," he yelled as he slammed his axe into a target. He laughed when the target fell over. "Ha-ha. That's right. Get some, Dragon Hunters. Get some. Snotlout, Snotlout! Oi, oi, oi!"

He then hit another target and that fell over right on top of Hookfang's tail. This caused Hookfang to stop suddenly and Snotlout was thrown off him screaming and landed face first on the ground right at the feet of the twins.

He looked up at the twins, who each held up their hands in each of them had eight fingers up.

"The judge from Berserker Island gave you a six," said Tuffnut.

"Um, nice effort, Snotlout," said Hiccup. "We all need to stay sharp, especially with those Dragon Hunters on the loose."

Snotlout gave him the thumbs up.

Hiccup then looked at Astrid. "Astrid, you're up."

Astrid made her way to of the training area with her axe on her shoulders.

"You really should loosen your grip a little, boy-o," said a voice behind Snotlout. Snotlout turned and found his father, Spitelout, approaching him with his Deadly Nadder in tow. "It maximises the bone shattering potential."

"Dad?" said Snotlout.

"Spitelout!" said Hiccup. "Uh, what a… What a pleasant surprise."

Spitelout picked up one of the spears and looked at it a bit snobbish. "Um. Dull," he said.

Snotlout chuckled nervously. "Yeah, I was just telling them that, Dad." He then began to approach his father. "Hey, did you see that—"

Spitelout then placed his hand on Snotlout's shoulder a bit hard nearly knocking him to the ground and looked at them all serious like.

"I come from news from Berk," he said. "There's to be a union tomorrow between two proud houses, our family, House Jorgenson, and…"

Astrid leaned over to Hiccup and Ragnar as if the entire thing was a joke. "What kind of muttonhead would marry into the Jorgenson?"

"…Astrid's family, House Hofferson," Spitelout continued.

Astrid just stared at him. "Wait, did he just say, House Hofferson?"

"Gotta admit, I didn't see that one coming," said Ragnar.

"That is unprecedented," Fishlegs gasped. "There's never been a union between those two families. Hofferson have always disliked Jorgensons and—"

"Jorgensons have always irritated Hofferson," Astrid finished. She then realise what this meant and her face became that of horror and disgust. "Wait, this means Snotlout is gonna be family."

"What's the problem, 'cuz'?" Snotlout asked as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "This just going to brings us…" He then pulled in close, "closer."

Asked responded by elbowing him in the chest and he groaned in pain clutching to his chest.

"Welcome to the family, lass," said Spitelout.

Ragnar then leaned in closer to Astrid. "It could be worse."

"How can it possibly get worse?" Astrid asked.

"You could be marrying Snotlout," Ragnar pointed out.

Astrid was about open mouth, but paused and closed it again. "Good point."

Spitelout then made his way over to his Deadly Nadder. "Now, on to business," he said.

He then gently took something wrapped in a purple sheet off his Deadly Nadder. He then remove the clot revealing a beautiful shining axe.

Snotlout stared at it in awe. "Wow. The Jorgenson Family Ceremonial Axe. There's never been a union without it."

"Aye," said Spitelout slamming his hand hard on Snotlout's shoulder again and nearly knocking him over again. "And, as you know, it is needed to be presented tomorrow at Berk's sacred matrimonial site, the Island of Friga, to chop down the Betrothal Birch of this union to be official." He then looked down at Snotlout. "So, you, Snotlout, will be delivering it."

Snotlout took the axe and held it as if it was made of glass staring at it in awe. "Sweet," he said.

"That's quite an honour, Snotlout," said Hiccup.

"This privilege is only given to the bravest and most virile member of the Jorgenson clan," said Snotlout. He then pointed the axe at them. "And you guys are looking at him. Boom, baby! Wow."

"I would have done it myself, if I wasn't already responsible for procuring the beasts for the union's ceremonial 400-boar feast," said Spitelout.

"But I am the family's natural second choice for the job," said Snotlout.

"Of course, Hedgelout wasn't available. He's still missing at sea."

"Third choice," said Snotlout now getting slightly disappointed. He then looked at Hookfang. "That's still good, right?"

Hoofkang own responded with a growl.

"And then there was Griplout," Spitelout continued.

"Griplout?" Astrid blinked.

"Are you talking about the Jorgenson that lost both his arms in that freak mutton accident?" Hiccup asked.

"Now that today on Berk no one is going to forget. I still have nightmares about it," Ragnar shuddered.

"Aye, he just couldn't get a good enough hold on the act with his teeth," said Spitelout slightly disappointed. He then looked at Snotlout, who was now at rock bottom after realising he was the family's last choice. "Remember, there's a lot riding on this, boy-o. No axe, no wedding. No wedding… Well, hopefully you're smart enough to at least figure that out."

Snotlout just smiled, though still disappointed.

"Whelp, I have to be on my way," said Spitelout rubbing his hands together and made his way over to his Dragon. "Boars don't grow on trees, you know."

Astrid looked at Hiccup and Ragnar and whispered, "Thank Thor I don't have to go to that ridiculous—"

Spitelout paused and looked at Astrid and said, "Oh, lass. Your folks are expecting you to represent your family at the ceremony. So better get a move on."

"Ugh!" Astrid groaned.

Hiccup chuckled.

"You, too, Hiccup," Spitelout called.

"What? Me?" said Hiccup as Astrid smirked.

"Aye. Stoick's orders," said Spitelout as he mounted his Deadly Nadder. "You're representing the Haddocks. And Ragnar since you're the last remaining member of the Keatsons you have to—"

"I know represent their house," Ragnar moaned.

Toothless groaned or at least a dragon's equivalent of a grown.

"Yeah, tell me about it," said Hiccup.

"See you at the ceremony!" Spitelout yelled he then looked down at his Deadly Nadder. "Onward, dragon. Spitelout, Spitelout! Oi, oi, oi."

They watched as Spitelout took off and disappeared into the distance.

"Don't worry, Dad. I got this," Snotlout yelled. He then turned and saw, Hiccup, Astrid, Ragnar and Toothless giving him blind expressions. "What are you all looking at? I can do this."

He then flung his hands out and the axe slipped out of his grip and nearly cut off Chicken's head off. He then quickly ran towards the axe praying to Thor that it wasn't scratched.

"What a great start to the morning," Ragnar moaned.

"Don't you just love union ceremonies?" Fishlegs asked.

"Don't know. Never been to one," said Tuffnut.

"What, really?" said Fishlegs in surprise.

"Yeah, us Thorstons are not exactly marrying kind. We're more than mutton kind," Tuffnut explained.

"Well, as luck would have it, I'm somewhat an authority on Viking union ceremonies," said Fishlegs. "What do you say you both meet me at my hut, and I will teach you everything you need to know."

"Great! Because we know very little about most things," said Tuffnut sharply making Fishlegs jump.

"Ugh!" Fishlegs groaned.

* * *

The next morning, Hiccup, Astrid, Ragnar and Snotlout were making their way towards the Island of Friga. Snotlout was still annoyed that he was the last to be chosen for the honour of presenting his family axe.

"Last one picked," he muttered. "He could have more faith in me than that."

He then noticed the blank looks that the other three Vikings were giving him.

"What? What have I ever do?" he asked.

"Well, there was a time you brought all those Changewing eggs, and nearly destroyed the village," Astrid reminded.

"Fishlegs' fault," Snotlout muttered crossing his arms in annoyance.

"There was that time you release the Skrill from its ice block," Astrid continued.

"And nearly destroyed the village," Hiccup added.

"Again," Ragnar added.

"Twins' fault," Snotlout muttered.

"And let's not forget the time you hypnotised Fishlegs into Thor Bonecrusher and nearly got the two of you killed," said Ragnar.

"Man, I miss Bonecrusher," Snotlout moaned.

"What about flying us into the waterspout and crash landing us on Outcast Island?" Hiccup offered. "That was terrific."

"Act of Thor," Snotlout muttered.

"Act of Snotlout," Astrid corrected.

"All I know is when I ride in with this axe, I'm gonna shove it in all their Jorgenson faces," said Snotlout swinging the axe around. "Boom! 'No axe, no wedding, boy-o—'

He then lost the grip on the axe and watched it as it disappeared through the clouds. He then sat up straight and eyed the other three Vikings with a corner of his eye.

"Well, it's happened," said Ragnar. "To go along then I thought, but it happened."

Hiccup shook his head and looked down at Toothless. "Toothless, power dive!"

Toothless then dive down and was followed by the other three dragons and Snotlout began looking desperately for the axe.

"I don't say it," he said panicky.

They soon exited the clouds and found an island directly below them.

"It's gotta be down there," said Snotlout, a little hopefully. "We have to go and get it back."

"It could be anywhere," said Astrid. "That island isn't exactly tiny. If it even landed there and not in the ocean."

"We're finding that axe," said Snotlout firmly. "We have till sundown."

They then headed straight towards the island.

* * *

it was mid-morning there was still no sign of the axe as they surged through the dense forest and bushes. Hiccup was leading the way hacking through the bushes with his sword.

"Hey, is it too late to call Griplout?" Astrid asked.

"Ha-ha. That's funny," said Snotlout sarcastically. "Keep it up, Astrid. Keep it up."

They soon entered into a clearing in the was still no sign of the axe, but then Snotlout saw it wedged in a rock just a few yards away.

"Ha-ha. There it is. See?" he cried. "I'll just grab it and we'll get back up in the air. Problem solved."

Hiccup then noticed the dragons were getting agitated as if they sense something close by. He looked at Toothless, who was just as agitated as the other dragons.

"What is it, bud?" he asked.

"What's gotten into them?" Astrid asked noticing Stormfly getting agitated.

"I think they sense something close by," said Ragnar looking at the agitated Skull.

Snotlout didn't notice and climbed on the rock to retrieve the axe. "And, it's in one piece? This could've gone way worse."

He then attempted to dislodge the axe, but it was wedged in deep. "It's really stuck in there," he grunted.

Suddenly there was a large rumbling sound, but Snotlout just shrugged it off and continue to pull at the axe. Then they heard that rumbling sound again and it sounded pretty close to where they were.

"Snotlout!" Hiccup yelled.

Snotlout was thrown off the rock and they discovered that it wasn't a rock it was a dragon. It bears some similarities to Skull, only it was slightly smaller and instead of wearing bone armour it was wearing chunks of metal and it bore resemblance to a Monstrous Nightmare.

"Oh, no," said Snotlout. The dragon then turned on him and snarled. "Okay, now it's way worse."

"An Armourwing," Ragnar gasped.

"You know this dragon?" Hiccup asked.

"There was a bit about it on Bork's Papers," Ragnar explained. "Anyway it's a distant relative to the Boneknapper, but that's as much as I got."

"Wonderful," Hiccup muttered.

The Armourwing then tried to take a bite out of him, but Snotlout managed to shift a bit and the mouse slammed in the ground in between his legs. He quickly got up and ran as far away from the dragon as possible.

The Armourwing snarled at him and Snotlout noticed that the axe was lodged on the armour on its back. Then try to take a bite out of him, but Snotlout managed to dodge the attempt and managed to climb onto its back.

"This is my family axe. Give it up!" he said and attempted to dislodge it from its back.

The dragon didn't like this one bit and attempted to throw him off.

"Snotlout, let go of the axe," Hiccup yelled.

"No way, Hiccup," said Snotlout firmly tighten his grip on the axe. "I'm not leaving this island without it."

Then the Armourwing took off into the sky with Snotlout still on its back.

"He's gonna get himself killed," said Astrid.

"What else is new?" Hiccup asked.

"And off we go to save him again," Ragnar muttered.

They quickly mounted the dragons and took off with Hookfang in tow. Snotlout was screaming as he climbed onto the axe as they got higher and higher.

The Armourwing saw them approaching and turned and fired a fire blast at them. They quickly dodged it and Hookfang returned fire blasting the Armourwing and nearly setting Snotlout on fire.

"Hey, watch it!" Snotlout yelled.

"Ragnar you and Hookfang keep blasting while we get in close," said Hiccup. He then looked Astrid. "Astrid, follow me."

Ragnar and Hookfang blasted the Armourwing again and it used its wing as a shield this time. It then saw Hiccup and Astrid try to sneak up behind it and blasted Stormfly with its fire blast. The blast hit Stormfly right in the face damaging her eyes.

"Steady, Stormfly!" Astrid yelled as she tried to keep Stormfly steady. However it was a failed attempt began crashing towards the ground. "Up, up!"

Stormfly was able to level up and landed on the ground safely. Once they landed Astrid jumped off and began to examine her eyes. Her eyes looked fine, except they couldn't focus properly.

"Stormfly, what's wrong?" Astrid asked. Stormfly just kept on shaking ahead as if trying to get something out of the eyes. "Hang in there." She then looked about Hiccup and Ragnar. "Hiccup, Ragnar, that blast does a number on the eyes."

Hiccup ducked just in time as a fire blast went over his head. "Whoa! Good to know," he said and looked down at Toothless. "Okay, bud, let's stay clear of those blasts."

"We'll try and keep occupied!" Ragnar yelled.

However the Armourwing seem to know what they were planning and suddenly turn to face Hiccup, who was charging right at it. Swung its metal-like tail nearly knocking and almost knocked Hiccup off of Toothless. Then it blasted Toothless with its fire blast.

"Toothless. Look out!" Hiccup yelled, but it was too late the blast hit Toothless in the face.

Then like Stormfly he crashed down onto the ground and Hiccup was thrown off him. He quickly got up and approached Toothless.

"Toothless!" Hiccup yelled.

Then the Armourwing landed on the ground and started to approach the two of them and with his poor eyesight Toothless would be even lucky if he shot in a straight line.

"Hang on, bud. Things are about to heat up," said Hiccup as he grabbed his shield.

The Armourwing then blasted a fire blast straight at them, but Hiccup blockage with his shield. He was pushed back a bit, but his shield was able to withstand the blast.

"Whew! Thank you, Gronckle Iron," said Hiccup.

The Armourwing then charge straight towards him and probably would have killed him it wasn't for the timely intervention of Ragnar and Hookfang. Together the two of them blasted the Armourwing with a fire blasts.

"Don't worry, we've got your back!" Ragnar yelled. "Let's pour it on, Hookfang."

Realising that it couldn't stand up against the two dragons the Armourwing turned around sharply and flew off. With a certain turnaround, Snotlout was thrown off its back and landed in a bush.

"It's gone," said Astrid.

"But so is the axe," Snotlout moaned as he pulled himself out of the bush.

He looked at the setting sun and realise he only had a few hours before the sunset. He then got to his feet and ran towards in the direction the Armourwing flew off.

"Snotlout, what are you doing?" Hiccup cried out.

"There's still time!" Snotlout yelled back.

Hiccup looked at Hookfang, who went off to follow his rider. Hiccup then looked at Astrid and Ragnar and the two of them realise what he was planning.

"No," said Astrid firmly.

"You can't be serious," said Ragnar.

"Guys, we have to," said Hiccup.

"This is his mess. Let him clear it up," said Astrid.

"How many times do we have to clean up after him?" Ragnar asked.

Hiccup gave them the fixed expression he always gave when he was determined to do something and Toothless growled. Realising there was no way they could persuade him the two of them sighed.

"Fine," said Astrid.

"All right," said Ragnar.

Then the two of them began to mount their dragons.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Dragon's Edge, Fishlegs was teaching the twins about Viking unions. The first thing he tried was to teach them proper table manners, which went as well as to be expected.

"Okay, so table etiquette is not really your strong suits," said Fishlegs as he watched the twins eating the food like a pair of animals.

Somehow even match this at the table on fire and Fishlegs had a chuck a bucket of water over the flames.

"Why don't we move on to the actual union ceremony?" Fishlegs suggested.

The twins then stopped eating and Fishlegs approached them. "Ruffnut, you can stand in for our bride, and I will be the groom." He then looked at Tuffnut. "Tuffnut, can you be the officiator."

"Whoa!" Tuffnut gasped. "Nice. I'm finally official."

After dragging Ruffnut away from the table, Fishlegs gave Tuffnut a parchment. "This would be the traditional Viking union words. You read them," he explained. Tuffnut looked at the parchment and Fishlegs rolled his eyes. "Out loud."

"Oh, okay. I read them in my head," said Tuffnut. He then faced Fishlegs, who was holding hands with Ruffnut. "Anyhoo… 'Ye, Fishlegs Ingerman, child of Odin, dost taketh Ruffnut Eugene Thorston, daughter of Freyja, to be his betrothed. And, by utterance of these words, this union may only be broken in the Halls of Valhalla.' You may head-butt the bride."

Fishlegs just stared at him as Ruffnut rested her head on his shoulders. Tuffnut chuckled. "I just added that part."

"Great, so that's how a Viking union ceremony is performed," said Fishlegs moving away from Ruffnut. "It's nice, isn't it? Now we dance."

Fishlegs then pulled Ruffnut close towards him and began to dance with her. As they were doing that Tuffnut looked at the parchment with great interest.

"Oh, wait a second," he said. "I knew it. This stuff all looked familiar. It's all coming back to me now. This is the same as when Ragnar and I trained with the town officiator on Berk."

Fishlegs stopped dancing, much to the relief of Ruffnut, and stared horrified at Tuffnut. "You did what?" he asked hoping that he had heard wrong.

"Me and Ragnar took course, in performing Viking union ceremonies," Tuffnut explained. "Slipped my mind. I am a man of many talents, after all."

Fishlegs approached him. "So you officially trained for the town officiator?"

"I mean, that's a lot of officiating, but yeah," Tuffnut nodded.

"Tuff can perform Viking union ceremonies. We've just never been to one before," Ruffnut explained. "I can check that off my bucket list."

"Wait," said Fishlegs horrified. "Do you know what this means?"

"Oh, yeah, I do," Tuffnut nodded. "A whole new world is open to me. A new career. New potentiality, new possibilities. And all those happy officiated faces looking back at me into my eye with gratitude." Fishlegs whimpered. "No? Okay, you go."

"It means Ruffnut and I just got married," Fishlegs explained with his face full of dread.

Ruffnut turned and looked at him and puckered her lips for a kiss. At once Fishlegs covered his mouth and backed away from her.

"And Viking unions are forever. They can only be broken in Valhalla," he moaned.

* * *

Meanwhile, unaware of this development, Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar finally managed to catch up with Snotlout. He was looking over a bush with a clear view of the Armourwing.

"There he is," said Hiccup.

The Armourwing was surrounded by a large amount of metal and then he picked up a large piece and placed it on his back. He then blasted it with his fire breath and the four of them had to cover their eyes, but once the light faded they saw the matter was perfectly welded to his back.

"So that's how the metal doesn't fall off its body," said Ragnar.

"If it welds my axe to its body, I'll never get it back," said Snotlout.

He was about to make jump over the bush, but Hiccup stopped him. "Easy, Snotlout. We can't risk another dust-up with old Armourwing over there."

"I cannot go to that wedding without the axe," said Snotlout brushing Hiccup's hand away.

"But, we can't even get close enough to pry it free," Astrid pointed out.

"Yeah, remember how well that went last time," said Ragnar.

Snotlout then shot up. "Hey, you know what's near here. Hiccup, hand me your map." Hiccup handed his mapped to Snotlout, not sure what he was getting at. Snotlout opened it up and began to scan it. "Uh… ha! That's it!"

"What's 'it'?" Hiccup asked.

Snotlout placed the map down. "We can't get close to that dragon, but something else can."

"You know, you never really make much sense, but this is bad, even for you," said Astrid.

"We have an axe to steal and I know the perfect guys for the job," said Snotlout. He then pointed at an island that was close by. "We're going to Breakneck Bog, and we're training us some Smothering Smokebreaths."

Hiccup looked at Astrid and Ragnar a little concerned about this plan of his.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Dragon's Edge, Fishlegs was frantically looking at notes of Viking union ceremonies. He was hoping you could find a loophole within the union had in acquiring him to go to Valhalla.

"Don't worry, girl," he assured Meatlug. "There has to be some way to dissolve this union. Icahn actually only be broken in Valhalla, right?"

Suddenly the door to his hut opened and Ruffnut came walking in with a sharkskin rug. However, she was having several problems getting it inside and finally it ended up toppling over onto his desk.

"Um, what are you doing?" Fishlegs asked.

Ruffnut then began to push the desk with a horrible ear-splitting screech that was torturing both Fishlegs and Meatlug's ears.

She then came to a stop and looked at Fishlegs. "I'm thinking, I want to do a dead animal carcass thing in the corner there."

"No, absolutely not!" Fishlegs yelled. "There will be no dead animals in this home, Ruffnut."

"What did you just call me?" Ruffnut asked marching up to him.

"I just called you—" Ruffnut then placed a finger on his lips. "We're gonna have to lose that 'Ruffnut' thing. We're married. For now on, it's either honey, sweetie, dear or snookie-pie. Got it?"

"'Snooki-pie'?" said Fishlegs in a muffled voice.

"Better," said Ruffnut and pulled away her finger. "Now, we're gonna have to get rid of some of your stuff to make room around here. Let's start with those dragon figurines."

Ruffnut began placing all his figurines in a crate.

"But they're vintage," Fishlegs protested.

"And, now they're gone," she said handing them over to him.

"What exactly are we making room for?" Fishlegs asked knowing he was going to hate the answer.

Ruffnut swung open the doors and standing outside was Tuffnut and Barf and Belch.

"For us," said Tuffnut. Fishlegs just stared at them. "What? You didn't thing we weren't part of this deal, did you?"

Fishlegs' face was emotionless and he watched as Barf and Belch nuzzled Meatlug with their heads.

"Don't worry, girl, I will figure this out," Fishlegs assured.

Tuffnut then placed an arm around Fishlegs' neck. "I always wanted a brother. You've made us so happy, Fishlegs."

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup and the others had reached Breakneck Bog and were now outside the cave to the Smothering Smokebreaths.

"Can I just remind everyone that Smothering Smokebreaths cannot be trained?" said Astrid.

"Maybe, but they love metal and it could be the only hope I have of getting that tax back," said Snotlout.

Snotlout entered into the cave with Hiccup, Ragnar and a very reluctant Astrid in tow. Fortunately, the Smothering Smokebreaths didn't seem to be at home.

"They must be out hunting. We got lucky," said Hiccup.

"Then let's hurry this up before our luck runs out," said Ragnar.

Snotlout grabbed a piece of metal. "This is perfect!" he said looking at the others. "We'll use whatever metal we pulled to law them to the Armourwing."

"We need to work faster," said Hiccup. "They won't be happy when they see what we're doing to their nest."

Astrid then heard something outside I knew instantly what it was. "Uh, guys!"

Next second cloud of smoke entered into the cavern and that was followed by the Smothering Smokebreaths. The moment they saw them the little dragons began to pull the metal they had gathered from their nest.

"Everyone, grab as much metal as you can carry," said Snotlout as he grabbed a mace on the pile and hopped onto Hookfang. "Let's get these guys to the Armourwing. Hookfang, wing blast!"

Hookfang hovered into the air for a moment and then slammed his wings together sitting a powerful gush of wind through the cavern. The wing blast pushed the Smothering Smokebreaths and Snotlout took the opportunity to fly out of the cave. Hiccup in the others soon followed suit with as much metal as they could carry.

The moment they were outside the Smothering Smokebreaths flew after them clearly not happy that they had stolen from them

"Ha-ha!" Snotlout yelled triumphantly. "Is this the best idea I've ever had, or what?"

"Bar's not really high on that one is it, Snotlout?" Hiccup pointed out.

"Yeah, well your bar's so…" He stopped trying to think of a clever comeback, but he was unable to. "Shut it, Hiccup."

"And he's good with the come back to well," Ragnar smirked.

* * *

Back at, Dragon's Edge, Fishlegs was at his wits end. Ruffnut had practically forced him to toss everything he owned outside and was now discussing décor.

"Slient's Sven's wife has a fish-gutting station. I want a fish-gutting station, too!" Ruffnut yelled.

"But, dear, where will you put it?" Fishlegs asked. "There's no room."

Ruffnut then open the doors and dragged Meatlug outside, much to her dismay. "Now there's room."

Fishlegs approached a very sad Meatlug. "It's not so bad, Meatlug, we can make the best of it."

Meatlug just turned away clearly very doubtful.

"Hey, bro-in-law, wifey want you back inside," said Tuffnut leaning against the doorway. "She says you have to start learning how to fly Belch, you know since you guys are married now."

Meatlug looked very upset upon this news. "But, my Meatlug. She's my—"

"Fishlegs! Get your butt in here," Ruffnut yelled.

"Coming, dear," said Fishlegs and ended back inside the hut very depressed.

Tuffnut looked at Meatlug. "Newlyweds, am I right?"

Meatlug just laid on the floor now even more depressed than ever and farted.

"You said it, sister," said Tuffnut.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup and the others had returned to the Armourwing's Island with the Smothering Smokebreaths close behind.

"Yeah-ha!" Snotlout yelled. "Just a little further. You're gonna be happy we ripped you off." They then reached the Armourwing's nest and drop the metal they were carrying. "These job beady eyes on that!"

The Smothering Smokebreaths looked at the horde of metal that was around them and began grabbing every single scrap they could get their teeth into. The Armourwing must've heard them, because he walked out of his cave and roared furiously.

He then began to blast at the Smothering Smokebreaths, but there were so many of them and they were so small that it was almost impossible to hit them. Then the Smothering Smokebreaths notice that he was wearing metal around his body and began ripping it off bit by bit.

Hiccup and the others were watching from above as they saw the display going on.

"It's actually working," said Hiccup shocked.

Snotlout then saw one of the Smothering Smokebreaths grabbing the handle of the axe. "That's it. Bring the axe to Snotty."

The Smothering Smokebreaths managed to dislodge it and took off. Snotlout then dive down to grab it, but at the last second it turned course and he missed.

"Hey, my axe!" he yelled furiously. "We had a deal, you little deal-breakers."

Snotlout then began chasing after the Smothering Smokebreaths as fast as he could. He tried to reach out and grab it, but it was very difficult as they were flying through the trees. Then Astrid flew past him.

"I've got him, Snotlout," she said. We'll funnel him towards you."

Astrid then stored above the trees and began to fire spikes at the Smothering Smokebreaths making a change course. She then blasted a stream of fire making it turn the opposite direction.

Snotlout then grabbed it when he flew past it. "Boom!" he yelled. He then looked at Astrid who was flying alongside him. "Thank you."

Meanwhile Hiccup and Ragnar was still watching the Smothering Smokebreaths attack the Armourwing. Despite its best efforts it couldn't scare the Smothering Smokebreaths away no matter what he did.

"There's too many of them. We need to get in there and break this up," said Hiccup.

"I'm with you," said Ragnar

Then when the Smothering Smokebreaths took more that arm of the notice that the Armourwing had no scales.

"No scales," said Hiccup.

"I did tell you that it was a distant cousin to the Boneknapper," Ragnar reminded. "The only differences while a Boneknapper looks for dragon bones the Armourwing uses metal and weld it to its body."

"What's happening?" Astrid asked as she and Snotlout flew towards them.

"The Smokebreaths think the Armourwing is one giant piece of metal," Hiccup explained. "We can't let them pull its armour apart. It'll be defenceless."

"So, what do we do?" Snotlout asked.

"Follow me," said Hiccup.

Hiccup then turned around and flew towards the Armourwing's metal collection. Toothless then grabbed some of the metal in the pile and Astrid, Ragnar and Snotlout followed his lead.

"We have to fly it through the Armourwing's blasts," said Hiccup.

"We have to what?" Astrid stared.

"Trust me," said Hiccup.

Then they flew towards the Armourwing, who continued on blasting the Smothering Smokebreaths to no avail. It then began to blast at Hiccup, who was holding the metal Toothless collected and used as a shield. At once the metal began to weld itself to each other.

The other riders got the idea and followed suit.

"Okay, Stormfly, now twirl!" Astrid commanded.

She flew down towards the Armourwing, who blasted at them. However, Stormfly held out the pieces of metal she was holding and it was then welded together.

Ragnar and Snotlout then did the same and toss the pieces over to Hiccup and Astrid. Hiccup was able to wield the pieces Ragnar gave him with his own pieces, but the Armourwing turned on to Astrid too quickly before she was ready.

"Stormfy!" Astrid yelled.

Then from out of nowhere Snotlout block the attack, Astrid just stared at him.

"I owe you one," said Snotlout.

The Armourwing kept on attacking while the Smothering Smokebreaths kept on tearing the metal of his armour. The Armouring roared in pain as the metal was forcibly torn away from his skin and collapsed to the ground.

The Smothering Smokebreaths took the opportunity and began taking even more metal from him. Then Snotlout flew down towards them.

"Hey, Smokies, check this out!" he yelled pointing.

Up in the air Toothless was holding all the metal the Armourwing had welded. The Smothering Smokebreaths looked at it excitedly and flew straight towards it. Toothless then released it and they happily took finding the direction of Breakneck Bog.

"Whew!" said Hiccup relieved.

They then flew down and landed next to the wounded Armourwing. The Smothering Smokebreaths had taken a great portion of his armour and he was totally exhausted from his fight against them.

They looked at one another and then they presented the Armourwing with pieces of metal that was scattered all around. The Armourwing looked at them and got to his feet, he then grabbed the piece that Hiccup and Toothless presented and weld it to his body. He then looked at them and roared at them proudly.

"Now I think we earned its trust, but I still wouldn't push our luck," said Hiccup.

They then noticed that it was sundown.

"Sundown!" Astrid gasped. "Snotlout, you need to get out of here."

"She's right," said Hiccup. "Go. We'll be right behind you."

Snotlout nodded and took off hoping that he could get to the wedding in time.

* * *

It was night when Snotlout finally reached the Island of Friga, but when he got there the entire island was deserted and what's worse everything was wrecked, the tables, chairs and boars wondering around eating the food.

"Oh, no," said Snotlout. He saw his father standing in the middle of the wreckage and he looked at Hookfang. "Hoofkang, we're too late."

Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar soon arrived and saw the situation which was very grim. They quickly dismounted their dragons and approached Snotlout, who was hugging Hookfang.

"Snotlout, we'll say it was our fault," said Hiccup.

"Yeah, we can say we're the ones that made you late," said Astrid.

"We'll take the rap for you," said Ragnar.

Snotlout shook his head. "No. It was my fault. I got this."

They watch as he approached Spitelout, who was looking at the wreckage of the union ceremony.

"I know what you're gonna say, Dad," said Snotlout. "I messed up again. I ruined the union ceremony. And I let you down, and all the Jorgensons down. But you have no idea what I went through to get this." Snotlout then showed in the axe here.

Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar looked at one another as Spitelout turned on him with a very blank look.

"I risked my life and my friends' lives fighting a gigantic torch-breathing dragon for this stupid thing. And if that's not good enough for you, then I guess I'll never be good enough for you," said Snotlout and presented him with the axe. "I said it! So, here is your stupid axe, and sorry about the ceremony."

"What in Thor are you going on about, boy-o?" said Spitelout puzzled. "There's not going to be a union."

Snotlout blinked. "Wait, what?"

"Oh, a brawl broke out at the rehearsal dinner," said Spitelout gesturing to the wreckage around them. "It's a good thing you didn't get the axe here earlier. It would've got really ugly." Snotlout looked totally bewildered and Spitelout wrapped his arm around his shoulders. "But, nice work anyway, son. I knew I could count on you."

Snotlout just smiled and Spitelout pulled away and rubbed his hands. "Whelp, if we're done here, I have 400 boars to return."

They then watch as he won four under each arm and walked away.

Snotlout was still processing what just happened. "He knew he could count on me."

They watched as Spitelout flew away on his Deadly Nadder. "Spitelout, Spitelout! Oi, oi, oi!"

* * *

Hours later they were turned to Dragon's Edge and found the most confusing site. Tuffnut was riding on top of Meatlug, who is doing everything she could to throw him off.

"Ha-ha, whoo-hoo!" Tuffnut yelled.

"What in the name of Thor?" Hiccup stared as they landed.

"Come on, girl. We're related. Come on, come on, girl. Come on," Tuffnut yelled.

"Uh, guys, what's going on?" Hiccup asked.

"Hiccup, meet the Ingerman-Thorstons," said Tuffnut. "We're the model of a modern Viking family."

"We've only been gone a day. What possibly could have happened?" Hiccup asked bewildered.

"You remember how me and Ragnar studies with the officiator, back on Berk?" Tuffnut asked as he stop jumping around on Meatlug, much to her relief. "Well, while you guys were gone, I accidentally married Ruff and Fishlegs. But despite that little snafu, we're all really happy now." Meatlug then toppled over exhausted. "Well, most of us anyway."

"Uh, Tuffnut, I hate to break it to you, but you can't perform Viking unions," said Astrid.

"Wait, what? I can't?" Tuffnut blinked. "Are you sure?"

"Ha, you never completed your training because the officiator jumped off a cliff halfway through your first lesson," Snotlout chuckled. "That was so funny."

"Fortunately he was able to complete my training which means I'm the only one among us who can perform Viking unions," said Ragnar.

"Oh right, it was probably a bad idea to hold classes on the edge of a cliff," said Tuffnut remembering the incident. "I mean, we lost a lot of good educators that way, especially the ones I pushed."

Then Fishlegs and Ruffnut appeared riding on top of Barf and Belch. Fishlegs look kind of surprised to see the three of them.

"Wait. Why you guys here? Shouldn't you be at the union?" Fishlegs asked.

"Ha. Long story," said Snotlout.

"But we did discover an Armourwing," said Ragnar.

Fishlegs gasped. "That's one of the rarest dragons in the world. Great, I get married and no one calls me anymore."

"Fishlegs! My feet need massaging," Ruffnut yelled from on top of Barf. "They're getting sweaty again."

"Coming, dear," Fishlegs whimpered.

"Hey, bro-in-law, remember how I married you and Ruff?" Tuffnut asked placing a hand on Fishlegs' shoulder. "Well, it turns out that I can't marry people after all. So, presto! Union dissolved."

"What?" Fishlegs gasped. "Oh, that's incredible! I haven't been this happy since my wedding day." He starred when he realised his wedding day was this morning. "My wedding day…"

Ruffnut lowered herself and she end Fishlegs looked at each other awkwardly. Then the two of them rubbed noses against each other and then slapped him across the face.

"Aw, my door is always open," he said.

"And I guess you can keep the shark," said Ruffnut.

Then the sharkskin toppled out of his hut.

Astrid found the entire amusing. "Fishlegs married Ruffnut. I guess anything is possible."

"Well, one thing is for certain, no Hofferson will ever marry a Jorgenson," said Hiccup gesturing to her and Snotlout.

"Never say never, right, Astrid?" said Snotlout smiling at her.

"Never," said Astrid plainly.

"And don't even think asking me to perform a Viking union," said Ragnar firmly.

They all laughed.

"How long is 'never'?" Snotlout asked scratching his head.


	19. The Zippleback Experience

Today the riders were on the far side of their island and were preparing to set up a new watchtower so that the Dragon Hunters will be able to sneak up on them. There were already starting with the foundations flying in large rocks to act as supports.

"All right, guys. Let's drop the foundation write about here," said Hiccup.

They then dropped the rocks they were carrying. The location they had chosen was on the northern coast which was at the moment covered in snow.

"That should work. Perfect location."

Fishlegs was quite excited that they were starting to build the watchtower. "I, for one, can be happy that we are finally—"

"Setting up the new watchtower. We know," said Snotlout. "We've been hearing about it for the past… Oh, I don't know, week, month… What comes next?"

"Guys, look, this is important," said Hiccup. "We've been seeing ships off the northern coast that have absolutely no reason to be there. Now with this we can send an early warning signal if they come into our waters."

They landed on the snowy ground and looked out to the sea.

Snotlout looked at Hiccup. "If you're talking about Dagur and Ryker, and that's who I assume are were talking about—"

Hiccup shook his head. "Actually, I wasn't referring to—"

Snotlout ignored him. "How about this? Whoever's out there that shouldn't be out there, let's just get on these very effective fire-breathing war machines, and go out and blast them into oblivion."

"Because that's not who we are," said Hiccup firmly. "Since when do we go blasting people into oblivion?"

Snotlout looked at Hookfang. "Don't worry, Hookster. He doesn't speak for us."

Then they heard the twins yelling nearby. The returned and found the twins on Barf and Belch skidding down the mountainside.

"Whoo-hoo!" they cried.

"Or them. Definitely not them," said Snotlout.

"Here we go!" Ruffnut yelled at the skidded down the mountainside.

"Oh, I love to cut through the fresh powder. Don't you, sis?" said Tuffnut.

"Yeah! Just like a worn knife through yak butter!"

Then they began blasting the snow with their gas and spark attack.

"Blast! Blast!" Tuffnut yelled as they skidded through the explosions. "Yeah! Zippleback, baby!"

At the bottom of the mountainside other riders weren't exactly impressed.

"Those two muttonheads better not bring all that snow up there down on us," said Astrid.

"It's not the snow I'm worried about," said Hiccup looking at the mountain top. Everyone looked up and saw that the twins had started an avalanche. "It's the ice!"

"They're gonna get themselves killed," said Ragnar.

"What else is new?" said Astrid.

Then they took off in order to rescue the twins.

The twins soon had another problem Barf and Belch had lost control was now tumbling down the cliff. The twins had lost their grip and landed in the snow with their heads buried in the snow and their legs sticking out.

"That hurt," said Ruffnut in a muffled voice.

Quickly Stormfly and Meatlug grabbed the twins' legs and pull them out of the snow just before the avalanche hit.

Barf and Beclh on the other hand weren't as lucky as they were tumbling down the mountainside uncontrollably.

"Barf!" Ruffnut yelled.

"Belch!" Tuffnut yelled.

Hiccup and Toothless then zoomed past heading straight down to the Hideous Zippleback. "Come on, bud!"

Barf and Belch with then thrown off the cliff with the avalanche directly above them. Then out of nowhere Toothless caught them and managed to pull them to safety. However, unknown to Hiccup that little manoeuvre had severely damaged his leg.

Toothless dropped the Hideous Zippleback generally on the ground and landed right beside them. Then Stormfly and Meatlug dropped the twins down on the ground next to them. Then Barf and Blech began licking Hiccup in gratitude.

"Okay, I get it. You're welcome," Hiccup laughed.

He then began to dismount Toothless and Astrid saw his damaged leg. "Uh, Hiccup, I wouldn't do that if I were…" Too late Hiccup places leg on the ground and instantly lost his balance falling in the snow. "…you"

Hiccup looked at his damaged leg. "Oh, right," he said. Then Barf and Belch picked him up and lifted him up in the air. "Oh. Uh, can you put me down, guys?"

They placed him down and Hiccup grunted in pain as his damaged leg touched the ground. He then began to hop over to Toothless and open his saddlebag.

"And it's for moments like these that I always carry a spare," he said pulling out a spare leg.

He then removed his busted lake with the new one and after adjusting it he turned to the twins with a fixed glare as did the other riders. The twins soon realise they were about to be in trouble.

Tuffnut looked at Hiccup and he and his sister began to step backwards. "So, if that's all you need from us, then we'll just be going back to…"

"Toothless?" said Hiccup.

Toothless fired a plasma blast right in front of the twins stopping them dead.

"Hey, your dragon just shot at us," said Tuffnut.

"Yes, I know. I told him to," said Hiccup.

"Not cool, T. Not cool at all," said Tuffnut.

Toothless just growled at them.

Hiccup then approached them. "Anyway, since you to seem so eager to spend time away from the group, you get a pull the first two shifts of patrol duty."

"He's really become a tyrant," Ruffnut whispered to Tuffnut.

"Power will do that to you," said Tuffnut.

The twins mounted Barf and Belch and watched as the other riders flying all the way back to Dragon's Edge.

* * *

A few minutes later the riders arrived at Dragon's Edge and almost at once Hiccup and Toothless reached their hut.

Hiccup hopped off Toothless and grunted at the pain his leg was giving him. "This leg needs to be filed down, it's pinching me."

He opened his door and screamed, because about a quarter ton of fish landed on top of him reaching all the way to his neck.

"Oh, for the love of Thor! Who did this?" Hiccup yelled. He then realised there were only two people at the outpost that would do such a thing. "Wait a minute. Why am I even asking? Ruff? Tuff? Oh, I got another shift with your names on it."

Toothless then approached him and began eating at the pile of fish surrounding him.

"Really? You're eating the evidence?"

* * *

Once he managed to pull himself out of the pile of fish, Hiccup mounted Toothless and began the hunt for the twins.

"All right, where are they?" he said looking around. "I guess you just look for a fire or any other catastrophe, they'll be close by."

The continued looking around, but there was still no sign of them. Then Hiccup heard the flapping of wings behind him and turned, but found nothing. Then when he turned round again he saw Barf and Belch flying straight towards them.

"Huh? What the—"

Before he knew it the two-headed dragon tackled him and separated him from Toothless. Naturally, with Hiccup dismounted Toothless was unable to control himself and began plummeting down towards the ground.

"Don't!" Hiccup yelled as he tried to free his arm from Belch's mouth. "B—Belch! No, no, no, you drop me! You drop me right now!"

He finally managed to free himself from Belch and plummeted straight after Toothless.

"Toothless!" he yelled.

He landed hard on Toothless' back and quickly pressed his leg against the stirrup. Toothless tried to pull up but he was falling too fast and they crashed right through the trees and hard onto the ground.

"You all there, bud?" Hiccup asked brushing himself off. "I think I am." He then looked down at his leg, which had been busted up again. "And I spoke too soon."

Hiccup removed his leg and hopped alongside Toothless as they entered into a clearing no doubt he was thinking that since his spare was busted there would have to walk all the way back or in Hiccup's case hop.

"Oh, don't worry, bud. I always carry a spare for my spare," Hiccup assured as he opened up his satchel which had another spare leg in it.

Then he saw Barf and Belch landing in front of them and had a mouthful of fish in each head. They then placed them in a pile in front of Hiccup.

"Wait a minute, it was you guys? You left me all that fish?" Hiccup asked stunned. He then found any saw the twins went on their heads. "Oh, okay, if you guys are here, and the twins are Thor knows where, then who's patrolling the island?"

Hiccup quickly mounted Toothless and took off in the fall close behind by Barf and Belch.

* * *

Unbeknownst to anyone, Dragon Hunters were rowing a boat onto the northern coast. One of the Night Terrors on the purchase spotted them.

"Dragon sentries!" said a Hunter.

"Oh,this'll put it to sleep for a bit," the other hunter aiming his arrow as it.

He fired the arrow and it hit the Night Terror putting it to sleep. The hunters then landed and made their way onto the coast without anyone knowing.

* * *

The twins were wondering through Dragon's Edge trying to find Barf and Belch.

"This is all your fault," said Ruffnut.

"My fault? My fault?!" Tuffnut yelled turning on her.

"It is your attitude, bro. It's always been your attitude," she said poking him in the chest with her finger. "Add it finally drove our beloved Dragon away!"

"My attitude? My attitude is fun, carefree, adventurous, and loves long walks," Tuffnut snapped. "And it doesn't matter if it's on a beach or not."

Ruffnut shook her head. "You're ridiculous."

"Oh, yeah? Well…" He then began to sniff her. "You smell like a barrel of 20 year old cod livers. That's what drove them away."

"Hey! This smell is not achieved easily."

Then they saw Hiccup and Toothless flying down towards them with Barf and Belch in tow.

"Hiccup, you found 'em!" Tuffnut yelled as the two of them ran towards their dragon.

"Where did you to go? You had us worried sick." Ruffnut asked as they hug their heads.

Then they turned around and made their way over to Hiccup, who wasn't exactly happy.

"Where did they go?" he yelled. "Well, let's start with they filled my hut with fish, crashed me and Toothless out of the sky. And for their finale, they broke my second spare… leg."

"So, if my calculations are correct, and they usually are…" said Ruffnut.

"That would mean that our dear Hiccup is on his…" Tuffnut added.

"Last leg!" they said in unison laughing."

"Get it? See what we did? It's because of your leg," said Tuffnut in between laughs. "You don't have any more."

Hiccup just gave them a blank expression.

"I think he gets it," said Ruffnut.

"Yeah, yeah. Listen," said Hiccup as he hopped off Toothless.

"Well, if you wanna flip the script, the new leg is slimming," said Ruffnut.

"Not that you need to be slimmed. I mean, I think, for your height, you're probably an ideal weight, healthy," said Tuffnut.

Hiccup then dragged Barf and Belch towards them. "The four of you belong together," he said. "Now, please, can you get back on patrol and try to keep those two—Well—Oh, just go."

Hiccup then mounted on Toothless muttering to himself. "Last leg." Toothless then do a Dragon equivalent of a laugh. "Oh, don't laugh, Toothless. You're above that."

They then took off.

Then when the twins mounted Barf and Belch they began to act strangely. They kept on trying to throw the twins of their necks.

"Bad Dragon!" Tuffnut yelled as he tried to stay on Belch.

However they lost their grip and then the two-headed dragon flew off straight after Hiccup..

"Attitude!" Ruffnut yelled glaring at her brother.

"Cod livers!" Tuffnut yelled back.

* * *

Up in the air Hiccup and Toothless were flying peacefully and then Hiccup noticed that Barf and Belch were following them.

"Oh, for the love of—" Hiccup groaned. "Okay, but. Let's ditch the Zippleback."

Toothless then increased speed and sored down towards the island with Barf and Belch following close behind. Hiccup flew into the crevice and up through the dome, but Barf and Belch were tenacious and followed them no matter what they did.

"Oh, get away from me, you crazy dragon!" Hiccup yelled.

Hiccup then try to lose them through the forest, but no matter how much he zigzagged through the trees Barf and Belch following them. Then Hiccup noticed that they were flying side-by-side him.

"Are you serious?" he muttered.

They then flew into the mountainside and quickly made a sharp turn into a small cabin. From there he saw Barf and Belch trying to figure out where he went and they flew right past him.

Once they were sure that they were gone Hiccup and Toothless emerge from their hiding place.

"I think we lost 'em," said Hiccup relieved. However, he then heard growling behind him. "And they're behind me, right?"

Hiccup saw the Barf and Belch's head right beside him.

* * *

Later that night, Hiccup was in his heart and he was staring at Barf and Belch, whose heads were popping out of the staircase.

"I think I'm starting to see Zipplebacks in my sleep," he said.

Hiccup then lie down on his bed and pulled the blanket over him. Toothless then went to sleep on his stone slab in which he warmed up with his fires breath.

However they didn't exactly get a good night sleep, because Barf and Belch started to argue for some strange reason. They began jumping up and down downstairs shaking the entire hard and awakening both Hiccup and Toothless.

"What, what?" said Hiccup thinking they were experiencing an earthquake.

Hiccup was not out of theirs and made his way over to Toothless, who was looking downstairs. There he discovered Barf and Belch were jumping around like maniacs shaking the entire hut. Then Barf began to spew up some gas and he could see Belch's mouth sparking.

"Oh, no, wait. Don't!" Hiccup yelled.

But too late and explosion happened inside his hut. Hiccup then opened his heart and emerged outside scorched with steam exiting out of his hut and after a slight cough he collapsed.

When he came to, he rubbed his head which was still ringing. "Okay."

He then shrieked when Barf and Belch wrap their head around him. Toothless just growling annoyance.

* * *

Unbeknownst to them, hunters from earlier were watching Hiccup's hut.

"Those hides will fetch a high price at the northern market," said the hunter looking at Barf and Belch.

"Focus," said the other one. "That's not what we hear for."

"How are we supposed to take him if he is guarded by two dragons?"

"We wait until he's not guarded by two dragons."

They then retreated into the woods waiting for the perfect chance to strike.

* * *

The next morning, Ragnar had brought Gobber over so that he could repair Hiccup's legs. All of them had been damaged by Barf and Belch and he was forced to wear a wooden peg leg.

"Give me those," said Hiccup trying to grab his spare legs from Barf and Belch.

The two-headed dragon responded by giving him a neck hug.

"What is this?" Tuffnut asked.

"A neck hug?" said Ruffnut.

"I never got a neck hug," Tuffnut muttered.

"So ya will know yeh legs, eh?" said Gobber as he hammered away. "Every single one?"

Hiccup pushed Barf's head away and then turned to Gobber. "Well, all but this piece of garbage," he said gesturing to the wooden peg leg. "Which, let's be honest, can we really call it a leg? I mean…"

Gobber looks likely heard as he looked at his wooden peg leg and Hiccup mentally facepalmed himself. "Oh, right. Of course we can. It's very slimming on you, Gobber."

Then Barf and Belch began to lick Hiccup and Toothless.

"Really? Right in front of our faces?" said Tuffnut crossing his arms.

"We're here, you know. Right here!" said Ruffnut.

"That's weird. Zipplebacks are normally fiercely loyal," said Fishlegs. "Why are they doting on Hiccup and ignoring you to?"

"It is weird," Ragnar admitted.

"Well, didn't Hiccup pull them out of the way of a deadly avalanche?" said Gobber.

"Yeah…" said Hiccup trying to fend off Belch's head.

"Well, there you go. Same thing as my cousin, Bard. He saved a Zippleback from a Changewing. The two-headed beast will leave alone… for years," said Gobber as he continued to hammer away at Hiccup's leg.

Tuffnut looked at Gobber. "So, this could go on for—"

"Ever. It's a life-debt," said Gobber.

"Not much of a life-debt if all they do is pull Hiccup off of Toothless when the flying and blow up his hut during the night," said Ragnar.

"Tell me about it," said Hiccup.

"Well, the fact of the matter is Barf and Belch will now serve Hiccup for the rest of their lives or until the debt is repaid. Whichever comes first," said Gobber.

"Does this mean we could be stuck with Barf and Belch forever?" Hiccup asked.

"Does this mean we could lose Barf and Belch forever?" Tuffnut asked.

"Yes, and yes," said Gobber pointing at each of them in turn.

The three of them looked horrified and the two-headed dragon continued on licking Hiccup in appreciation.

"Well, you guys and do something and fast. Things cannot continue on like this," said Ragnar.

* * *

Later that day, Hiccup began his plan to get rid of Barf and Belch. It was quite simple he just needed to get the dragons to believe that they saved him and as such repay their debt.

He waited by Snotlout's hut until the two-headed dragon appeared and made sure they saw him. He then ran over the bridge with Barf and Belch following close behind.

"Toothless!" he cried.

Then the board of the bridge he stepped on gave way and he fell with a rope tied to his leg. He was now dangling by the rope waiting for the two-headed dragon to come and rescue him.

"Oh, no!" he cried. "No! I'm so scared and in need of help!" He then noticed the two-headed dragon had approached him. "Barf! Belch! Please, help me!"

However, instead of freeing him, Barf and Belch head-butted him to one another.

"Wait, no, that's not the sa—" he said as he was hit back and forth.

"What happened?" Tuffnut asked leaning over the bridge. "They were supposed to save you."

"Great," Hiccup muttered. "You're not—not helping me."

"Hey, they're playing 'Bat and Nutt'! Ruff, hurry. 'Bat and Nutt.'" Tuffnut cried.

"I got next!" Ruffnut yelled lean over the bridge.

Then the rope snapped and Hiccup landed face first in the ground. Then Barf and Belch began to lick him.

"Guys, the point was for Barf and Belch to think they're saving my life," he cried.

"You're right, Hiccup," said Ruffnut. "Our dragon is way too smart for this."

"Exactly. I guess we'll have to put you in some real danger," said Tuffnut.

The two of them then laughed mysteriously and vanished.

"That's not what I meant," Hiccup cried.

* * *

An hour later, Hiccup was standing at the side of a hill and up topic could see that the twins had piled several logs on top of each other. Then he saw Barf and Belch through the trees.

"Now, Tuff!" Hiccup yelled.

The twins nodded and made their way to the lever they made.

"This is the best plan to kill Hiccup ever," said Tuffnut.

"You mean pretend to kill Hiccup?" Ruffnut reminded.

Tuffnut shrugged. "Sure. Tomayto, tomahto."

They then pulled down on the lever and the logs rolled down straight towards Hiccup.

"Come on, Barf and Belch," said Hiccup quietly. "Let's get moving. Logs rolling. Skinny lives to save."

Barf and Belch then saw the rolling log that were heading straight towards Hiccup and quickly rushed over straight towards him. However, as they were zigzagging through the trees they slammed into one right between the necks and were knocked out cold.

"Oh, Thor!" Hiccup yelled looking up the rolling logs.

Then out of nowhere Toothless fired a plasma blast destroying the logs just before they slammed into him. Toothless rushed over towards him and Hiccup hugged him.

"Thanks, bud," said Hiccup.

Then Barf and Belch regain consciousness and licked Toothless.

"So close yet again," said Tuffnut looking at his sister. "We need to account for the topography next time."

"True that. Stupid tree," Ruffnut muttered.

Hiccup just glared at the twins while he was fending off Belch's was trying to lick him. The twins just smiled at him nervously and gave him the thumbs up.

* * *

Later that night, the twins went over plans in order to get their dragon back. All of them involve putting Hiccup in danger and most of them would probably lead to his death.

"Too dumb. Not dangerous enough. That can't work," said Tuffnut as he looked through the plans they drew up. He saw one in that caught his eye. "Wait. Wow! That is awesome. Hiccup will never go for it. Would he?" He then tossed aside. "No. That's way too destructive. Even for us."

Ruffnut was drawing a new idea, but then the coal on her pencil broke and she tossed the pencil in anger.

Tuffnut picked the pencil up and looked at his sister. "What is it sis? I haven't seen you this sad since Bjorn Boar lost in the inter-archipelago sectional."

Ruffnut sighed. "Bjorn Boar. That was a sad day. But this is worse." She then looked at her brother. "Do you realise we have nothing? Nothing, I tell you. If we don't think of something, we may never get Barf and Belch back from that tyrant." She then slammed her fist on the table. "Why, Tuff? Why? Why do they love him more than us?"

She then slammed her head on the table.

Tuffnut picked up a chair and sat next to her. "It's the forbidden fruit. You always want what you can't have. The dragon's always hotter on the other side." He then tapped his fingers on the table thinking. "We need help. We need someone diabolical. Someone completely devoid of any continence or human emotion whatsoever."

"I can only think of one man that soulless," said Ruffnut.

The twins nodded thinking of the same person.

* * *

The next day, Hiccup emerged from his hut completely worn out.

"Hey," said someone. Hiccup tired and found Snotlout leaning against his hut.

"Hey?" Hiccup blinked.

Next second Snotlout punched him right in the face. Hiccup landed hard on the floor and rubbed his head.

"What is wrong with you?" he yelled.

"Hiccup Haddock, I'm calling you out! Defend yourself!" said Snotlout slamming his fist into his palm.

Hiccup just stared at him. "Defend my—"

Snotlout then raised an axe and charged at him screaming. The act slammed down a few inches from Hiccup's prosthetic leg.

"Fight me," Snotlout whispered.

"What? What are you doing?" Hiccup asked.

"I said, fight me," Snotlout whispered again. He then cried at the top of his voice, "What's that Hiccup? You want to fight to the death?"

"What? Who said that? Nobody said that!"

"You did," said Snotlout raising his axe again.

Snotlout then kept on swinging his axe, but he made sure to miss Hiccup on purpose.

From a watchtower, the twins were looking down at the scene and then noticed Barf and Belch approaching.

"Here they come. Life-debt no more!" said Tuffnut.

"You think Snotlout'll get barbecued?" Ruffnut asked.

"Sis, I'm afraid to tell you, I always knew Snotlout would end up as collateral damage."

Snotlout kept on swinging his axe screaming at Hiccup, who refuse to fight back. Snotlout then slammed his axe into the table a good meter away from Hiccup.

Hiccup shook his head and walked away, but he was then flicked in the ear by Snotlout. "Ow! I'm not going to fight you, Snotlout!" he yelled as he walked away.

"You see that? The future chief is a coward!" Snotlout yelled. Hiccup came to a stop. "You heard me. Come on. Hit me. You know you want to."

Hiccup had had enough and marched up to Snotlout with anger in his eyes. "Fine. But remember. You wanted this," he said poking Snotlout on the chest with his finger.

Snotlout braced himself for the punch and Hiccup strong his fist at him. The twins cover their eyes and heard a large shriek of pain from Snotlout. When they looked back they saw Snotlout holding his nose in pain.

"What'd you do that for?" Snotlout yelled. He suddenly felt a bit a woozy. "Hold on. I gotta take a…"

He then collapsed to the floor.

Hiccup then heard something behind him and turned to see Barf and Belch dropping a load of fish in front of him. They then flew away quite happy with themselves.

The twins were still stunned about what just happened.

"That was incredible," said Ruffnut stunned.

"Who knew that scrawny, little one-legged Viking had that in him," said Tuffnut shocked.

"Oh, brother. That's it. There's nothing left."

"Guess Gobber was right. We've lost our dragon for good."

"But on the bright side, Snotlout did just get punched in the face," said Ruffnut happily.

"Yeah. If only I could enjoy it," said Tuffnut slightly depressed.

Snotlout groaned and feeling a woozy. "Mum, Dad. Hiccup punched me. I'm really thirsty."

Snotlout then fell unconscious again and Hiccup, who was kneeling by his side, shook his head as the twins approached. "Clubhouse, now. And get him some ice."

* * *

A few moments later, Hiccup was pacing up and down in the clubhouse. Twins just sat there innocently while Ragnar tended to Snotlout by placing a large block of ice against his cheek.

"Well, a little warning would've been nice," said Hiccup.

Snotlout murmurs and pointed at the twins.

"Well, to be honest, Hiccup, we figured out what was ruining our plans," said Tuffnut.

"It was you," said Ruffnut.

Hiccup blinked. "Me?"

"You, my friend, are a terrible actor," said Tuffnut.

"So you made Snotlout attack me?" said Hiccup.

"'Surprise' is the word we prefer to use," said Ruffnut.

"We needed a real reaction from you," said Tuffnut.

"Well, you certainly got it," said Ragnar gesturing to Snotlout.

Snotlout sobbed and a tooth fell out of his mouth. "That's my tooth."

"Remind me not to get on your bad side Hiccup," said Ragnar.

"Unfortunately, we weren't expecting Thor's mighty hammer to meet Snotlout's paper jaw," said Tuffnut.

Snotlout glared at them and roared in anger.

"How will you cool it before you lose more teeth," Ragnar suggested pulling Snotlout back.

"So, okay, you do realise if Barf and Belch had actually tried to save me, Snotlout would have been roasted alive?" said Hiccup.

Snotlout gasped. "Count yourself lucky that you only got a punch from Hiccup," said Ragnar as he applied some gel on Snotlout's face.

"Yeah, we took that into account in our risk assessment," said Ruffnut.

Hiccup just shook his head and rubbed his forehead. "Oh, this situation has gotten way out of hand."

"Well someone needs to decide on what to do and fast," said Ragnar. "Can you imagine the chaos that would happen if we have to engage the Dragon Hunters?"

"Please, Hiccup, you've gotta help us," Tuffnut begged. "We've lost without our dragon. We have nothing to live for. Don't you understand?"

"We will get you your dragon back," Hiccup assured. He then looked at them and crossed his arms. "But, you too have to stop. Stop your plans, stop your schemes. Okay? I'm gonna figure this out."

Hiccup then made his way out of the clubhouse. "I need some time alone." Toothless went to follow him, but Hiccup stopped him. "You too, bud."

Toothless look slightly upset, but complied with his wishes.

Snotlout then carved and spat out to more teeth. "Two?"

"How hard it is you?" said Ragnar shaking his head.

* * *

Hiccup was wandering through the forest later that evening unaware that Barf and Belch were following him. He then heard a noise behind him and turned, but found nothing.

It was about to set off again, but then a bag is placed over his head and he was dragged off. He thought it was the twins coming up with another scheme to get their dragon back.

"Really, guys? What did I saw?" he cried his voice muffled within the bag. He then felt himself being dragged along through the bushes. "I said—Come on, I'm serious."

Barf and Belch watch from a safe distance and saw two hunters emerge from the bushes with Hiccup over their shoulders.

"Would you let me go?" Hiccup cried. "No, seriously, just put me down!" The hunters then made their way down towards the beach. "Hey! What are you doing?"

Barf and Belch looked at one another and follow the hunters in the hopes to rescue Hiccup.

* * *

Later that night, the hunters dropped them off on their ship with Hiccup tied up in rope and the bag still on top of his head. Hiccup still believe that it was the twins and another one of their crazy plans.

"Okay, this is the single worst plan you have ever come up with," said Hiccup.

Then the bag was removed and he saw that he was on the hunters' ship with Dagur and Ryker looking down at him.

"Oh, I don't know, brother," said Dagur. "You're our prisoner. Seems like a brilliant plan to me."

Dagur laughed and then looked at Hiccup with a slight smirk on his face. "So, looks like your little island stronghold isn't so strong after all. It's completely unguarded from the north. You know, doesn't take much to put up a watchtower."

Hiccup just glared at him and Dagur chuckled. "No watchtower. What do you do without a watchtower? It's preposterous."

* * *

Meanwhile the other riders were on Dragon's Edge with no idea what had happened to Hiccup. Toothless was sitting outside the clubhouse looking out to sea.

"What's Toothless doing here?" Astrid asked as she and Fishlegs walked past with crates in their hands.

Then the twins rushed in. "Have any of you seen Hiccup?" Ruffnut asked.

"I thought he was with you two," said Fishlegs.

"No, bailed on us. And guess who's gone, too?" said Ruffnut angrily. "Can't trust anybody."

"They're probably out there having the time of their lives, blasting everything in sight" said Tuffnut. He then looked at his sister sadly. "Remember when random destruction was our thing?"

"Seems like yesterday," Ruffnut sighed.

"It was. It actually was," said Tuffnut. "Now, here we are. No dragon, no destruction. No fun."

"I believe that Hiccup wanted to be on his own for a while," said Ragnar as he entered.

"And you didn't go with him?" Astrid asked.

"I was a little busy tending to Snotlout, he still hasn't recovered from the punch Hiccup gave him," said Ragnar.

"Wait, Hiccup punched Snotlout," said Fishlegs stunned.

"Long story," said Ragnar. "Anyway, he didn't even want to bring Toothless along with him."

"Something's wrong," said Astrid. "Hiccup wouldn't leave Toothless alone this long and if he's not here then…"

Toothless just turned back towards the sea.

* * *

Meanwhile, the hunters' ship was time to leave Dragon's Edge. It was clear to Hiccup that Dagur and Ryker wanted information from him.

"We are gonna extract every little piece of dragon knowledge from that tiny coconut-shaped noggin," said Dagur. "We're gonna use you to take us to every island that Dragon Eye has led you to."

"And if I don't?" Hiccup asked.

Ryker laughed and pointed his blade at him. "I hope you don't."

Ryker looked into his eyes and laughed.

Then suddenly there was a huge explosion and everyone turned to find Barf and Belch flying past spewing gas all around the ship.

"What the—" Hiccup gaped.

Then the two-headed dragon ignited the gas causing large explosion all around the ship. Once the smoke cleared Ryker saw that Hiccup was gone. He turned and found Hiccup making a run for it, while still tied up in the rope.

Ryker and Dagur pulled out their weapons, but then Barf and Belch landed right in front of Hiccup and roared at the two of them.

Hiccup just looked at them bewildered. "First time in a while that I've been happy to see you guys," he said.

The hunters then charged them with their weapons raised and screaming their lungs off. Belch bit the ropes off Hiccup and he raised his hands just in time to push back a hunters' arm who had an axe in his hand.

Then Belch bit right on top of the hunter and sent him flying into the sea. They then took out two more hunters and Hiccup picked up one of their fallen axes. More hunters then approach them and at once Barf spewed gas up into the sky and Belch ignited it.

* * *

From Dragon's Edge the riders could see the explosion and the twins realise what it was instantly.

"That's Barf and Belch!" Tuffnut gasped.

"That's the distress signal," said Ruffnut.

They ducked just as the other riders flew over their heads and headed straight to the source of the explosion. Of course, since the twins no longer had a dragon they weren't able to follow them.

"Hey, wait!" Tuffnut yelled. "That's our dragon out there."

"What do we do?" Ruffnut asked.

Then they smiled and looked at Toothless, who was standing right next to them. Since Hiccup wasn't here that meant there was no one that could operate his tailfin meaning that he was grounded.

"Hey, T, how you been?" Tuffnut asked.

Toothless saw the mysterious smirks they were producing and realised at once what they were planning.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup and Barf and Belch were funding of the hunters until help arrived. Hiccup blocks an attack from a hunter with his newly acquired axe and kicked him in the chest with his fake leg.

Two hunters made their way straight towards Barf and Belch, but they were easily knocked aside.

"I've had enough of this," said Ryker shoving a hunter away.

He then charged at Hiccup, who was busy fending off a hunter and knocked into the ground. Hiccup turned in time to see Ryker raising his sword up high and Hiccup braced himself. Then out of nowhere Barf and Belch slammed their tails into Ryker sending him flying.

"Phew! Nice job, guys," said Hiccup rubbing Barf's head. "Get us out of here."

Then Dagur appeared with an armed ballista aimed at them. "Oh, boys!" he said evilly. Barf quickly let loose gas that covered the entire deck and Dagur knew what was going to happen next. "Oh, no."

Belch then ignited it causing an explosion and the ballista fired arrows everywhere. One of them sliced right through a rope which was attached to Ryker's leg and he was sent up flying up the mast.

"And now I owe you one," said Hiccup looking at the two-headed dragon. Hiccup then saw hunters charging towards them with their weapons raised. "Time to go!"

Hiccup quickly jumped on Barf and Belch's back and after they caused an explosion they flew off. The hunters tried to take them down with arrows, but they were moving too fast.

Hiccup then turned away from the ship and was almost knocked off Barf and Belch by the other riders. Hiccup turned around and then saw quite a shocking sight, the twins were riding Toothless with Tuffnut operating the stirrup. Unfortunately, they lack the experience and were coming into fast.

"Hey!" Tuffnut yelled.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no," Hiccup yelled.

Then Toothless slammed into him and he was knocked off Barf and Belch and the impact caused the twins to be knocked off Toothless. This meant that the three Vikings and the two dragons were now falling straight down into the ocean.

"Hiccup!" Astrid yelled.

"Oh no," said Ragnar.

"Toothless!" Hiccup yelled as he plummeted towards the Night Fury.

Hiccup managed to mount the saddle and quickly operated the stirrup and they pulled up just in time. The twins on the other hand weren't as lucky and landed on the ocean and Barf and Belch were caught in a net launched by the hunters and Dagur laughed.

The twins plunged into the water and a few seconds later so did Barf and Belch. At one of the two of them flew over towards the net and began to set them free however proved too strong. Tuffnut then pointed down and the two of them swam down to the bottom of the net and attempted to untie the knots.

A few seconds later, Barf and Belch emerge from the water with the twins on their necks.

"Yes!" Ruffnut cried.

"Back in the saddle, baby," said Tuffnut.

Dagur growled in frustration as they flew away.

They soon joined up with the other riders.

"Let's get these hunters away from Dragon's Edge!" said Hiccup.

At once they flew down straight towards the ship. Then the twins started blasting the ship the moment they were in range.

"I missed this!" Ruffnut yelled.

"You can say that again, sister," said Tuffnut giving her a high five.

Astrid and Ragnar tried getting close, but the catapults were proving a challenge for them.

"Take out the catapults!" Astrid yelled.

Fishlegs then flew down and blasted the catapult with a lava blast and Snotlout did the same with a fire blast.

"Get us out of here!" Dagur ordered, not noticing that his hair was on fire.

He was then knocked out cold when a plank of wood hit him on the head.

The riders watched as the hunters' ship sailed off into the distance with flames all over the deck.

* * *

Later that morning, everything returned back to normal or at least as normal as it gets on Dragon's Edge.

"So, looks like the old life-debt has been repaid," said Astrid.

"And not a moment too soon," said Ragnar.

"Barf and Belch saved me from the Dragon Hunters, and Ruff and Tuff saved their dragon from drowning," said Hiccup. "Thank Thor, everything's back to normal."

They then heard a thumping sound and turned to see the twins playing 'Bat and Nutt' with Barf and Belch.

"Yeah! Hit me again," Tuffnut cried.

"Me next! Me next!" Ruffnut yelled.

"Well…" Hiccup shrugged.

"Normal for us, anyway," said Astrid.

"And I wouldn't have it any other way," said Ragnar.

Snotlout then came screaming as he charged straight towards Hiccup. He then tackles into the ground and placed him in an armlock.

"Will someone please tell this lunatic it's over?" Hiccup cried.

"Snotlout!" Snotlout yelled.

Astrid and Ragnar looked at each other and just shrugged.


	20. Snow Way Out

Hiccup was flying through the sky on top of Toothless, who is now wearing newly forged Gronckle Iron armour. Toothless look extremely uncomfortable and was scratching at the armour.

"Yeah, I hear ya, bud," said Hiccup. "Wearing metal on skin can be… itchy." He then looked down at his metal leg. "Trust me, I know. But we need to stay focused. There's no margin for error this time."

He then looked down at Toothless. "What you say we go in fast and low? With this new armour and your moves, they won't touch us."

They then dive down through the clouds and skimmed across the ocean. All the while Toothless was scratching at the armour.

"I know. It's heavy," said Hiccup. "Just—net!"

Toothless span dodging the net that nearly caught the two of them.

"Hook!"

Metal hooks then flew straight towards them and they pulled up. However, Toothless' armour was shaking around crazy and looked as if it was going to fall off any moment. They dodged the hooks back to that little manoeuvre and straightened up.

"Arrows!"

Toothless flew through the arrows dodging every single one of them, but his armour began to fall apart.

"Look out!" Hiccup yelled and they pulled up.

However, the art draft of the wind caused Toothless' armour to fall apart leaving his belly exposed. Then an arrow slammed into Toothless, but it did not had an arrowhead on it and instead covered Toothless' belly with orange paint.

"Snotlout! Snotlout! Oi, oi, oi!" Snotlout yelled from a ballista.

This whole attack was an exercise to test the newly forged armour Ragnar and Fishlegs made. The other Dragon Riders have been the ones that attacked him.

"Nice shot, Snotlout," Hiccup muttered. Then an arrow slammed into him and he glared at Snotlout. "Really?"

Snotlout laughs, but was quickly knocked off the ballista by Toothless' plasma blast.

* * *

Later that night, Ragnar and Fishlegs retrieve the pieces of armour and began to work out what went wrong.

"Ugh! I really thought we had it this time," Fishlegs moaned.

"We just have to keep on trying," said Ragnar.

"Hey, this batch of Gronckle Iron armour lasted longer than the last one," Hiccup pointed out.

"Yes, but not long enough," said Tuffnut. He then raised an eyebrow at Ragnar and Fishlegs. "Wait, unless you wanted Hiccup to get shot down."

"Interesting hypothesis, brother," said Ruffnut.

Tuffnut quickly rushed over to Ragnar and Fishlegs and stared at them in the face. "Why are you two trying to kill Hiccup?"

"We're not trying to kill Hiccup," said Fishlegs.

"I need I remind you the two of us are practically brothers," said Ragnar crossing his arms.

"That's exactly what someone trying to kill Hiccup would say," said Tuffnut.

"Indeed. We're keeping our eyes on you two," said Ruffnut.

"Our good eye," said Tuffnut.

Ragnar rolled his eyes. "Anyway, what next?" he asked looking at Hiccup.

"I think we have to go thinner. That should make it more lighter and flexible," said Hiccup.

"But it won't make it Snotlout-proof. Nothing can," Snotluot chuckled. "It's a good thing for you guys that I'm on your side."

He was then slammed to the floor by Stormfly, who had just arrived. "You are?" said Astrid shocked. "Huh. Honestly, sometimes it's hard to tell."

"Astrid! You're back from Berk already?" said Hiccup shocked.

Astrid shook her head. "Never made it there. I ran into Trader Johann along the way and he had some interesting news. Hiccup, we need to talk."

* * *

Moments later they were inside the clubhouse and Astrid began to explain what Johann had said.

"Johann flagged me down on the way to Berk to tell me that he'd seen Ryker, Heather and the Dragon Hunters in the Northern Markets buying all the winter will weather gear they could get their hands on," she explained.

"Why would you buy winter gear in the summer?" Snotlout frowned.

"Hello. That's when you get the best prices," said Ruffnut.

"Ruff is an excellent shopper," said Tuffnut and Ruffnut stood there proudly. "Shafi got both outfits, two for the price of one."

"No one's surprised by that," said Snotlout.

"Where were the Dragon Hunters be going that would need heavy winter gear this time of year?" Hiccup pondered. He then looked at Astrid. "Did Johann hear anything else?"

"They needed the gear right away," said Astrid. "And they were after something rare. A bone or claw…"

Hiccup's eyes widened. "Or maybe a tooth?"

"The Snow Wraith!" Fishlegs gasped. "Of course! The Dragon Hunters after the Snow Wraith to get one of its teeth."

"Yeah, good luck with that," said Tuffnut dismissively. "We barely got out of there alive."

"The Dragon Eye used to belong to the Hunters," said Hiccup holding out the Dragon Eye. "They must know they need a Snow Wraith tooth to make it work."

"Who cares?" said Snotlout. "All it means is that they aren't coming our way."

"Not yet anyway," said Ragnar.

"Rag's right, if they do get their own key, they'll be coming for us next," said Hiccup.

"Please tell me you're not thinking what I think you're thinking," said Astrid.

"Oh, he's thinking," said Ruffnut.

"That's definitely his thinking face," said Tuffnut.

"We can't let that happen," said Hiccup he then turned and headed out of the clubhouse. "Get a good night sleep, gang. We leave for Glacier Island at first light."

* * *

The next morning they headed straight towards Glacier Island home to the Snow Wraith.

"Hey, can I ask a stupid question?" Tuffnut asked.

"You sure can. Better than anyone I know," said Ruffnut.

"Thank you, sister."

"You're welcome."

Tuffnut then looked at Hiccup. "Hiccup, are we really trying to protect a dragon, that the last time we saw it, try to kill us, from Dragon Hunters, who every time we see them try to kill us?"

"And Heather and her dragon," Ruffnut added. "Don't forget them. They like to try and kill us, too."

"How can I forget," said Ragnar closing his eyes.

"Heather won't be a problem," said Astrid.

"Why wouldn't Heather be a problem?" Fishlegs frowned.

Astrid looked away awkwardly. "Just that we… we outnumber her, right?"

"Look, Heather or no Heather, all we have to do is find the Snow Wraith first and relocated to an island where the hunters won't find him," said Hiccup.

"Oh, that's all?" said Ruffnut.

"Uh, that sounds like the sort of 'extremely dangerous' plan I would come up with. And no, I don't mean that as a compliment," said Tuffnut.

"I didn't think so," said Hiccup as they finally reach Glacier Island. "Come on. Let's head over to where we found the Snow Wraith last time."

"Oh, you mean where it found us?" Snotlout corrected.

"That's one way of putting it," said Hiccup.

"Yes, the only way."

* * *

They soon landed where they confronted the Snow Wraith last time. Already there was a snowstorm and Toothless with using his rod to try and locate the dragon.

"Anything out there, bud?" Hiccup asked.

Toothless just shook his head.

"This is summer on Glacier Island?" said Ruffnut rubbing her arms. "No wonder they don't get any tourists."

"What would their slogan be?" said Tuffnut, who was also rubbing his arms. "'If the Snow Wraith doesn't kill you, the weather will.'"

"Hey, that's a good slogan," said Ruffnut.

"That's a terrible slogan," said Hiccup. "But the good news is, everyone into any Dragon Hunters, they won't have much luck with those dragon root arrows in this weather."

"They'll be lucky if they can see us," said Ragnar.

"And the bad news is…" said Snotlout, who had a shivering Ruffnut and Tuffnut wrapped around him.

"What are you doing?" Hiccup asked.

"It's called 'body heat management,'" said Ruffnut.

"Also known as the Thorston sandwich, served cold," said Tuffnut.

"That's… horrifying," said Hiccup. "Okay. Why don't you guys set up camp?" Astrid, Ragnar and I will scout the island."

"Gladly," said Snotlout. He tried to shake the twins of, but they had a tighter grip than a clamp. "Come on. Let go!"

"No, we're saving your life," said Ruffnut.

"I don't care," he shouted as he finally freed himself and ran away from them. "I outta here."

"I can't believe he'd rather freeze to death and be hugged by us," said Ruffnut.

"I blame you. You're clingy," said Tuffnut.

"I am not!" said Ruffnut hugging herself. "You're clingy."

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar were out searching, but it was near impossible with all this snow.

"You see anything down there?" Hiccup asked.

"I can barely see you half the time," said Astrid.

"If there are hunters down there we can't see them," said Ragnar.

"Maybe we should split up. Cover more ground," Astrid suggested.

"No. Stick together," said Hiccup is another storm blew over. "It's safer. Okay? Okay?"

He could find no trace of Astrid and a strong feeling that she flew off.

"And she's gone," said Ragnar.

Hiccup sighed.

* * *

Moments later and found that the others had set up camp. Snotlout was trying to keep warm by a fire he made.

"Wow! You got the tent up fast," said Hiccup as he hopped off Toothless.

"I had to! It was the only way to keep out of that Thorston sandwich," said Snotlout gesturing to the shivering twins, who were now hugging Fishlegs.

"Where's Astrid?" Fishlegs asked.

"We got separated in the storm," said Hiccup.

"Heh. She ditched you?" said Snotlout with a raised eyebrow.

"What? No. Why would she do that?" Hiccup asked.

"I wouldn't worry Hiccup, Astrid can take care of herself," Ragnar assured.

* * *

Meanwhile, was still flying around looking for Dragon Hunters. Then Stormfly screeched and she looked down to see someone had lit a fire below them.

"Easy, girl," said Astrid calmly. "I see 'em. Let's go in another way."

They then flew towards a glacier and quietly made their way towards the fire. She soon discovered who it was, it was Heather, who was been shielded from the cold by Windshear.

"Well, well, well, Heather," said Astrid with a tight grip on her axe. "Fancy meeting you here. Surprise to see us?"

"Surprised?" Heather scoffed as she got up. "Not really. I've been listening to you stomp through the snow for the past five minutes."

She then raised her double bladed axe and asked the same with hers. The two of them looked at each other's eyes and best dragons stood ready snarling at one another.

Heather then removed her mask and smiled. "What took you so long?"

She then removed her hood and she and Astrid hugged one another. Stormfly and Windshear stop snarling at one another and looked up.

"Hiccup and Ragnar aren't the easiest people to sneak away from," said Astrid.

"Yeah. Ryker I'm out scouting," said Heather as they made their way towards the fire.

Stormfly and Windshear roared at one another and went to join them.

"How did you get Hiccup to come here, anyway?" Heather asked.

"I just told him what you told me, but let him think it was coming from Trader Johann," said Astrid she warned her hand at the fire. "Any problems on your end?"

"Well, Ryker doesn't trust anyone and Dagur is paranoid, but so far I think I'm okay," said Heather.

"You took care of Dagur?" said Astrid surprised.

"I sent him on a fool's errand, looking for a second Dragon Eye," Heather shrugged.

"That should keep them busy," said Astrid. "So, fill me in."

Heather pulled out on a map and showed it to Astrid. "We've been here for two days, searching pretty methodically. According to Ryker, the Snow Wraith digs itself an ice cave to hibernate in during the summer months."

"We didn't know that. That explains the rush to get out here, probably to get a tooth from a hibernating Snow Wraith."

"Exactly," Heather nodded.

"Too bad we don't know where the cave is."

"But I think I might. Windshear and I spotted a cave on a plateau about halfway up that mountain," said Heather pointing at a mountain close by. "You find a way to get Hiccup and Ragnar to check it out. Meanwhile, I'll tell Ryker I didn't find anything and try to keep him as far away as possible."

Astrid looked the mountain and then at her feet and Heather noticed this at once. "What?"

"We should tell Hiccup what we're doing, this doesn't feel right," said Astrid uncomfortably.

"No. We agreed," said Heather.

"I've never lied to him before," said Astrid rubbing her arm. "And you should have seen Ragnar when I told him that you joined with the Hunters, he was heartbroken and he did emerge from his hut for days."

Heather looks slightly ashamed. "I know and it put my heart as well. But this is the best way to take the Dragon Hunters down, from the inside."

"Hiccup could help us. He's really good at this stuff and Ragnar's nearly cracked their cipher," said Astrid.

"They also care too much," said Heather crossing her arms. "Astrid if we told those two that I was spying on the Hunters, we both know they'd try to pull me out of there."

"I get that, but—"

"I'm this close to getting to Viggo," said Heather having both her farm and index finger and inch apart. "I can't quit now."

"I really hope you're right, because if any of the Riders got hurt, or you got hurt because I held something back—"

"Nothing will go wrong," said Heather placing an arm around her. "Trust me."

* * *

An hour later Astrid returned to the Riders and read them straight over towards the Snow Wraith cave.

"So, when I spotted the cave from the air, it got me thinking," she said. "Last time we were here, the Snow Wraith was on us right away. Remember? Why not this time? Maybe because it's hiding out or hibernating or something in that cave."

"Yeah, that's not a bad theory," said Fishlegs.

Ragnar frowned. "Yeah, not a bad theory."

"I agree," said Hiccup and frowned of Astrid. "I'm just wondering how it was you came all the way out here when the three of us were scouting in the opposite direction."

"I must've gotten lost," said Astrid not looking him in the eye.

"Lost?" Hiccup raise an eyebrow.

"Fine. I got carried away, okay?" Astrid admitted. "You know how I am."

"Yes, I do," Hiccup nodded. "But, you can't just go off on your own like that, Astrid. I rely on you."

Astrid looked at Hiccup feeling quite guilty. "Okay."

* * *

Meanwhile, Heather was at the Dragon Hunters camp trying to divert them away from the mountain.

"I think we should concentrate on the coastal areas," said Heather looking at a map.

"We head for the mountain," said Ryker.

"I told you, I'll already searched up there. I didn't see a thing."

"From the air," Ryker corrected. "I do things the old fashioned way. Boots on the ground."

"But—"

Ryker turned on her. "We're heading for the mountain. You have a problem with that?"

Heather knew that she can persuade him otherwise and this she did she may well end up breaking her cover. "Of course not," she said. She then gestured towards the mountain. "After you."

"Move out!" Ryker ordered and walked away.

* * *

Meanwhile, the riders were about halfway towards the mountain until Hiccup heard something and gestured for them to stop. At once they pulled out their weapons.

"So much for your hibernation theory," Snotlout scoffed.

"Shh!" Hiccup hissed.

Snotlout groaned.

Hiccup then looked down at Toothless. "Toothless, make the first shot count."

Toothless open his mouth and prepared to fire plasma blast, but it turned out the noise they heard was just a bunch of boars. However, Fishlegs screamed at the side of them and his screen scared them off.

Hiccup turned and looked at Fishlegs, who just smiled awkwardly.

"There it is," said Astrid pointing. Everyone turned and found the cave right at the side of the mountain. She then looked at Hiccup. "I'll go and check it out."

"We'll all go and check it out," said Hiccup.

They then made their way over to the cave and at once Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs found claw marks in the ice.

"Look at these claw marks," said Hiccup. He then looked down into the cave. "I'd say we found the right cave."

"It's nice," said Tuffnut. "It's no boar pit. But it's nice."

"All right," said Hiccup looking at all of them. "Let's take it slowly and quietly. Snotlout. Get the Nightmare gel out."

They then made their way into the cave.

* * *

Unbeknownst to them, the Hunters were making their own way towards the cave carrying cages along with them.

Ryker came to a stop when he saw footprints in the snow. "Dragon Riders," he said as he looked at the cave in front of him.

* * *

Meanwhile, the riders were making their way through the cave unaware that the Hunters were outside. Then suddenly Toothless heard the sound of metal clanking outside the cave and came to a stop.

"What's wrong, bud?" Hiccup asked.

Then all of them held the metal clanking.

Astrid looked at Hiccup. "Was that…"

"Behind us!" Hiccup yelled.

They turned and saw Hunters outside firing arrows at them. Toothless quickly fired a plasma blast and destroyed the arrows.

"Everybody down!" Hiccup yelled.

"Spine shot!" Astrid yelled as Stormfly tossed several spikes at the Hunters.

Ryker and his men quickly ran outside and ducked as the spikes flew over their heads. He then got up and glared at Heather.

"Oh! Can't you control that beast?" he roared. "She gave us away."

"She's a dragon covered in spikes walking on ice. She's gonna make noise," Heather pointed out as Windshear waved her tail above the ice creating a clanking noise.

"You keep that think quiet. Or I will," Ryker warned. He then turned to his men. "Go!"

Three of his men entered into the cave and they heard noises coming from inside. Then there was a huge explosion then two of his men emerged carrying the third over their shoulders.

Ryker growled in annoyance.

In the cave, Tuffnut was looking at his helmet which had an arrow wedged in it.

"Oh, shot my helmet, will ya!" he grumbled.

"Ha-ha! Yeah!" Ruffnut laughed and the two of them head-butted one another.

"Keep it down, will ya," said Hiccup. "We wake up that Snow Wraith, things get a lot trickier."

"What do you think Ryker's next move is?" Astrid asked.

"Surrender?" Ruffnut suggested.

"Or I guess he could do that," said Fishlegs pointing.

They turned and saw Ryker entering into the cave. "Dragon Riders! Send out your leader to talk," he yelled.

"It's gotta be a trap," said Astrid. "I should go out. See what the game is."

"Yeah, let Astrid go," said Snotlout.

"Hiccup Haddock! Let's talk this out, like men." Ryker roared and shoved his sword into the icy floor.

"Oh! I don't like the sound of that," said Fishlegs.

"I agree, it didn't sound like much of a surrender more like our terms of surrender," said Ragnar.

"If there's one chance to sever this without bloodshed, I have to try," said Hiccup as he hopped off Toothless with his shield under his arm. Toothless wanted to come with him, but Hiccup stopped him. "No, bud. If this is a trap, I mean may need you to get me out of it."

"Word of advice, open with a compliment," said Tuffnut.

Hiccup made his way over to Ryker and saw the amused look on his face.

"Hmm. Dagur was right," he said. "You don't look like much."

"Astrid was right. You look like a psycho," said Hiccup.

"Not exactly the compliment I would have led with," said Tuffnut.

Ryker laughed and Hiccup places shield down.

"What do you want, Ryker?" Hiccup asked.

"The Dragon Eye."

"Not a chance."

"It belongs to us, the Hunters. You stole it from our ship. And I will have it back."

Hiccup narrowed his eyes. "Not today, you won't."

"Oh, no? Look around," said Ryker gesturing to the ice cave. "We're in front of you. The Snow Wraith is behind you. One time offer. Hand over the Dragon Eye and you're free to go."

Hiccup began to touch over himself. "Hm. Uh… Sorry. I must have left it in my other pants," smirked.

Ryker growled. "In that case, surrender and you will meet the same fate as your dragons."

Unbeknownst to Hiccup one of Ryker's Hunters was making his way closer without being seen.

"Okay, his my offer," said Hiccup. "Leave now and you and your men won't have to find out what burning flesh smells like."

Ryker sighed. "You really don't have the Dragon Eye with you?"

The Hunter began to take aim at Hiccup with his arrow.

"No."

"And, you aren't coming out?"

"Not any time soon."

"Don't say I didn't give you a chance," said Ryker as he bent down to pick up his sword.

As he bent down the Hunter took aim at Hiccup and was about to fire his arrow. Heather look around and had Windshear slam her tail against a Hunter carrying a lantern. This caused the entire cave to light up.

This blinded the Hunter. "Huh. My eyes!"

It also cast his shadow across the cave wall and the Riders saw it instantly.

"Hiccup, it's a trap!" Astrid yelled.

Ryker ducked just as the Hunter fired his arrow. Hiccup quickly tossed his shield into his hand using his metal leg and blocked it. He saw two more Hunters running past Ryker and shot arrows at them.

At once the Riders attacked back with their dragons destroying the arrows before they even landed. Toothless then fired a plasma blast knocking the Hunters back.

Ryker angrily approached Heather and clutched her arm. "I saw that. You did that on purpose," he snarled.

"Of course I did," said Heather freeing her arm. "How many times do Dagur and I have to tell you that Hiccup is more valuable to us alive than dead?"

Ryker rubbed his chin. "Maybe you're right, Heather. Maybe Hiccup can be helpful to us. Shoot the cave."

"What?" Heather gasped.

"Have animal shoot the cave," Ryker repeated.

"Why?" Heather asked.

"Just do it!"

Heather made her way over to Windshear, she knew that she didn't do what Ryker said her cover will be blown. "Windshear."

Windshear blasted the cave ceiling with her breath attack and at once the cave entrance caved in.

Inside, Toothless had shielded Hiccup from the cave and with his wings. He then opened his mouth producing a glow that lit the entire cave and they saw that the entrance had been blocked by a mountain of ice.

"Is everyone all right?" Hiccup asked looking at the others.

"Define 'all right,'" said Fishlegs, who had Meatlug on top of him.

Hookfang then ignited lighting the cave and even more. "Why would Ryker seal himself from the key?" Snotlout asked.

"He wasn't sealing himself out. He was sealing us in," said Astrid.

"Astrid right," said Hiccup. "Ryker figures will fight the Snow Wraith for him and then he'll deal with whoever survives."

"Oh. Awesome," said Snotlout. "But we're not gonna do that, right?"

"We don't have much choice," said Ragnar examining the cave in. "Even if we try to melt the ice with our dragons we very well might cause another cave in not to mention we have the deal for the Dragon Hunters outside."

"The plan hasn't changed," said Hiccup as they mounted their dragons. "We grabbed the Snow Wraith and get it away from Ryker."

"Oh, is that all we have to do? So easy," said Snotlout.

They then blew down deep into the cave and soon reached the cavern. They stopped just outside it and hopped off their dragons.

"I choose to bring positive. We can do this," said Tuffnut.

"Sure. We beat the Snow Wraith before… sort of," said Ruffnut.

"And it won't have a blizzard to hide in," Fishlegs added.

"And we outnumber him fine to one," said Tuffnut.

"Not exactly," said Ragnar.

The three of them stopped and stared in front of them.

"Yeah, I wouldn't be show sure that," said Astrid.

Right in front of them wasn't one Snow Wraith, but three. Fortunately the three dragons were fast asleep.

Tuffnut tried to remain positive. "Well, at least there's still asleep, and they won't wake up—"

Suddenly one of the Snow Wraith stirred.

Ruffnut quickly clapped her brother's mouth. "You are the worst positive thinker ever," she said.

"That's a very positive thing to say," said Tuffnut.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ryker had led the Dragon Hunters away from the cave and was feeling across the mountain as if he was looking for something. He then looked at the ground as if he sensed something beneath them.

He then looked at his Hunters. "Here." He then pointed at another location at the ground. "And here."

At once the Hunters began to chisel at the ground. Heather was still confused about what Ryker was doing, but she knew it wasn't good.

"You want to tell me what you're doing?" she asked.

"No," he said and walked away.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Riders will remaining very quiet so that they didn't wake up the Snow Wraiths. One of them was sniffing at the air they weren't sure if was gonna wake up or not.

"If we don't move maybe it won't notice us," said Tuffnut a little too loudly.

Then suddenly it awoke at the sound of his voice and snarled at them.

"Maybe if you don't move and keep your mouth shut," Fishlegs hissed.

"What we do?" Astrid asked.

Hiccup thought for a moment. "Maybe we can put him back to sleep."

"With what a lullaby?" Ragnar asked.

Hiccup denounce and instead ran past Tuffnut grabbing the arrow of his helmet. He then rushed over towards the Snow Wraith and has issued switched with crossbow mode and fired the arrow, the Snow Wraith took off dodging it.

"Okay, so that in work," said Hiccup.

Then the Snow Wraith roared which cause the other two to awaken. The riders mounted their dragons ready for battle.

The first Snow Wraith fired at Astrid, Ragnar and Snotlout, who took off just before it hit the ground. Then it along with the other two flew straight down and began to burrow into the ground below them.

"Burrowing! That's new," said Hiccup.

"I know," said Fishlegs nervously. "And I don't think I like it."

Then a Snow Wraith shot out of the wall and fired at Snotlout, who barely had enough time to dodge the attack.

"Oh, I know I don't like it," said Snotlout.

Then the Snow Wraith flew into the hall once again and disappeared.

"Quick! Defensive formation!" Hiccup yelled. They all landed and formed a circle. "Everyone taken angle, fire as soon as you see them."

Everyone kept their eyes open and felt the earth shake as the Snow Wraith burrowed beneath them.

"Feels like they're going left," said Snotlout. "No, right. Left? Which one's which?"

"Forget that, just cover your zone," said Hiccup.

Then one of the Snow Wraith appeared out of the ground and at once Astrid and Snotlout fired at it. Then another one appear then this time the Ragnar and the twins fired at it. The third one appeared right in front of Hiccup.

"Just stun 'em, bud," said Toothless.

Toothless then blasted the Snow Wraith with a plasma glass with such force that it slammed into the wall and it fell to the ground unconscious. At once the two other Snow Wraith flew towards their fallen friend and picked him up before they dived into the hole once more.

They all stood there for moment, but they couldn't feel the Snow Wraith burrowing below them anymore.

"Anyone feel anything?" Astrid asked.

"Just a profound sense of relief," said Tuffnut.

"And perhaps a tingle of sadness?" said Ruffnut.

"Oh, exactly sister," Tuffnut agreed.

"I think they're gone," said Fishlegs.

"Maybe they tunnelled all the way out," said Hiccup examining the hole. "If they did—"

"That could be our way out too," Astrid finished.

They heard the Snow Wraith roaring inside the tunnel and it sounded like they were in pain.

"The Hunters!" Hiccup yelled and looked at the others. "Let's go."

Hiccup and Toothless then flew into the hole and down through the tunnels. The other riders followed suit, but it was a complete labyrinth so they all went in different directions. A few times they almost collided in with one another.

"Look out!" Snotlout yelled almost hitting Fishlegs.

Fishlegs quickly back into the tunnel we came out of and waited for Snotlout the flypast before flying back out.

"Backup!" Ruffnut's voice yelled.

Fishlegs turned and discover too late that the twins were heading straight in his direction. They crashed on one another and when Fishlegs opened his eyes he found that Barf and Belch had wrapped their necks around Meatlug.

"Two head give us the right-of-way," said Tuffnut.

Soon all the riders met up and began arguing with one another. They start when they heard a roar coming down one of the tunnels and recognised it as the Snow Wraiths.

"Follow me!" Hiccup ordered flying into the tunnel.

They soon found themselves back outside and the entire area was covered in rope, nets, spears, axes bows, arrows and cages and all of them belong to the Dragon Hunters.

"Ryker knew about the burrowing the whole time," said Hiccup. "He used us to flush out the Snow Wraiths out. Then he captured them."

"Looks like they're heading back along the south side of the glacier," said Astrid looking at the footprints that was left in the snow.

"They're not gonna get there," said Hiccup.

* * *

They flew around the glacier and saw Ryker and his Hunters making their way towards their ship with the Snow Wraiths in cages and nets. And if that wasn't bad enough the snowstorm had led up meaning they didn't had any cover.

"Great time for the snow to let up," Astrid muttered.

"Okay, we can't get too close. We need to stay out of the range of their arrows," said Fishlegs.

Hiccup looked around trying to come up with plan and he then saw the ice sheet right above the heads of the Dragon Hunters.

"Maybe we don't need to," he said and turned to look at the twins. "Ruff, Tuff, see that ice sheet up there?"

The twins looked at it and had an idea on what Hiccup was planning.

"Please say avalanche. Please say avalanche," Tuffnut begged.

"We need an avalanche," said Hiccup.

"Yes! Positive thinking works!" Tuffnut yelled.

"Our specialty!" Ruffnut yelled.

They then flew above the ice sheet and Barf spewed gas on top of it and then Belch ignited it. At once they cause an avalanche right on top of the Dragon Hunters and all of them ran for cover, except for Ryker who sidestepped to avoid getting hit by a chunk of ice. He then looked up and saw the Dragon Riders.

"You guys get the Snow Wraiths out of here!" said Hiccup looking at the others. "I'll deal with Ryker."

At once they dived down straight towards the Dragon Hunters and at once Astrid and the others without the Snow Wraith and flew them to safety.

Ryker looked up and saw Hiccup flying towards him. "Ryker! Looks like you're in the tough spot this time," said Hiccup.

Then out of nowhere Heather appeared riding on Windshear and grabbed Ryker.

"Heather?" said Hiccup.

"Sorry, Hiccup, we gotta go," said Heather as they flew away.

Hiccup then chased after her around the glacier.

"Can't this thing go any faster?" Ryker yelled.

"Usually she's not carrying this much weight," Heather snapped.

"Excuses," Ryker muttered and pulled an arrow out of his quiver.

He then fired at Hiccup, but Toothless dodged it and all the others he fired. He tried to reach for another one, but found that his quiver was empty.

"Nice flying, bud," said Hiccup and then looked at Heather and Ryker with a serious look. "Now it's our turn."

Toothless got ready to fire a plasma blast, but then out of nowhere Astrid appeared right in front of them.

"Astrid! Look out!" Hiccup yelled as they flew past.

"Hiccup, no!" Astrid yelled as they prepare to fire another plasma blast. "Heather's with us!"

Hiccup pulled Toothless up making him miss and giving them an opportunity to escape. He then turned and looked at Astrid.

"What did you just say?"

Astrid looked at him guiltily and knew she had a lot of explaining to do.

* * *

Later that night on Dragon's Edge Astrid began to explain everything.

"Heather pretended to join the Dagur to get close to him to avenge her family. When she found out about his alliance with the Dragon Hunters, she decided to get closer to him to find out more," she explained.

"But when Ryker captured us on his ship, you and Heather were fighting all the time," Ruffnut frowned.

"That's what we wanted people to think."

"Heather is not evil?" Snotlout blinked. "There goes that dream."

"Oh, I knew she was good at heart," said Fishlegs.

"And you kept this from us!" Ragnar yelled angrily. "Don't you think I at least had a right to know. I don't know why I'm even surprised just like the first time we met."

"Rag, I'm sorry, but Heather insisted that I keep it a secret," said Astrid. She then looked at Hiccup who had remained silent all the time. "Hiccup, would you say something? Please."

"I'm with Ragnar," said Hiccup. "We're supposed to be a team, Astrid."

"I know," said Astrid guiltily. "I should have told you and Ragnar. I wanted to. I really did."

"But you didn't."

"I'm sorry," said Astrid sincerely. "But without Heather, the Dragon Hunters would have keyed to the Dragon Eye right now and those snow Wraiths would not be safely hidden on another island."

"That still doesn't explain why you would let me take her and Ryker down," said Hiccup. "We could have captured the head of the Dragon Hunters."

"Hiccup, Ryker is in the head of the Dragon Hunters," said Astrid and everyone stared at her. "According to Heather, the real leader is someone named Viggo Grimborn."

"Awesome name," said Ruffnut. "Scary, but awesome."

"I don't know. Viggo Grimdeath would be cooler. Or how about Gore Grimskull. Grimskull," said Tuffnut.

Astrid rolled her eyes and turned back at Hiccup. "He lives in the shadows. Everyone is afraid of him, even Ryker. Heather hasn't met him yet, but she's our best shot at drawing him out."

Hiccup turned and leaned against the doorway looking at the night sky. He then looked back at Astrid. "Well, I hope she knows what she's doing. For all our sake."


	21. Edge of Disaster Part I

It was a nice peaceful morning and Astrid was flying over the sea towards the northern watchtower to take a shift. She was laying down on Stormfly's back enjoying the peace and quiet.

"I could stay up here all day," she sighed. She then sat up. "But, we have work to do, don't we, girl?"

They soon reached the watchtower which was being guarded by the twins.

"Hey! Guys! You are officially released from guard duty!" Astrid yelled. However they just stood there. "Guys!" Astrid groaned and looked down at Stormfly. "Stormfly, get me in close, would ya?"

Stormfly landed on the watchtower and Astrid hopped off her back.

"Why do we have to go through this every single…" Astrid then came to a sudden stop, because standing there were the twins but some practice dummy with their helmets on top. "Are you kidding me?"

She marched up to the dummies and remove their helmets and made our way back over to Stormfly.

* * *

She soon returned to Dragon's Edge and informed Hiccup of the adventure at the watchtower. Hiccup was leaning against his hut calmly with his arms crossed.

"They didn't stand there watch, Hiccup," she said. "Those dummies left to dummies in their place."

"You know, those dummies could conceivably be just as effective as the twins," Hiccup pointed out.

"Not funny," said Astrid. "We built that watchtower so that—"

"I know why we built it, Astrid."

Astrid just shook her head in disbelief. "I just don't understand how this isn't making you completely insane."

"Because, then there'd be two crazy people in this conversation and we probably wouldn't resolve anything."

"Are you saying I'm—"

Hiccup held his hands up in defence. "Astrid, let me talk to the twins. I'll get their side of the story, then we can figure out what we need to do."

Astrid sighed. "I guess it's a start."

At that moment the twins flew in on Barf and Belch and landed just opposite Hiccup and Astrid.

"Well, if it isn't a crack security team now," said Astrid tossing them their helmets.

"Oh! Please, please, there's no need to shower us with accolades," said Tuffnut as the two of them place their helmets back on.

"Tuff, you left to dummies to protect the entire base," said Astrid furiously. "What were you thinking?"

It was at that point that a Terrible Terror appeared and landed on Hiccup's arm. "Terror mail," said Hiccup noticing the note on its leg.

"'Dummies,' you say?" said Tuffnut looking a little insulted.

"She does. Poor confused thing," said Ruffnut.

"What you fail to realise in your foggy morning state, is that those are not dummies. They are scareships."

Astrid just narrowed her eyes. "Scareships? You're serious?"

"You didn't see any ships near the island, did you?" Ruffnut pointed out.

"I think not. And why?" Tuffnut asked. "They were appropriately scared away. By the appropriately named 'scareships.'"

Astrid turned to Hiccup. "Are you following any of this?"

"Not super closely," Hiccup admitted as he read the message from the Terrible Terror. "I'm actually reading this. It's from Johann. He's in trouble."

* * *

Moments later they were all at the stables and Hiccup and Snotlout were fixing their dragon armour on the dragons. Fishlegs and Ragnar were preparing their dragons for take-off as well.

Astrid then approached Hiccup of the twins in tow. "You are not leaving me with those two muttonheads," she said gesturing towards the twins.

"She knows were standing right here, right?" Tuffnut asked looking at his sister.

"Look, Johann surrounded by Dragon Hunters, and his ship is taking water. We have to go out there and help him," said Hiccup looking at Astrid.

"Then, let me saddle up Stormfly, I'll be there in—"

"Astrid, you need to stay here and hold down the Edge. And make sure nothing happens to the Dragon Eye," said Hiccup handing her the Dragon Eye.

"I can't believe what's happening," Astrid moaned. "This actually may be the worst day in history."

"Astrid, Snotlout and I have the only working dragon armour, Skull's already wearing armour and Meatlug is immune to the Dragon Hunters' arrows," Hiccup reminded.

"You hear that, girl?" said Fishlegs' hugging Meatlug. "Who's a special Dragon? Meatlug is, that's who."

Hiccup shook his head and looked back at Astrid. "It just makes more sense for us to be the ones to go."

"Hiccup, please!" Astrid begged. "For all that sacred in Thor's world, you cannot leave me alone with these two—"

"What did you say?" Tuffnut asked. "Simpletons? Blockades?"

"I was always partial to dimwit myself," said Ruffnut. "It rolls trippingly off the tongue."

"Oh, yeah. Watch this. 'What wit dim, with the twins dim wit, if dim wit could wit dim?'" The two of them laughed. "Say that five times fast."

Astrid looked at Hiccup with a pleading face. "You see what I'm talking about, right?"

"Hey, it's not like we woke up this morning hoping to spend 24/7 with you either, Astrid?" said Tuffnut. "I mean, you are not exactly a picnic. And I think you know what I'm saying. You have not ever been a blanket on a grassy knoll with delicious food." Hiccup groaned and facepalmed himself. "But, we are team players. We will do what is necessary for the good of the group. Hence, we shall remain behind and enjoy your good company my fair Astrid. Even if you have no blankets or grassy knolls to offer."

Astrid sighed and Hiccup place a hand on her shoulder. "We'll be back by tomorrow at the latest," he assured. "Just do the best you can. Okay? And try to get along, please?"

"No need to worry about us, young Hiccup," said Tuffnut.

"Oh, Astrid, I know these next 24 hours will be difficult for you," said Snotlout as he approached her. "Unable to look at these deep romantic, yet hauntingly beautiful eyes, shimmering like gold dust in the wind—"

Astrid then shoved into Hookfang, which heard a lot more than usual because he was wearing armour, and placed him in an arm lock. "Okay, so we'll see you when we get back. Have fun." Astrid grumbled annoyance and released him. "Don't talk to any stray Dragon Hunters."

They then took off and twins wave them goodbye. "Bye. We'll miss you. Write home often," he said. "Okay, I think the first team building exercise we should perform is that of going back to sleep. I mean, as a team, of course."

"Couldn't agree more," said Ruffnut. "What say you, Astrid?"

"I have to go hide this," said Astrid showing them the Dragon Eye. "And when I get back, I expect both of you to be sweating profusely from hard work."

The twins glared at her as she walked off.

* * *

Later that day, the twins and their dragon were moving logs around.

"'What say you, Astrid?' Really? Haven't I always told you it's better to beg for permission ran to ask for forgiveness?" Tuffnut muttered as he and his sister carried a log over towards the pile.

"Personally, I think it's the other way around," said Ruffnut.

"Oh, so now you're the literary authority on the subject of permissions and forgiveness?"

Astrid was looking at the design of the new Lookout Tower. "Quit talking. You lose focus when your mouth is moving," she said.

"'I'm Astrid _,_ '" said Tuffnut doing a poor mimicking of Astrid's voice.

"Real mature, guys."

"We've done all of those already?" said Tuffnut shocked at the pile of logs. "Man, were kicking some serious—"

"No, no, no," said Astrid. "That's your first one. All the others, I did by myself. Go, team."

The twins tossed the log of the pile and at once the pile began to roll over the cliff and into the sea. The twins looked over the cliff and Barf and Belch tossed their log over the edge.

Astrid sighed. "You know what? I'll get the rest of the lumbar myself. You two start lashing together some poles for the first level of stairs. Do you think you can handle that?"

She then walked off in a huff.

"She didn't let us answer," said Tuffnut.

"That's what they call a 'rhetorical question,'" said Ruffnut.

"Please. Like that's ever a thing. And you don't know what it means."

Ruffnut folded her arms. "A rhetorical question is one asked solely to produce an effect or to make an assertion. Not to an elicit a reply. Bam!"

Tuffnut looked at her blankly. "Huh," he said before walking away.

An hour later, Astrid returned carrying a log and saw the twins had practically wrapped themselves with rope.

Astrid sighed in exasperation and placed the logs down and walked off in a huff.

"Not to teamly, if you ask me," said Tuffnut.

"Not in the slightest," Ruffnut agreed.

Astrid then returned with more logs and found that the twins had vanished.

"Really," she said. "Where in Thor's name could you to have—"

She then heard voices above her and looked up to see the twins heading straight towards on a zip line.

"Whoo! Yeah!" Tuffnut yelled.

"Ha-ha! Look out!" Ruffnut yelled.

She watch as the twins slammed into the lookout tower and fell on top the pile of logs she had assembled.

"That hurt," said Ruffnut.

Astrid closed her eyes as the logs rolled over the cliff and into the sea once more.

"Astrid, you have to try this," said Tuffnut as the two of them got to their feet. "The landing is a little rough, but—"

"Astrid, we know this wasn't what you were planning, but we really think we're on to something here," said Ruffnut. "The stairs have their own use for sure, but this can truly come in handy."

Astrid slammed her logs onto the ground and turned to the twins furiously. "It can, huh?" she said sceptically.

"Yes. In the right situation—"

"And what situation were those exactly be, Ruffnut?"

"Well, I mean, we could… If you were in a—"

Astrid crossed her arms. "You have no clue, do you?" She looked at their blank expressions. "Didn't think so."

"Is that a rhetorical question?" Tuffnut asked.

"And you know why?" Astrid asked. "Because, the two of you don't think. You don't plan. You just come up with these crazy ideas and you forge ahead, with no regard for logic or what you're even supposed to be doing." She then looked at them in frustration. "What am I gonna do with you guys? Seriously. Tell me."

"Well, you can start by being kind," said Ruffnut crossing her arms. "Oh, wait, you can't do that because kindness is nowhere in that scrawny little body of yours."

"What?"

Tuffnut grabbed his sister's arm. "Easy, sis."

Ruffnut knocked his arm away. "Back up, bro. I got this."

"You know what your problem is, Ruffnut?" Astrid asked.

"Oh, you bet I do," said Ruffnut as she marched towards. "I've got a list of problems so long, I can't even keep track. Question is, do you know what your problem is, Astrid?"

Astrid just stared at her in disbelief. "My problem? Are you serious?"

"Allow me to lay it out for you, my flaxen-haired friend. You have no respect for the people around you who are trying to help and be part of a team. You have no respect for Fishlegs, certainly none for Snotlout and you can have less respect for the two of us! And let's not forget during the Dragon Wars that you had even less respect to both Hiccup and Ragnar!" said Ruffnut counting the friends of her fingers. "Now, you can go ahead and shame the others. You can mock this entire island of dragons if you wish. But I'm not gonna stay here and listen to you insult the entire 'nut' family tree!"

Ruffnut then walked off and a half leaving a very shocked Astrid. Astrid looked at Tuffnut. "She's wrong, you know," she said. "I… do. I…" Astrid sighed. "Respect you guys."

"Please. You can barely even say it," said Tuffnut and walked away. "So sad, Astrid. So, so sad."

Astrid sighed, part of a new they were right, but she didn't want to admit it. She wondered how Hiccup put up with them all and not eat away at their necks. "Hiccup, where are you, when I need you?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup and the others were still looking for Johann. Hiccup had a map that had Johann's last known coordinates.

"Okay, from what the Terror mail said, Johann scented from this general area," said Hiccup.

"And it said his ship was incapacitated," Fishlegs added.

"Which means he can't be too far away," said Ragnar.

"Correct. So, he should be right below us somewhere," said Hiccup as he and Ragnar flew off.

"Good thing Meatlug is immune to the arrows, huh?" said Snotlout flying alongside Fishlegs. "Too bad you aren't." He laughed and flew off. "Snotlout!"

Fishlegs looked down at Meatlug. "Don't listen to him, girl. I'll be fine. We'll be fine. Right?"

Hiccup kept his eyes open for Johann's ship and boy did he found it. "Uh, I'm not so sure about that."

Johann's ship was just off the coast of an island and it was attacked by wild dragons. He was bending them off with a broom.

"Get away!" he yelled whacking a Gronckle on its nose. "You, don't come near!"

"Hey, I thought he said it was Dragon Hunters," said Snotlout.

"Not actual dragons," Fishlegs finished.

"He did, but you know Johann," said Hiccup.

"'Dragons, Dragon Hunters, what's the difference?'" said Snotlout.

They saw the dragons attacking Johann ship and he was desperately trying to protect his goods.

"No, No!" he yelled as he always got hit by a Deadly Nadder's breath attack.

Hiccup in the others quickly dive down in order to rescue him.

"I wonder what Johann did to get them so mad," said Fishlegs.

"Probably told them one of his dumb stories," said Snotlout.

"Not funny, Snotlout," said Hiccup.

"I wasn't even trying to be funny," said Snotlout.

"We can wonder why the dragons are attacking him later, but right now he needs our help," said Ragnar

"Rag's right, let's just get Johann out of there, and be careful. We don't want to hurt any of these dragons," said Hiccup.

"What about them hurting us? That never seems to enter your mind," said Snotlout.

Johann then noticed them flying down towards him. "Master Hiccup! They're everywhere!"

They flew down of the dragons in order to calm them down, but then they turn to attack them.

"Okay, all right, never mind, never mind, never mind!" said Hiccup as try to avoid getting bitten.

Toothless opened up his wings to get behind the Deadly Nadder and fired a plasma blast at them and that seemed to do the trick. "Wow, bud! We really must have caught these guys on a bad day."

Johann was trying to knock a way a Gronckle that was showing that his mast and swat away a Gronckle approaching him. "Ah! Hoo! Back! Back, I say!"

Snotlout then flew over the Gronckle and they turned their attention on him. "This reminds me of the time I was attacked by a flock of rabid fruit bats of the coast of Palau," said Johann.

"Be quiet!" Snotlout yelled as he flew past. "You're only making them more angry. And us, too."

"Master Snotlout! Thank Thor!" said Johann relieved.

The Gronckle then surrounded Snotlout. "Hey! What'd I do? Its Captain Fruit Bat you want, not me."

Hookfang then ignited scaring away the Gronckles.

Johann was then attacked by a flock of Monstrous Nightmares. "No, no! Oh, come on! They're very mean!"

"Don't worry we've got it," said Ragnar as he and Fishlegs flew down.

Suddenly the Monstrous Nightmare growled at them and flew straight towards them. Skull was able to fend off the Monstrous Nightmare that came for Ragnar, but Fishlegs wasn't so lucky and was carried off.

Before Ragnar and Meatlug could rescue him, they will not decide by two Monstrous Nightmares.

"Hey! Fishlegs! Where are you going?" Snotlout yelled. "You know, we're not done here."

* * *

Meanwhile, late in the evening, Ruffnut had made her way to the watchtower grumbling about Astrid.

"'Astrid, Astrid, Astrid!' Everyone's always talking about Astrid," Ruffnut muttered as she climbed the stairs. "How pretty she is. How smart she is. How muscular and sharply her upper arms are."

She sighed in despair and looked at her and brothers scareships. "How can Astrid not see the genius in Stuffnut and Fluffnut?"

Then Fluffnut fell on top of Stuffnut and she groaned.

* * *

It was late at night, and Tuffnut was wandering through the northern coast to look for his sister. Then out of nowhere Chicken appeared and looks quite frantic.

"Chicken! What is it? What's wrong?" he asked. Chicken then began to pant as if she was out of breath and Tuffnut picked up to calm her. "Shh, shh… Relax, Chicken. Easy, little chicken. Now, gather your strength. Is it Ruffnut?"

Chicken clucked frantically and Tuffnut understood her perfectly. "Oh, it is. Is she in trouble?" Chicken clucked again. "Oh, you have such a way with words. I will find and bring her back. You, you rest, Chicken."

He then kissed. "Don't ruffle your feathers. I shall return."

He then placed her down and rushed over to the watchtower as fast as his legs could carry him. When he got there he found the watchtower was empty and there was no sign of Ruffnut.

"Help!" Ruffnut's voice yelled.

"Ruff! No!" Tuffnut yelled as he thought the sound of her voice. He then saw her being dragged away by two Dragon Hunters. "The Dragon Hunters. Astrid. I gotta get Astrid."

* * *

Ruffnut had a bag over her head which was tied around her waist by a rope. She tried to break free, but the grip from the Dragon Hunters was too tight.

"When I get out of these chains, I'm gonna—"

The Hunters laughed. "You're gonna what?"

"Uh, I haven't decided yet, but rest assured you're not gonna like it!"

"Feisty, isn't she?" said one of the Hunters shoving her. "I like it."

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup, Ragnar, Snotlout and Johann were on the island searching for Fishlegs.

"And they just picked Fishlegs up and flew off?" said Hiccup.

"Yeah, definitely, that's how it happened," said Snotlout.

"If it wasn't for Skul lI would have been picked off," said Ragnar.

Hiccup looked at Johann. "Johann, did the wild dragons take anything from the ship? Food, freshwater, anything?"

Johann shook his head. "No, Master Hiccup. They seem only interested in terrorising me until you lot came along, then they start terrorising you. Which was a bit of relief, if I'm being honest. I've always been a great friend to the dragons. That they would turn on the like this, it's inconceivable."

"On the way they were attacking I have to say they were more focused on us rather than our dragons," said Ragnar.

"This doesn't make any sense," said Hiccup. "Nightmares, Nadders, Gronckles, even in the wild, these dragons shouldn't be this aggressive. I mean, from a Speed Stinger or a Changewing, those dragons I could understand, but maybe these guys have just never seen humans before."

"All I know is that we've been around these guys in the wild. None of them have ever acted like this," said Snotlout.

Hiccup nodded. "Snotlout, I hate to admit it, but you've got a point."

* * *

Meanwhile, on Dragon's Edge, Astrid was in her hut sharpening her axe. Then she saw Tuffnut running in panting.

"Tuff, you're okay?" Astrid asked. Tuffnut try to speak, but he was out of breath and Astrid quickly ran up to him. "Tuffnut, breathe. What's going on?"

"You have got to do something about those stairs," he panted. "I mean, there must be hundreds of them, there's over ten at least.

Astrid blinked. "That's it? The stairs?"

"Oh, no," he said shaking his head. "It's Ruffnut. They got Ruffnut."

"Who did?"

"The Dragon Hunters."

* * *

Moments later, the two of them were on top of Stormfly heading down towards the coast as fast as they could. Astrid was mentally kicking herself, because it was because of her that Ruffnut walked off.

"Ugh! This is all my fault," she said.

"Oh, tell me about it," said Tuffnut.

"I shouldn't have been so hard on her."

"You are too hard on her, on poor, poor sis."

"She's just Ruff being Ruff. She can't help it."

"Truer words, A. Truer words." Astrid then glared at him informing him that he shouldn't push it. "Sorry. Just trying to help you work through, you know, the shame, all the bad things that you did, all the things you should feel bad about, you know, get some closure."

Astrid shook her head and they finally approached the watchtower. They quickly landed and dismounted Stormfly. At once Tuffnut look towards the coast with a look of dread on his face.

"What is it?" Astrid asked.

"There may not be a Ruffnut to apologise to," he said. Astrid looked towards the coast and realise what he was looking at. In front of them was an entire armada of ships heading straight towards them. "In fact, there may not be any of us at all."

* * *

They didn't waste any time and return to Dragon's Edge. The moment they reached the clubhouse Astrid grabbed a parchment and a quill and quickly wrote something.

"Okay, what's the plan? We have get my sister back," said Tuffnut.

"First thing is to send an SOS to Berk," said Astrid she rushed over to Sharpshot and tied the message around his leg. "We need reinforcements, fast. The auxiliary team."

Tuffnut watch as Sharpshot flew out of the clubhouse and looked back at Astrid. "How we know he'll get here in time?"

"We don't," said Astrid as she pulled a collection of weapons onto the table.

"Well, how do we know they'll get back here in time?"

"We don't."

"Okay, there is a terrifying lack of clarity in those answers."

Astrid placed a on his shoulder. "It's all gonna be okay, Tuffnut. We're gonna hold down the Edge, defend this space, and we will get your sister back. Okay?" She then removed her hand. "Say 'Okay, Astrid.'"

"Okay, Astrid."

"Now, there is no possible way we can defend the Edge against an all-out assault with only one flyable dragon. But maybe, we can slow them down until help gets here if we use our spears and arrows sparingly."

"Wait!" Tuffnut yelled. "I know an even better way we can slow them down."

"Not now, Tuff. I need to think," said Astrid dismissively.

"No, seriously, Astrid! You need to hear this." Astrid just ignored him. "Listen to me!"

"All right, what? What is your idea?" she asked.

"Okay, well, as you know, tricking is my area of expertise. I am the official Dragon's Edge trickster. Trickster extraordinaire. The Mayor of Tricksville."

"Yeah. I get it," Astrid yelled in annoyance. "We all know how tricky you are."

"But, they don't! So, I figure, we tricked them into thinking there are more of us than there are. Can start with our scareships, and then build our own little tricking army," said Tuffnutpicking up the weapons. "It'll be awesome! Wait. I think I just had another idea. Whoa! Do you know how many Loki-ish thoughts are running through my mind right now?"

Astrid's face was emotionless. "Tuff—"

"It's like a hull again of practical jokes pounding on the inside of my head. Whoa, here comes one—"

"Tuffnut!" Astrid yelled.

"Yes?"

"This is not the time for pranks, or Loki-ing. This is a time for strategic thinking and precise preparation," said Astrid taking the weapons from Tuffnut and placing them down on the table. "There are times in life when you have to be serious." She then grabbed a knife. "Deadly serious, or people can die. We can die. Ruffnut can die." She then slammed the knife onto the table. "Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand. I am taking it seriously. I'm seriously a trickster. And I seriously have some ideas that can help."

Astrid rubbed her forehead. "Tuff, listen to me. You know all those times early in the morning when it's still dark outside and I'm out by myself on Stormfly?"

Tuffnut looked at her blankly. "Uh, well, I do now. Is this gonna get weird?"

"No. What I'm doing is training. Day and night, I train myself for situations just like this. That's why we're gonna do it my way."

"But, I have ideas. Good ideas."

"And, I believe you."

"No, you don't," said Tuffnut turning his back on her. The only thing you believe is that I'll mess this up and get us all killed."

"No. That's not true," said Astrid uncomfortably. "The only thing I believe right now is that we're wasting time arguing, when we should be preparing." She then grabbed the weapons of the table. "Come on, there's a lot to work to do."

Tuffnut then looked at her. "That's my sister out there, Astrid. And if this goes wrong and we don't save her, I couldn't live with myself."

Astrid knew there was no way she could convince him that her way was best. "You know what? You're right. You do what you have to do and I'm gonna set up our defences. Then we'll come together, and when the time is right, decide which one to use, okay?"

Tuffnut nodded. "Awesome plan. I like it! And we'll definitely end up using my. So, it's great."

"Good, just so long as we understand and agree that I leave the counter-attack and you follow me."

* * *

They spent the rest of the night working on their defence plans. Astrid was busy making some makeshift bolts for their ballista, while Tuffnut made a scareship of herself. She had her doubts that Tuffnut's plan was actually going to work.

She then grabbed all the barrow of Monstrous Nightmare gel from Snotlout's hut and saw that Tuffnut was still setting up his scareships and she just gave him a nervous smile and the thumbs up.

She then placed the Monstrous Nightmare gel in a catapult and heard rustling behind, she quickly grabbed her axe. However, it was just Tuffnut backing away while making tracks in the ground with a pair of boots.

* * *

It was close to dawn and the hunters return to Ryker, who had Dagur and Heather behind him. He wasn't best pleased to see that Ruffnut was with them.

"Well, guess you don't know the Dragon Riders as well as you thought, eh, Dagur?" said Ryker looking at Dagur.

Ruffnut scoffed. "You don't know 'em at all."

"Hey, at least my brother had a plan to get the Dragon Eye," said Heather defensively. "It's not his fault they didn't take the bait."

"They never left to rescue trader Johann from those dragons. The girl proves it," said Ryker gesturing to Ruffnut.

"Yeah. I prove that you've all been fooled," said Ruffnut.

"Then I guess we better leave. Come up with a new plan," Heather suggested.

"No new plans," said Ryker firmly. "We'll just have to deal with all of them instead."

"Listen, if you all want to go on a suicide mission, that your problem, buddy," said Ruffnut. "But don't say I didn't warn you!"

"She's lying! She's trying to confuse us," said Dagur.

"I'm always lying," said Ruffnut. She then paused trying to figure out what she just said. "Wait, now I'm confused."

"All she's telling us the truth to confuse us," said Heather.

Ryker looked at his Hunters. "Gather the men. We move slowly. Destroy anything in our path, until we get our Dragon Eye." He then boarded his boat and headed towards his flagship. "Then, we destroy whatever's left."

Dagur and Heather boarded a boat and Savage shoved Ruffnut aboard.

"Uh, excuse me, sir," said Savage as he pushed the boat away and then remembered Heather. "Oh, and ma'am. But there's something I've been wondering about."

"The daily occurrence, but go ahead," said Dagur.

"In regards to the Ryker fellow, it seems as though he's taking the role of leader. And, well, I was always under the assumption that this was your role."

Ruffnut scoffed. "That's not his role."

Dagur turned around to look at them. "It is, you dunderhead."

"We're just using Ryker for the time being," said Heather. "When he leads us to the Dragon Eye—"

"We figure out the most painful and horrible way to get rid of him and the rest of his crew. Duh!" Dagur finished as they pulled alongside Ryker's flagship.

"Ah! That's a relief," said Savage as they boarded Ryker's ship.

"Once we get the Dragon Eye, Ryker and his men?" Dagur then drew his finger across his neck. "See ya."

Ruffnut just shook her head. "That really is the single worst plan I ever heard—"

"Would you stop talking!" Dagur yelled.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup, Ragnar, Snotlout and Johann soon reached the canyon and Hiccup held his arms out.

"Stop. Don't move," he said.

He then forced them to lay down over the edge.

"Oh, finally," said Snotlout. "Do you know how long we've been walking? My feet swollen to the size of watermelons."

"Shh!" Hiccup hissed.

They looked over the edge and found that the canyon was full of wild dragons and they look extremely hostile.

Johann then looked at Hiccup. "Master Hiccup, I realise that you are the dragon expert among us—"

Snotlout then looked at them. "I would say the Dragon expert, I'd say—"

"Shh!" Hiccup, Ragnar and Johann hissed.

"As I was saying, it appears to me that this island is occupied by a rather unfriendly pack of wild dragons," said Johann.

Hiccup reached for his spyglass and look down into the canyon. "You're right, Johann," he said. "But it's worse than that."

"Oh, ho-ho, you're full of good news, aren't you?" said Snotlout as Hiccup passed the spyglass to Johann.

Ragnar pulled out his own spyglass. "Oh no," he said.

Johann looked through Hiccup's spyglass and gasped.

"Gimme that," Snotlout snapped snatching the spyglass from Johann. He looked through it and found that Fishlegs was surrounded by wild dragons and even from here he could tell that he was shaking with fear. "So, this means we get to go rescue him, I suppose."

"It does. And thank you for volunteering," said Hiccup. Snotlout confuse that statement, but Hiccup ignored him. "But it's not gonna be that easy."

"Since when has it ever been easy?" Ragnar asked.

"Yeah, with you as captain, I know it won't," Snotlout agreed.

"Right, you see up there?" Hiccup asked gesturing to a rock ledge. There they saw Monstrous Nightmares standing guard over the canyon. "Dragon sentries. They look like they're ready for anything. It's gonna be really hard to get anywhere near Fishlegs."

"Well, I suppose the life of a Dragon Rider is shorter than most," said Johann getting to his feet. "I'll miss in dearly."

"Good point, Johann," said Snotlout getting to his feet. "Let's get out of here."

"No, no we're not going anywhere," said Hiccup forcing them back down. "I said I was gonna be hard, not impossible."

* * *

Meanwhile it was dawn at Dragon's Edge and Astrid had just set up the last of the defences. Both she and Stormfly had set up a pile of logs at the edge of a cliff.

"This is our last line of defence, Stormfly," said Astrid. "If they make it this far, hopefully, these will take them out."

Stormfly notched her reassuringly and she rubbed her head. She then noticed Tuffnut fiddling with one of the balloons attached to his hut.

He managed to release it and he began to fly upwards into the sky. Astrid quickly mounted Stormfly and flew up to him.

"Uh, regardless of how this looks right now, I can assure you I have a master plan for these balloons," Tuffnut assured.

"I'm sure you do," said Astrid sceptically before flying off.

"Um, but Astrid, just a little quick thing," he stuttered. "Can you bring me down to Earth, before I fly into the sun?"

Astrid flew back and lowered him back down to the ground and he retied the balloons to his hut.

"Is it time?" he asked.

Astrid nodded. "It's time."

A few minutes later Astrid was at the clubhouse with Stormfly.

"This is gonna be a rough day, Stormfly. Whatever we have to face, I'm glad we're facing it together," she said hugging Stormfly.

She then heard Tuffnut grunting as he pulled a crate of weapons from the clubhouse.

"Hey, whatcha got there?" she asked.

"Ta-da! Only the solution of all of our problems," he said triumphantly. "I call Macey, but you can have any of the others, except maybe this sword and this axe."

Astrid just looked at him in disbelief. "Can't decide, huh?" said Tuffnut. "Yeah, I can understand that."

"Tuff, these weapons are all for close combat," Astrid pointed out. "If we get to that point, there's two of us and we're done."

"Oh. Well, no, I know that, but—"

"Listen, we don't have time. Just do me one favour."

"Fine, but—"

"The ballista on my roof, you know how to use it, right?" Astrid asked gesturing to her hut.

Tuffnut just blinked at her. "Uh, it's a massively destructive weapon, isn't it?"

"It is. So, get up there, and massively destroy things. But on my command, and not before," said Astrid. "Got it?"

"Got it," said Tuffnut and picked up Macey. "Come on, Macey."

Astrid then looked to the armada approaching towards them.

* * *

On Ryker's ship, Ryker was standing next to Dagur as they slowly approached Dragon's Edge.

"You feel the air?" he asked Dagur. "That's fear. Soon… it'll be death."


	22. Edge of Disaster Part II

After watch as the Hunters ships got closer and closer. She then hid the Dragon Eye behind a boulder and placed rocks on top of it.

"Just in case," she said.

"Come on, Astrid. My hammies are starting to cramp," said Tuffnut from on top of the ballista.

Astrid then mounted Stormfly and looked at the oncoming ships. "Wait for it." She waited for a few seconds until they were in range. "Now!"

Tuffnut fired the ballista and the bolts headed towards perfectly to the first oncoming ship.

"Incoming!" a Hunter yelled.

But it was too late, the bolt slammed into the ship and it began to sink. Then fire arrow hit the sale setting it ablaze.

"Yes! Who kicks Dragon Hunter butt? Tuffnut kicks Dragon Hunter butt," said Tuffnut cheering.

"Let's not start kicking our own butts yet," said Astrid flying up into the air.

"I'd didn't even know that was possible," said Tuffnut looking at his butt.

"This thing is far from over. Go!"

At once Tuffnut jumped off the ballista, slid off the roof of Astrid's hut and slid down the zip line. He let go just before he slammed into the watchtower and suddenly came to a stop before he fell over the edge.

He then rushed over to the catapult and grabbed a flaming stick. "Monstrous Nightmare gel plus open by equals…" He lit the barrow of gel on fire and released the catapult. It then slammed into the other ship causing a massive explosion. "Fun for all! Well, not all… Just for me, actually."

Astrid then flew down and Stormfly grabbed him. They then soared up into the sky and Tuffnut looked up at Astrid.

"Hey, Astrid, I was thinking, you know what would be great?" he said.

"If we stuck with what seems to be working really working?"

"Uh, no. That wasn't in it at all. I was thinking—"

"Save it, Tuff. That's what we're doing," said Astrid firmly.

Tuffnut just stuck his tongue out.

* * *

Meanwhile, it was morning at the island Hiccup and the others were stuck on. Fishlegs was still trapped in the canyon with the wild dragons, which were roaring at him angrily.

Hiccup the others looked over the edge mounted on the dragons.

"Okay, we all know the plan, correct?" Hiccup asked.

"Yes!" said Snotlout.

"Absolutely!" said Ragnar.

"No!" Johann cried.

"We all know the plan, you told us 25 times," said Snotlout. "Just so you know, I still object."

"That's nothing new," Ragnar muttered.

"Objection still noted," said Hiccup. He then looked at Johann, who was trying to mount a very excitable Meatlug. "Now Johann, your only job is to distract the dragon sentry on the far cliff. Approach it from the rear so that Meatlug doesn't see Fishlegs."

"Master Hiccup, why shouldn't Meatlug see Master Fishlegs?" Johann asked trying to calm Meatlug down.

"Because she might…" Hiccup paused not wanting to answer that question. "Well, we don't know what she'll do."

"Sure we do," said Snotlout.

Snotlout!" said Hiccup and Ragnar glaring.

"What? You don't think Johann should know what could happen to him?" Snotlout asked.

"Yes, I do," said Johann, who is now looking at Meatlug's rear end. "I think I should know what could happen to me."

"Nothing is going to happen to you, Johann," Hiccup assured. "You're going to be fine as long as you stick to the plan."

Fishlegs was extremely nervous as the dragons roared at him. Then their leader, an aqua blue and pinkish red Deadly Nadder, approached him.

Fishlegs chuckled nervously. "You may not know this, but from where I come from, I'm known as a friend to all dragons."

Deadly Nadder then turned towards a greenish yellow Monstrous Nightmare and the two of them look like they were having a conversation. It was then that Fishlegs noticed the scars on their bodies.

"Whoa. You sure do have a lot of scars, don't you? All you do, really," he frowned. "Wow, more than you should." He then approached the Monstrous Nightmare and look at one of the scars. "That looks like an arrow mark."

However the Deadly Nadder then blasted him with its fire breath attack. Fishlegs was very able to dodge it, but it was clearly a warning.

"Okay, okay…" he said holding his hands up. "I get it. Touchy subject. No problem."

Fishlegs then noticed a young Gronckle choking. Fishlegs quickly approached it and rolled it over. While he was busy examining it, the Deadly Nadder and many of the other dragons approached him thinking that he was doing harm to the young dragon.

"No, no, no… it's okay. I can help," Fishlegs assured.

He then slammed his fists on top of the Gronckle surprising the Deadly Nadder and then elbowed it in the chest. He slammed his elbow onto it one more time and that once it spat out a large chunk of rock which Fishlegs caught.

"Ah. Quartzite," he said examining the rock. "I thought so. Meatlug chokes on them all the time."

The young Gronckle then flew up and licked him on the face. The Monstrous Nightmare roared, but the Deadly Nadder stopped him. The young Gronckle then flew back to its parents and he looked at them happily

"Psst." Fishlegs turned and saw Hiccup and Toothless hiding behind a rock. "Fishlegs. We're here to rescue you. Are you okay?"

"Hiccup!" Fishlegs gasped.

"Yes, yes. It's me. Let's go while they're not looking."

Fishlegs quickly rushed over to. "Look at these dragons. They have scars all over them."

"Well, this is quite a diverse pack," said Hiccup. "They probably fight all the time. Now, can we just get out of here?"

"The scars aren't from other dragons, Hiccup," Fishlegs explained. "They're from humans. Those are arrow wounds, bola scars."

Hiccup understood what Fishlegs was getting at. "Dragon Hunters. That explains why dragons that can usually be trained would be so aggressive."

"They attack humans 'cause they've all been hurt by Dragon Hunters."

"Why would Dragon Hunters come near this place?" Hiccup frowned. His eyes widened. "Unless, they drove Johann here on purpose."

"Knowing that he would send for us?"

"It was a trap and we flew right into it."

"Speaking of flying, where's Meatlug?" Fishlegs frowned.

"They're right over that ridge," said Hiccup pointing at one of the cliffs. "Johann's riding her."

Fishlegs stared at him. "Johann? You let Johann ride my Meatlug? My Meatlug?" he yelled a bit too loudly.

His voice echoed across the canyon and Meatlug, who was hovering above the dragon sentry heard his voice and growled excitedly.

"Meatlug? Nice Meatlug," said Johann trying to calm her down. She then took off straight down towards the canyon must Johann's dismay. "Aah! Whoa! Down Meatlug!"

Johann screams awoke more the dragons and they all turn to find Mealtug flying through the canyon with a dragon sentry close behind her. They then noticed Hiccup and Toothless behind the rock.

Hiccup just smiled at them nervously and Toothless jumped from their hiding place roaring at them. A Monstrous Nightmare try to blast him, but Toothless jumped into the air and fired a plaster blast which it dodged.

The Deadly Nadder then fired its fire blast him, but like before he jumped out of the way.

From the ridge both Ragnar and Snotlout saw the entire display.

"Should have seen this one coming," said Ragnar.

"I knew this was going to happen!" Snotlout yelled.

"Please just get down here and help us," said Hiccup.

"We're coming," said Ragnar taking off.

"Oh, sure. Come bail us out again. It's always the Snot that has to clean up the mess," Snotlout muttered before taking off.

Fishlegs hid behind some rocks as the Deadly Nadder fired a fire blast. "Don't hurt them. None of this is their fault," he said.

Hiccup quickly mounted Toothless and took off just as a Monstrous Nightmare attacked with its fire breath attack.

"Fishlegs, come on!" Hiccup yelled.

Meatlug flew down towards Fishlegs excitedly as Johann tried to calm her down. "Meatlug! No!" he screamed.

Then the Gronckle family appeared out of nowhere placing themselves between them and Fishlegs. Despite this, Meatlug kept on flying towards him.

"Meatlug, no!" Fishlegs yelled. "There's too many of them and they don't know how lovable and awesome you are." Meatlug came to a stop and looked at Fishlegs sadly. "It's all right. Don't you worry."

The other riders were unable to assist, because the other dragons were blocking them.

"All right, guys, fall in behind me. We gotta regroup," said Hiccup.

They then took off heading back to the ridge.

"Go, girl. It's okay, go with Hiccup," Fishlegs assured.

Reluctantly, Meatlug did what she was told and follow the other riders back up to the ridge.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Dragon's Edge, Ryker wasn't too happy that is to advance ships had been destroyed.

"Both ships? They sunk both ships?!" he yelled furiously.

"I'd like to take this moment to point out that I did mention you'd be sorry for attacking the Edge," said Ruffnut smugly. "Just saying."

Ryker pulled out his sword and pointed the blade at her. "The only thing that I'm sorry about is that my men took you alive."

"Ryker, we've been over this," said Heather. "We don't kill any of the Dragon Riders until Viggo tells us to."

Ryker crumbled and walked away.

Heather then approached Ruffnut and whispered, "You need to be out of the way so you can't cause any more trouble."

"Me? Trouble? Heather, you know me better than that," Ruffnut pointed out. "In fact, might I remind you, I try to warn him and he wouldn't listen." She then turned and looked at Ryker's direction, much to Heather's dismay. "You might want to think about putting your listening ears on young man."

Ryker stopped and glared at her.

"No talking!" said Heather quickly grabbing Ruffnut. "I'll take care of her."

Heather then remove the bag over her head and tied her to a tree.

"You really think these ropes are gonna hold me? They're not even tight," said Ruffnut.

Heather quickly placed her hand over Ruffnut's mouth and moved ahead, implying that was the idea. She then removed her hand from Ruffnut hoping that she got the idea.

"Yeah, I mean, I could just seriously—"

Heather slammed her hand over her mouth once again and gestured her head once more. Then like before she removed her hand.

"What're you doing? Have something in your eye? Do I have something in my eye?"

"Second wave. Go. Now," Ryker ordered.

They watched as Ryker's men entered the forest hoping to attack the Edge from land instead of sea. Ryker then turned and looked at Heather.

"You! Take the dragon and attack from the sky!" Ryker ordered.

Heather just narrowed her eyes.

"It could be sand. I mean, we are on a beach. Or smoke. That always gets me," said Ruffnut.

Heather then walked away and she started have more respect of Hiccup's leadership skills and patience.

* * *

Later that evening the Hunters began to make their move on the Edge. Heather was flying over the sky and then saw some dense trees.

"That looks like as good a place for an ambush as any, eh, Windshear?" said Heather.

Windshear roared in agreement and they headed straight towards the trees.

"Ambush! Retreat! Back to the beachhead!" Heather yelled as she dived into the trees.

The Hunters could only see the rustle of trees and some flashing lights that Windshear produced with her shining armour. They quickly retreated from the trees and headed back to the beachhead.

"Hope you're holding the fort, guys," said Heather.

Another group of Hunters were making their way across the cliffs and Astrid flew over to the piles of logs she set up earlier last night.

"Okay, Stormfly. Spine Shot! Right where we practised!" Astrid yelled.

Stormfly then fired several spikes at the logs dislodging the rocks that were supporting them and they roll down the cliff. The Hunters ran away screaming as the logs traced them down the hill.

"That better be the last of them. 'Cause that's all we got, girl," said Astrid. Astrid stared in horror as more Hunters appeared. "Oh, no!"

* * *

It was late at night at the beachhead and Savage was giving the report to Ryker and Dagur.

"Sir, unfortunately, we've had some injuries and several deserters," he said.

"Deserters?" Dagur yelled. "Who?"

"Skarsgard, Nygren, Lars #2," said Savage counting them off his fingers.

"Completely expendable. All three, including '2,'" said Dagur dismissively.

"Lars #2 is my cousin," said Ryker.

"Oh, well, isn't that a great show of family support? Things get a little sticky and old Cousin Lars leaves us with our swords in our hands," said Dagur. He then looked right into Ryker's eyes. "Tell me, is that how you Hunters do things? Cause' I'd rather know now—" Ryker then growled at him. "Relax. I trust you. Every family has Lars #2. Now, back to the attack. I was figuring—"

Ryker then grabbed his throat. "I don't care how you do it. Just get it done." He then released Dagur, began gasping for breath. "Don't let anything happen to the Dragon Eye." Ryker then turned his back and walked away. "Everything else can burn to the ground."

"I don't have to take that from that guy," Dagur yelled. He then looked at Savage. "Do I have to take that from that guy?"

Savages shrugged.

" _Trap, snappy trap_ ," Ruffnut sang.

Dagur just stared at her. "What is she mumbling about?"

"Hello! Obviously, it's a trap," said Ruffnut.

Dagur then looked at Heather. "Will you shut up, please?"

Heather just smiled. "Gladly. Windshear!"

Windshear then fired a spike and it landed a few inches above Ruffnut's helmet. Ruffnut just looked at the spike and smiled nervously. "Okay, felt the wind on that one."

Heather then cleaned her throat and pointed up, trying to tell her that this was the perfect opportunity to escape. Ruffnut just stared at her blankly and Heather perform the same movement again.

Ruffnut just looked at the spike that Windshear had just fired. "Uh… I don't know."

Heather sighed. "She's killing me," she muttered and look towards the Ryker and Dagur. "I better check her ropes."

The two of them didn't really seem to take notice and she made her way over to Ruffnut. "Use the spine to cut your ropes. Take Windshear. They need help up there."

"Well, listen up! I was just waiting for the right moment to pounce," said Ruffnut. "And that moment is now."

Ruffnut then grabbed the spike sliced the ropes and head-butted Heather. She then quickly mounted on Windshear and when Heather managed to see clearly she saw her flying away in the opposite direction.

"And she's going the wrong way," said Heather.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Dragon's Edge, Astrid and Tuffnut met up at the clubhouse. Astrid had run out of ideas and would only be a matter of time before the Hunters reached their position.

"There you are," said Tuffnut as Astrid entered. "Listen, I've been thinking a lot—"

"It's over, Tuff," said Astrid cut crossed. "We tried, but there's just too many of them. My plan didn't work."

"I found the Dragon Eye," said Tuffnut holding out the Dragon Eye. "Someone buried it."

"I did that, to keep it from the Hunters," said Astrid snatching it from Tuffnut's hands.

"You wanna be captured and tortured by crazed Dragon Hunters, or listen to Plan Tuffnut?" Tuffnut asked.

Astrid just stared at him. "Your plan? Well, what do we have to lose?"

"Quite a bit, actually. The huts, Fishlegs' topiaries, Macey, our lives…" Tuffnut then blinked. "Wait, that was a rhetorical question. Was it? Oh no, now I think that's rhetorical."

* * *

Meanwhile the island, Hiccup and the others were looking down at the canyon at Fishlegs, who was still surrounded by dragons. He then explained to them why they were so aggressive.

"So, lemme get this straight," said Snotlout. "Those really crazy whack-out dragons don't want to hurt our dragons?"

"Right," Hiccup nodded.

"They just want to hurt us?"

"Correct."

"Because they think we're Dragon Hunters and are going to hurt them and our dragons?"

"That's about the size of it."

"That is quite the conundrum," said Johann.

"Indeed, this is gonna make things a lot more difficult," said Ragnar looking into the canyon. "So basically we have to find a way to rescue Fishlegs without hurting those dragons down there, who will tell us and Fishlegs to shreds if we come anywhere close."

"Yeah, it's not easy," said Hiccup.

"It never is," said Ragnar.

"Look, why don't you just go in there and have a talk with the big dragon in charge, tell them that we're not Dragon Hunters, and that these guys love us," said Snotlout gesturing to their dragons.

"You know, there may be something to that," said Hiccup.

"Thank you. Now, off you go," said Snotlout swinging his arms down into the canyon. "If you don't come back, we'll tell everyone you died heroically."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," said Ragnar.

"Okay, here's the plan," said Hiccup. "Toothless and I will go in there and get the dragons riled up and lure as many of them out as we can, starting with the leader. Then you, Ragnar and Johann—"

"Uh, Master Hiccup, I feel as though one more ride on that dragon may turn my insides into my outside," said Johann.

"You'll be fine, Johann," Hiccup assured. "As soon as Toothless and I have them following us, you guys sneak in and grab Fishlegs. Without their leader, it shouldn't be a problem."

"Ha! We've heard that before," said Snotlout.

"All right, fine, you rile the dragons up and get them to follow you. That sounds better to you?"

"Hey, calm down, cranky. I was just exploring our options," said Snotlout defensively as he placed his arm on Johann's shoulder.

"Not like we had many of them," Ragnar pointed out.

"All right, so can we go then?" Hiccup mounting Toothless and then took off.

Johann rubbed his beard. "This does remind me of a time—"

"Johann, if you tell me one of your stories, I swear I will turn your inside into your outsides," Snotlout warned.

"For another day, then," said Johann. "Off we go."

Hiccup was now flying over open sea with the most of the dragons close on his tail.

"Okay, bud. Let's see how long we can keep these guys busy," he said patting Toothless on the head.

Suddenly a Deadly Nadder appeared right in front of them and Toothless dive down just as the Nadder toss spikes at them. They flew under it and Hiccup turned to face them trying to prevent Toothless from attacking.

"We're not here to fight, bud," said Hiccup. "Toothless, sky!"

Toothless soared upward into the sky and the dragons followed him.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the canyon, Ragnar and the others found Fishlegs snoring on the ground.

"Let's hurry up with this ridiculous plan before it falls apart, which will," said Snotlout as they dismounted their dragons.

"In fairness, most of the times it falls apart because of certain individuals," Ragnar pointed out.

"Like who?" Snotlout blinked.

Ragnar rolled his eyes. "Let's just get Fishlegs out of here."

They then made their way over to Fishlegs and discovered that he was hugging the baby Gronckle.

"You've got to be kidding," said Ragnar.

"Is he actually sleeping?" Snotlout stared.

"It would appear so," said Johann.

Meatlug made her way over to Fishlegs, but looked extremely disappointed when she saw the baby Gronckle in his arms.

"Well, that's going to set their relationship back of it," said Ragnar rubbing the back of his head.

"Jealousy is not a good look on you, Meatlug," Snotlout teased. "Maybe you could 'wake him up.' Let him know how you feel."

Meatlug certainly did that, she marched up to him and turned her back towards him. Next second she farted and almost instantly Fishlegs awoke gasping for air.

"Meatlug?" he blinked getting up. "I knew that was you."

"We came to rescue you," said Snotlout. "Now get your butt on that gas bag and let's get out of here before those lunatic dragons wake up and their powers come back."

"But where's Hiccup?" Fishlegs blinked.

"Let's say that he's socialising with the dragons," said Ragnar.

* * *

Hiccup was finding that trying to convince the dragons he was a friend was extremely tricky. Especially since they kept on trying to knock him off Toothless.

"It's okay, bud. They're just trying to save you from me," he assured. "They think I'm trying to hurt you."

He saw the dragons with getting closer. "Higher, Toothless!"

Toothless began to climb, but the dragons were still gaining and then the dragons' leader appear the cloud out of nowhere and knocked Hiccup off of Toothless.

"Toothless!" Hiccup yelled.

Toothless saw that Hiccup had been knocked off and quickly flew down towards him. However the dragons' leader and a Deadly Nadder pressed against Toothless trying to prevent him from rescuing Hiccup. Fortunately he was strong enough to knock them away with his wings, but there was no way he could rescue Hiccup in time.

Hiccup realise this as well. "Okay, bud, I guess we don't have a choice," he said.

Fortunately, Hiccup had left Dragon's Edge with his flight suit and he strapped the wings to his wrists and chain the other end to his ankles. He then spread his arms out and managed to catch the wind through the wings.

Just in time as two Deadly Nadder fire their fire blasts at him. Toothless and glided alongside him and they made it to a nearby sea stack. However, Hiccup didn't get the landing quite right and would have fallen off the edge if Toothless had and grabbed his leg with his mouth.

Hiccup sighed. "Thanks, bud, that was close."

Then the dragons landed on the sea stack and they parted to allow their leader to approach them. Toothless took up a fighting stance, but Hiccup calmed him down.

"Easy, Toothless. No sudden moves," he said calmly.

Hiccup looks at the dragons and then at the edge, there was no way for them to escape this time. The dragons roared at them and Toothless was about to fire a plasma blast, but Hiccup stopped him in time.

"Toothless, wait."

Hiccup approached the leader, who was flapping its wings about. Hiccup then raised his arms revealing the wings of his flight suit. The leader jumped back in surprise and stared at them curiously.

"Pretty cool, right?" said Hiccup as the leader sniffed them. "Yeah, you see. We're not so different." He then rubbed Toothless. "We're not like those Hunters. We would never hurt a dragon."

* * *

Meanwhile, at Dragon's Edge, the Hunters were now scaling the cliffs with rope. Then suddenly they saw some strange slimy substance rolling down the rope. They looked up to see Astrid and Tuffnut, who was pouring the ooze over the ropes.

"Hello!" Astrid yelled waving. She then looked at Tuffnut looking quite impressed. "Rope soaked with Monstrous Nightmare gel? I wouldn't have thought of that."

"Would you like to do the honours?" Tuffnut asked Stormfly.

Stormfly then lit the ropes on fire and the flames flowed down the ropes thanks to the gel. This forced the Hunters to release their grip on the ropes and they landed into the water.

"All right! What's next?" Astrid asked.

"Oh, you're gonna love this," said Tuffnut laughing sneakily.

* * *

A few of the Hunters may had reached the platforms were now heading up to the main base, but they came to a sudden stop when a spear landed inches away from them. They looked up and saw several shadowy figures looking down at them.

These shadowy figures were nothing more than the twins scareships made the design to look like the other Riders. Both Astrid and Tuffnut were mimicking the other Riders voices in order to scare them off.

"Take that, you lousy Dragon Hunters," said Tuffnut with his best interpretation of Stoick. "You're dealin' with Stoick the Vast now, boy-oy-oy-oy-oy!"

Hunters backed away in fear.

"Snotlout! Snotlout! Oi, oi, oi!" Tuffnut yelled doing an interpretation of Snotlout.

"I mean, who hands dragons anyway?" said Astrid mimicking Hiccup. "Dragons are our friends."

She then tossed a spill at one of the Hunters.

"Wow, I'm Fishlegs! This is how I sound! It's really me!" said Tuffnut mimicking Fishlegs and tossed several rocks at them. Hunters began to run away screaming. "That's right. You don't want none."

"Chew on this, Hunters!" Astrid yelled mimicking Ragnar and tossed several of Ragnar's explosives down on top of them.

The explosions did it and they wash as the Hunters ran away screaming.

* * *

Dagur was now leading some men in the forest in the host to attack them from behind.

"Keep moving, men," he said.

He then saw Astrid through the canopy, who fired several spikes at them. However, because she was up so high they all missed.

"They can't shoot us through this canopy of trees," said Dagur smirking. "Nice try, Astrid! Your puny little Nadder spines are useless from up there."

They continued through the forest and then saw several figures hiding behind trees.

"Look, there they are, in the trees," said Dagur pointing. "Fire, boys! Fill 'em full of wood!"

At once the Hunters unleashed their arrows and they hit the figures. But the figures weren't Riders at all, they were just plain old balloons and they were unleashing a strange kind of gas into the air.

Dagur walked away happily and then sniffed the air. "What's that smell? I know that smell." His eyes widened as he realised what it was. "It's Zippleback gas. She was driving us into a trap." He turned and saw the hunted preparing to fire some fire arrows. "Not the flaming—"

Astrid watched in the air happily as a huge explosion when across the forest.

Dagur just stood there smouldering and coughing. "…arrows."

* * *

At the beach, Ryker saw Dagur and the others returning still steaming from the explosion.

"I swear, I will wear that Night Fury's head as a hat," Ryker growled.

"I called dibs already on the hat thing a long time ago, so back it down, big boy!" Dagur yelled furiously. "Besides, that wasn't a Night Fury. It was just Zippleback gas." His eyes widened as he realised something. "Wait a minute. No Night Fury."

Ryker raised an eyebrow. "So?"

"So? There was no Night Fury. Which begs the question, where was Hiccup and his little plasma-blasting buddy? For that matter, where was Ragnar and his flying skeleton, the Gronckle and the big orange one with the dim-witted kid?"

"Of course! They split up!"

* * *

At the Edge, Tuffnut was looking through the spyglass trying to find the Hunters. He saw them all right and it looked like they were making one final push.

"Oh, come on! Are these guys serious?" he said. "What is it gonna take?"

He knew they can keep this up any longer and turned to look at Astrid. "Astrid, take Stormfly and go. The Dragon Hunters are never gonna give up, no matter what we do. I'll hold them off so you can make it out."

"No way. I'm not leaving you," said Astrid firmly.

"Okay, then how would I take Stormfly and you hold them off?" Astrid stared at him and realise that he was joking. "Kidding. I almost got you though, right?"

"Yeah, you did," Astrid admitted.

Then several arrows shot over their heads. "All right, whatever we're going to do, we need to do it fast."

"What you think about another crazy, out of control, brilliant idea?" Tuffnut asked.

Astrid just smiled.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup was now flying back to the island and the wild dragons were following close behind him. Soon the other riders met up with him, he noticed that Johann was riding on Skull just behind Ragnar.

"Uh… excuse me?" said Fishlegs staring at Hiccup. "Did you know there's an entire pack of angry wild dragons following you?"

"You don't say?" said Hiccup.

"You're really losing your touch, Hiccup," said Snotlout flying alongside him. "I mean, there literally, like, right behind you."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Yes, I know, Snotlout. And I couldn't be happier about it."

"All right! Hiccup has officially lost his mind," said Snotlout.

"Or he managed to find a way to calm them down," said Ragnar rubbing his forehead.

"Well, they're not trying to eat us," Fishlegs noted. "So I'd say something's changed."

"They saw my wings and they knew I wasn't a threat," said Hiccup.

"I suppose they considered you more dragon like and dragons don't hurt one of their own," said Ragnar.

"This is amazing discovery," said Fishlegs.

"And we have the Dragon Hunters to thank for it," said Hiccup.

"Speaking of which, is that not Heather?" Snotlout asked pointing.

They looked ahead and saw Windshear flying towards them, but it wasn't Heather riding her it was Ruffnut.

"There you are," said Ruffnut. She then noted the dragons behind them. "Hey, where'd you get all the cool dragons?"

"Long story," said Hiccup. "Why are you riding Windshear?"

"Equally long story. Right now, we need to get back to the Edge before there's no Edge to get back to."

Hiccup stared at her knowing that something bad was going on.

* * *

At Dragon's Edge, the Hunters were now making their final attack on the outpost.

"Don't stop until you kill every last one of them," Ryker ordered.

The Hunters then began to scale the cliff.

"Good evening Mr. Ryker," said a voice. Ryker looked up to see Tuffnut standing on the edge of the cliff stroking Chicken, who was in his arms. "We've been expecting you."

Ryker looked to his man. "You can start with this one. But save the chicken." He then smiled evilly at them. "I like chicken."

Chicken looked up at Tuffnut. "Not to worry, my little fricassee. You will be anyone's meal tonight."

He then began chanting some sort of gibberish into the air.

Ryker looked at the air with his arms behind his back, but saw nothing. Then suddenly the Night Terrors appeared taking the form of a giant Night Fury. The Hunters began to run at the sight of it.

Ryker then grabbed the bow of one of Hunters that ran away. "Hold your ground!" he yelled.

He then aimed the arrow at the Night Terrors and fired it. The arrow hit Smigvarg and that once the Night Terror leader fell to the ground in a daze. Without their lead at the Night Terror dispelled finding all sorts of directions.

Ryker then turned and looked at Tuffnut. "You don't think I've seen what Night Terrors can do? You people never learn."

"I can say the same for you, Ryker," said Astrid's voice. They looked up and saw Astrid flying in the air flying right next to the dispelled Night Terrors. "Stormfly, now!"

Stormfly then blasted the Night Terror with her breath attack. This caused them to panic and they flew straight at the Hunters attacking them.

"Get up!" Ryker ordered angrily.

His men paid him no mind as the Night Terrors bit, scratched at them and chased them across the area. Astrid landed smiling at the chaos, but then she was knocked off Stormfly by Dagur.

They landed hard to the ground, but Astrid was able to kick him off and drew her axe. Dagur got to his feet and did the same.

"Hello, Astrid," he said.

Astrid then charges him screaming and rolled to dodges his swing and then kicked him in the chest sending him backwards. She then pinned him to the cliff wall with her axe.

Meanwhile, Ryker, Heather and two of the Hunters works scaling the cliff wall. Tuffnut looked over the edge and saw them getting closer.

"It's not over for us, Chicken. We do not go out like this," he said. He then looked at Chicken. "Promise me you'll fight till the end." Chicken just remain silent. "Promise me!" Chicken then clucked. "I knew I could count on you. You take the little ones. The big one is mine."

He then threw chicken right off the cliff and she slammed into one of the Hunters and he in turn hit into the other one. This caused the two of them to fall to the ground hard.

Ryker looked up at Tuffnut. "All right, Ryker. Gimme back my sister."

"I'll tell you what, get past me and she's all yours," said Ryker.

Tuffnut then jumped off the cliff and slammed right into Ryker. Tuffnut cushion the impact by using Ryker as a shield and he didn't waste any time and started to punch across the face before he can get to his feet. Ryker managed to get to his feet and Tuffnut jumped slamming his feet into a, but all it did was cause him to fall to the ground.

Ryker then pulled out his blades and was about to deal the final blow, but then an explosion appeared behind him and he was sent flying.

"What?" said Tuffnut getting to his feet.

Everyone looked up just as the sun rose they could see Hiccup reading the other Riders and an entire army while dragons straight towards them.

"Why does he have to make such a production everything?" said Dagur. "I really hate that guy."

Astrid then dealt an uppercut knocking him out cold.

"All right, gang, let's clean up this mess," said Hiccup.

"With pleasure," said Ragnar.

"Oh, yeah!" Snotlout yelled. "I love the smell of Zippleback gas in the morning!"

Ragnar and Snotlout began to torch the ground with their by breath attacks causing the Hunters to fall back. Fishlegs fide plasma blaster the Hunter melting his sword. Wild dragons began to attack the Hunters, sinking their boats and blasting them on the shore.

Heather then pulled out a horn and blew. At once Windshear, who still had Ruffnut on her back flew beneath her. Heather then released her grip on the cliff wall and landed on her.

"Hey, Heather," said Ruffnut.

"Hey, Ruffnut," said Heather before punching her in the face knocking her off Windshear. "That's for improvising."

Fortunately, Tuffnut showed up and she landed on Barf and Belch's back.

"Hey, sis. How's it hanging?" Tuffnut asked.

"I cannot figure that go out," said Ruffnut.

"One might say she's an enigma wrapped in a riddle, wrapped in yak bacon."

"One might," said Ruffnut as she mounted Barf. "Shall we wreak some havoc?"

"We shall."

The twins then flew over the Hunters creating explosions everywhere. The Hunters were not prepared for this, they had to deal with the Riders and the wild dragons and it was a fight they weren't prepared for and so they began to retreat.

"Hey!" Dagur yelled as Astrid, who was ridding onto of Stormfly, backed him against the wall.

Astrid looked up at Heather and the two of them nodded. Heather then fired several spikes at Astrid and she was forced to fly away. Heather then landed in front of Dagur.

Ryker had just regained consciousness after the explosion Hiccup caused.

"Ryker!" Hiccup yelled.

Ryker looked up at Hiccup and the two of them glared at one another. "We will meet again, Hiccup Haddock!"

Heather then flew over Ryker and he grabbed one of Windshear's talents. Then Heather flew Dagur and Ryker back to the Hunters ships.

* * *

Later that morning, Hiccup approached Astrid and Tuffnut at the stables.

"How did you manage to hold them off so long?" Hiccup asked.

"It's called teamwork," said Astrid and looked at Tuffnut. "Right, Ruff?"

"I'll go along with that. Since I'm captain of Team Tuffnut," said Tuffnut.

"Well, you must feel extra guilty," said Ruffnut looking at Astrid.

"Actually, I am," Astrid admitted.

"And sorry."

"Definitely."

"And completely, 100 percent embarrassed and exposed." Astrid just glared at her. "Too much?" Astrid nodded. "Sorry. I accept your apology, my dear Astrid."

"Hiccup, we've got to return these dragons to the island," said Fishlegs appearing out of the stables. "We just do not have the room."

His point was proven when the wild dragons' leader scared several Night Terrors out of the stables.

"Okay, who's up for field trip?" Hiccup asked.

They then mounted the dragons and took off.

"You guys have to see this island," said Hiccup as the left the Edge.

However, none of them realise that they left Johann at the stables.

"Hello?" Johann called as Smigvarg climbed onto his shoulders. "Is anybody here? Master Hiccup? Hello? Where is everyone?"


	23. Shock and Awe

It was a nice peaceful morning on Dragon's Edge and Fishlegs was having a nice peaceful stroll along a nearby cove with Meatlug.

"Here you go, baby," he said tossing a few rocks to Meatlug, who ate them happily. "Wow, that big storm washed up all kinds of cool things up here."

He then noticed several rocks lying on some nearby stones. "Quartz, Icelandite." He then noticed a rather large piece of rock and looks quite excited. "Travertine, Meatlug!"

He began to reach out for it, but it rolled off the stone by itself. "What the…"

The rocked rolled towards a nearby bush and he and Meatlug approached it. Then suddenly began to rustle and just as Fishlegs began to lean over it the twins appeared all of a sudden behind it.

"Loki'd!" they yelled.

Fishlegs and Meatlug jump back in surprise and toppled over. The twins laughed.

"Loki'd. It never gets old," Tuffnut laughed holding out the Travertine on a piece of string.

"Nope," Ruffnut agreed.

"Don't you to have anything better to do?" Fishlegs groaned as he and Meatlug got back onto their feet.

"Are you kidding? On Loki Day?" said Tuffnut.

"The day of our favourite god's birth?" said Ruffnut.

Tuffnut began to swing the Travertine on a string in front of Meatlug. "One of the greatest days of pranking ever conceived by any man, woman, child, animal, vegetable, mineral of rock?"

Suddenly Meatlug tackled him and ate the Travertine "No stop, stop!" Tuffnut screamed. He then clutched his shoulder in pain. "Ah, my arm!"

Fishlegs gasped in horror.

"My arm!" Tuffnut sobbed.

"How could you, Meatlug?" said Ruffnut glaring at the Gronckle. "You were always such a gentle dragon."

"I'll never be able to clap again, and you know how much I love applause," Tuffnut groaned.

"Meatlug didn't mean it," said Fishlegs approaching the injured Tuffnut. "She—"

Then suddenly Fishlegs was punched in the face and he was sent backwards. He looked up and growled, because Tuffnut arm was intact, he simply hid it in his shirt.

"It's still here, I still have the arm!" Tuffnut cried. "Do we really need to say it?"

"I think we do. We've earned it," said Ruffnut.

"Loki'd!" they both cried.

Fishlegs just walked away angrily as did Meatlug.

"The missing arm gag," said Tuffnut looking at his arm.

"Classic Loki. Only outdone by the missing leg trick," said Ruffnut sadly.

"Yeah, but that's been done to death. Gotta keep it above the waist these days."

"Hiccup. What a show of," Ruffnut mutters.

Fishlegs and Meatlug continue their stroll down the cove getting as far away from the twins as possible.

Fishlegs picked up a rock was about to toss it to Meatlug, but then he heard something. It was hard to describe it sounded like a strange sort of buzzing, but it was unlike any buzzing he ever heard before. He squinted at the lagoon, which was covered by a low fog and he definitely saw something.

It looks like a pair of hands. He sighed thinking that it was another prank from the twins.

"Very funny, you two. 'Loki Day,'" he said laughing sarcastically. "I get it. Joke's on Fishlegs."

He then turned around and his eyes widened, because out of the fog came the twins and Barf and Belch.

"You say something?" Tuffnut asked.

"Wait, wait, if you too are here and Barf and Belch over there, then…" He turned around, but the heads he saw had disappeared and all he could hear was something diving into the water and he whimpered.

He looked at the twins. "You saw that, right?"

"Oh, my Thor. I did!" said Tuffnut.

"Really?"

"No!"

"Not at all. Not even…"

Ruffnut laughed as the two of them ran back into the fog.

Fishlegs just turned and looked back at the open lagoon not sure on what he saw.

* * *

Later that day he returned to Dragon's Edge and began to explain what he saw at the cove in the clubhouse with the other Riders.

"It had two heads, maybe three. And it made this weird sound, like nothing I'd ever heard before," he explained. "It was like a…" He then roared and made a buzzing sound.

"Oh, my Thor. That's incredible, Fishlegs," said Snotlout.

"I know, right?" said Fishlegs excitedly.

"Wrong! Not getting me on Loki Day." He then began to walk out of the clubhouse. "If it isn't already obvious to you all, I am way smarter than—"

Then suddenly he stepped in a snare trap I was now hanging upside down over the entrance to the clubhouse.

"Obviously. Much smarter," said Fishlegs sarcastically.

The twins then appeared and yelled in Snotlout's ears. "Loki'd!"

"Ha, ha, ha. Fine. You got me," said Snotlout. "But I still don't believe Fishlegs about that creature in the lagoon."

"Creature in the Edge Lagoon," said Tuffnut dramatically. "Just when you thought it was safe to take a bath in a lagoon."

Everyone just stared at him.

"Okay. Any day now," said Snotlout.

"Toothless," said Hiccup.

Toothless fired a plasma blast which burnt through the rope and caused Snotlout before hard on the floor.

"Thanks," Snotlout wheezed. "Much appreciated."

"Look, you can Loki all you want. I know what I saw," said Fishlegs firmly.

"We've been swimming and fishing in that cove for months, Fishlegs," Hiccup pointed out. "Don't you think we would've seen something if there was something to see?"

"Fishlegs, we believe you saw something," said Ragnar. "We're just not sure if what you saw was real."

"Are you sure it wasn't just the light coming through the fog?" Astrid asked. "It can play really weird tricks. Especially about hour."

"Sounds more like somebody got Loki'd by the fog," said Tuffnut.

"It wasn't the fog, you guys," said Fishlegs firmly. "There's something out there. Something real. And, as usual, you won't believe until I prove it."

* * *

Later that day, Fishlegs was hovering over the lagoon holding a piece of rope with a fish attached to it.

"All of Thor's creatures have to eat. Right, girl?" he said to Meatlug.

He then tossed the fish into the lagoon and then they began to wait. For hours and hours, but still nothing took the bait.

" _Well, I've got my Meat, And I've got my Lug. And a great heart, Filled with Fishlegs love. I am a Dragon Rider through and through,_ " Fishlegs sang.

Fishlegs then yawned. "All right, Meatlug, one more time."

Fishlegs continue to sing, but the hours of waiting had finally taken their toll on both of them. A few minutes later Fishlegs was laying on top of Meatlug and began to snore. Meatlug, herself was getting tired as well and she began to lose altitude.

Then, just as Meatlug sank heard clause into the water, the two of them suffered with a massive electrical shock that woke them up immediately. Fishlegs was flung off Meatlug and landed in the water.

Fishlegs looked around and saw something swimming through the water, but it was hard to make out. He felt it swimming around him and then appeared right in front of him swimming straight towards him.

Fortunately, Meatlug's rope appeared close by and he grabbed it and it was tossed out of the water.

"I knew I was right! It lives!" Fishlegs cried.

He then fell back into the water and saw the creature swimming straight towards him. He covered his eyes and then was shot over the water once more with a massive electrical surge passing through him.

He soon headed back into the water, but Meatlug caught in this time any breathed with relief. "Oh, Thor, I promised I wouldn't stay up late reading books any more. I promise I won't pocket extra burly cakes. I promise I'll tell Snotlout why hit his favoured axe."

He then looked down at lagoon and saw the creature swimming beneath the water and it was making a break for it towards the open sea in the gap in the mouth of the cove.

"Hey, Meatlug, it's trying to get out!" said Fishlegs. "Come on, girl, we have to close the exit. Those guys will never believe it was here if we let it get away."

Fishlegs then flew towards the coves mouth and Meatlug spewed some rather closing the gap.

"Not to mention the fact that we'll get to study it," he added excitedly. "Who knows? It could be a whole new species." He then can't himself down. "Oh, I'm getting ahead of myself. Keep dumping, girl."

Meatlug continued to spew lava to close the gap even more and preventing the creature from escaping into the open sea.

* * *

Fishlegs then return with the other Riders towards the lagoon each carrying a large bucket of fish.

"Last time I saw the creature, it was heading for the deepest part of the cove," he said.

"Is it more like a giant fish? Or a big snake?" Astrid asked.

"I don't know, it was hard to tell from underwater. Everything looked kind of fuzzy and misshapen."

"You sure you aren't looking at Meatlug?" Snotlout joked.

"Ha, ha. Very funny."

"Well, whatever it is, we'll find it," Hiccup assured.

"We should at least determine if there is any more like it and see if it poses a threat," said Ragnar.

As they flew, Snotlout glared at the twins. "Where did you two hide my axe?" The twins just looked at each other puzzled. "I know it's Loki Day, but come on, it was my favourite one."

Fishlegs looks slightly guilty and quickly change the subject. "Okay, let's fan out and find the creature. Don't get too close to the water."

"How do we really know it's real?" Snotlout asked.

"Because it bit me!" said Fishlegs showing them his leg.

Ragnar frowned. "That's not a bit, it's a burn."

"Grab your buckets," said Hiccup. "We're gonna chum the water to see if it'll shows itself again."

"Not me. No way," said Snotlout. "Loki Day trick. I can smell it from a mile away."

Everyone then suddenly stopped and turned to face Snotlout, who was hovering close towards the lagoon was starting to bubble.

"I mean, how dense does he think we are?"

"Uh, Snotlout?" said Hiccup.

"What?"

Suddenly bursting out of the water with a two-headed dragon that resembled a manta ray. It slammed into Hookfang and at once electricity flowed through both him and Snotlout.

Fishlegs just stared, speechless. "That's… that's not a creature at all."

"It's a dragon," said Hiccup.

"And not just any Dragon. It's a Seashocker!" Ragnar gasped.

* * *

Moments later they landed at the cove and stared into the lagoon. Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs were quite excited in this discovery.

"A Seashocker! Right in our cove! And I found him," said Fishlegs excitedly.

"You mean you trapped him," Tuffnut corrected.

"I didn't tr—" Fishlegs stopped when he figured out that Tuffnut was right. "Argh!"

"I gotta tell you, Fishlegs, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I'm not sure I believe it," said Hiccup.

"No kidding, they're extremely rare and hardly anyone ever sees them," said Ragnar.

"Right? Seashockers are extremely difficult to spot because they hardly ever surface," said Fishlegs.

Snotlout sighed he knew that the three of them were entering to dragon geek mode.

"Yeah, Seashockers usually stay in deep water and they never travel this far inland," said Ragnar.

"Exactly. Which explains why it didn't take my bait," said Fishlegs.

"It only eats deep-sea fish!" the three of them said at once.

"Exactly," said Hiccup.

"Geek mode, fully engaged," said Snotlout.

"Okay, can we step away from the onslaught of dragon knowledge?" Tuffnut asked.

"With pleasure, brother," said Ruffnut.

The twins then slowly stepped backwards and Tuffnut smirked as he came to a stop. Ruffnut kept walking backwards were a few more pieces and then the ground gave way and she fell through a deep hole.

"Loki'd!" Tuffnut yelled into the hole.

"What?" Rufnfut yelled. "I thought we were on the same team!"

"Sorry, sis. A team is only as strong as its weakest player."

"As soon as I get out of this hole, it is on!"

"Just wait till she sees the snake I put down there," Tuffnut whispered to Snotlout.

They then heard a snake hissing and heard Ruffnut screaming.

"You are truly a master," said Snotlout.

Tuffnut just smiled smugly.

"Jerk!" Ruffnut yelled.

"I think she saw it," said Tuffnut.

However, Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs were more focused on the Seshocker in the lagoon.

"How lucky are we?" said Fishlegs excitedly. "To be able to study a Seashocker this closely?"

"Indeed it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," said Ragnar.

They saw the Seashocker emerge from the water with electricity sparking between its two heads. It then dived back down into the water.

"Okay, but we have to be careful," said Hiccup. "We don't want to hurt the dragon."

"Oh, Hiccup, when would I ever hurt a dragon?" Fishlegs asked.

They then flew up into the air over the lagoon. From where they will position they could see the Seashocker swimming through the water.

"Look at how fluidly it moves through the water," said Fishlegs in awe. "Truly masterful."

"What's it even doing here?" Snotlout asked.

"It must've gotten separated from its pod," said Hiccup.

"That's definitely likely, especially since the storm we experienced last night. It can get pretty rough underwater as well as above during a storm," said Ragnar.

They watched the Seashocker swimming through the water and it looks as if it was panicking.

"It looks kind of agitated," Astrid noted.

"Can't say I blame it," said Ragnar. "Seashocker's preferred very deep water this lagoon is too shallow for it and let's not forget it separated from its pod."

"Great idea, Fishlegs," said Snotlout sarcastically. "Let's mess with the angry zapper-heads."

"Yeah, I actually think I agree with Snotlout on this one," said Hiccup. "The Seashocker look stressed. I think we should help it out of the cove."

"It needs to swim in deeper water and it needs to reunite with its pod," said Ragnar.

"I know, I know, I know, but after I get some measurements," said Fishlegs. "Astrid, can you position yourself near the tail, and then I'll come over here and…"

They watched as Fishlegs flew down to the lagoon wards where the Seashocker's head starts. Snotlout flew in closer towards Hiccup and Ragnar, who weren't happy about this one bit.

"He's not listening to you," said Snotlout looking at Hiccup.

"I know," said Hiccup.

"This is a really bad idea."

"Yes, it is."

"You should listen to me more often."

"Nah, I shouldn't."

They watched as Fishlegs and Astrid began to take measurements of the Seashocker, who was getting more agitated by the second.

"Based on the Seashocker's length and coloration, I say it's a healthy, young adult male," said Fishlegs.

That's when it happened, the Seashocker was so stressed that his entire body began to flow with electricity. He then flew towards both Fishlegs and Astrid and jumped out of the water, the two Riders barely have enough time to dodge it and that really scare the dragons.

"Whoa, Stormfly!" said Astra trying to calm her down.

"All right, Fishlegs, I think we've seen enough," said Hiccup.

"Don't worry. This kind of impulse behaviour is completely age appropriate," Fishlegs assured.

"Fishlegs, as the healer, I say that we let it go," said Ragnar firmly. "Keeping it contained is only gonna make it more stressed and sooner or later either he or arse are going to get—"

Then suddenly the Seashocker jammed out of the water even higher this time and almost hit Hiccup.

"Look out, bud!" Hiccup yelled as they dodged

Toothless then fired a plasma blast, but fortunately he missed.

"Oh, this is what I was afraid of," said Ragnar as he tried to hold Skull back.

Stormfly spikes then stuck out and just as the Seashocker jumped at her again she flung some spikes as it, before Astrid could stop her. The spikes hit the Seashocker on the back and it roared in pain as it landed.

"No! Stop!" Fishlegs yelled.

"Hookfang! Calm down," said Snotlout as Hookfang ignited.

The Seashocker pulled itself out of the water and laid against a rock in the open air. It was in bad shape, sparks of electricity were spiking from its two heads and one of Stormfly's spikes was still impaled on its back.

"Oh, no. He's hurt," said Fishlegs. He then glared at Astrid. "Astrid!"

"Stormfly was just reacting to being attacked," said Astrid in her defence.

"Yeah, Fishlegs, what did you expect?" Snotlout snapped.

"That's what I was worried about," said Ragnar. "The Seashocker is both angry and scared and he saw us has his captors, which in his defence we kind are."

"All right, everyone just calm down," said Hiccup. "We need to get the Seashocker back into the sea."

Fishlegs then flew towards the Seashocker.

"Still not listening," Snotlout whispered.

Fishlegs then landed and dismounted Meatlug. "Stay here, girl." He then made his way towards the Seashocker. "It's okay. Don't worry. I'm not gonna hurt you."

He slowly approached the Seashocker, but it turned and growled at him with sparks flying everywhere. "Okay, we're just gonna try and get you off the rocks and back into the water."

The Seashocker then place it heads together and it said a powerful pulse that knocked Fishlegs of his feet. The pulse also did something to the Seashocker, because it was extremely tired.

"That was a doozy," said Fishlegs rubbing his head. "Phew! I didn't know you could do that." He then saw the dazed Seashocker. "Looks like you didn't know you could do that either. Ragnar's right, you're not used to being in shallow water, huh? And you're probably pretty hungry too and we don't have any deep-sea fish."

"He needs to be with his pod, Fishlegs," said Hiccup. "It's too dangerous for him to stay here."

"I know, I know. You're right," Fishlegs nodded. "Can you just give us a minute?"

"I should at least see to its injury and make sure it can make it trip back to its pod," said Ragnar.

"You got it. The rest of us will go start blasting opening the mouth of the cove," said Hiccup and he and the other Riders flew off towards the mouth of the cove.

Ragnar landed and grabbed his medical kit off of Skull and made his way over towards the Seashocker.

He looked at Fishlegs. "I'm gonna need you to calm down so I can have a good look at him," he said.

Fishlegs nodded. "Got it." Ragnar slowly made his way towards the Seashocker and Fishlegs diverted attention away from him. "I'm sorry I locked you in here away from your home and your family. I should not have been so selfish. But don't you worry. We're gonna get you out of here and back to where you belong."

He then noticed one of Stormfly's spikes wedged in its back. "Oh, no. Stormfly's spines is still stuck in your side."

"Don't worry, it looks worse than it is," said Ragnar. "However, getting you down is not going to the painless so I need you to hold him down while I pull it out."

Fishlegs nodded and press down on the Seashocker. Ragnar then reached for the spike, but the moment he touched it the Seashocker began to shoot sparks out. Ragnar then quickly pulled it out and he shrieked in pain.

"He should be fine now," Ragnar assured.

Fishlegs watched as the other Riders were blasting the coves mouth open and then made his way to the Seashocker rubbing one of his heads.

"Here we go. I got you. I got you," he said.

Then he and a Ragnar pushed the Seashocker back into the water and mounted their dragons. They then led him towards the now open cove mouth.

"This way! This way to freedom! Come on!" Fishlegs yelled.

The twins then arrived completely clueless on what just happened.

"What's going on? Don't ask about your huts," said Tuffnut.

"They can be fixed," said Ruffnut.

Hiccup just shook his head. "Never mind. We need your help to clear a path for the Seashocker. Blast the last of the lava wall."

"How do we know this is a trick and when we blast the wall the whole cove explodes?" Tuffnut asked suspiciously.

Hiccup just shook his head. "Really?"

The twins looked at one another and next second Barf spewed out some gas and Belch ignited it. The explosion destroyed the last of the wall Fishlegs created allowing a pathway to the open sea.

Hiccup saw Ragnar and Fishlegs leading the Seashocker towards them. "All right, here they come."

Fishlegs smiled down at the Seashocker. "Almost there! Just a little—" He stopped when he saw that the Seashocker had came to a sudden stop at the coves mouth. "Wait, why are you stopping? Freedom awaits!"

Then all of a sudden the Seashocker retreated back into the cove.

"What?" Fishlegs stared.

Hiccup saw the problem at once. "Scauldrons!"

Then they saw two Scauldrons jumping out of the water and heading straight towards them.

"Oh, no. Scauldrons are Seaschockers' natural predators," said Fishlegs in horror.

"And two against one is hardly fair odds," said Ragnar.

"All the noise from blasting wall must have drawn them in," said Hiccup.

"The wall. The one that I put there," said Fishlegs in horror. "Oh, Meatlug, what have we done?"

Soon the Scauldrons and into the cove and began chasing down the Seashocker.

"We have to do something, guys!" said Fishlegs. "The Seashocker can't fight all these Scauldrons by himself."

"Okay, spread out and flank the Scauldrons," said Hiccup to the other Riders. "Just try and distract them.

The Riders then spread out.

Under the water the Seashocker try to blast the Scauldrons with some electricity, but they were moving too fast for him to attack.

"Ragnar's right, he doesn't stand a chance against two Scauldrons," said Astrid.

"Every time it looks like he loses them, he zaps and then more come," said Fishlegs.

"The Scauldrons must track the Shocker by following it shocks," said Hiccup.

"That would explain why the natural predators," said Ragnar.

Then they saw one of the Scauldrons flying out of the water.

"You stay away from him!" Fishlegs yelled. Fishlegs then charged at the Scauldron and knocked it back into the water. "Yes!"

However the second flew out of the water and was making its way towards Fishlegs while his back was turned. Fishlegs realise this too late and braced himself for the worst.

"Now, bud!" Hiccup yelled and Toothless blasted it with a plasma blast and the first just as it jumped out of the water.

"Phew! Thanks, Hiccup," said Fishlegs relieved.

Hiccup gave him the thumbs up and they notice the Seashocker had managed.

"Where did he go?" Fishlegs asked.

Astrid and Ragnar then saw him swimming towards the coves mouth.

"He's making a break for the opening," said Astrid.

They watched as he got closer and closer, but then he sent a pulse through the water and the Scauldrons picked it up right away.

"Two Scauldrons, moving fast!" said Astrid.

"He's not gonna make it if we don't intervene," said Ragnar.

"We'll lay down cover fire," said Hiccup and he looked at Astrid and Ragnar. "Astrid, Ragnar, cut them off!"

The two Riders were about to move, but there dragons slammed into each other. They soon discovered that someone had tied the dragons tales together with a piece of rope.

The twins then appeared with smiling mischievously. "Loki'd!" they cried lapping.

"What? No!" Fishlegs cried. "I can't believe you two! Loki'ing right now!"

"Astrid's the crown jewel, Fishlegs," said Tuffnut. "When you have a shot at Loki'ing Astrid, you've gotta take it. And snagging Ragnar is a bonus."

Astrid glared at them as did Ragnar.

"We'll talk later," said Astrid.

"Much later," Ragnar added.

"Oh, yes. We will."

The twins just laughed mischievously.

"Hiccup, would you please tell them that they have to stop doing all these Loki tricks?" said Fishlegs crossly.

Hiccup then got an idea. "Fishlegs, I actually think that Loki might be the key to saving the Seashocker."

"Now you're talking!" Tuffnut yelled.

Hiccup smirked. "I wouldn't get too excited if I were you."

"Why?"

* * *

Tuffnut soon got his answer, Hiccup had ordered the twins to fly towards the open water and it fell more like a punishment and an assignment.

"Why do I get the feeling we're being punished?" Tuffnut asked.

"Because those guys don't understand Loki Day," said Ruffnut.

"Let's just get these things and get out of here."

Ruffnut pulled out a bucket of fish and looked at it with disgust. "This bait is nasty!"

"The word is pungent."

"Sorry. This pungent is nasty." Ruffnut pulled a fish out of the bucket. "Hiccup said just to use a pinch."

Tuffnut then kicked the bucket and all the fish poured into the sea. "Loki'd! Yeah!" he laughed.

"Good one!" said Ruffnut. "But now, how do we…"

Ruffnut stopped when they heard movement in the water. Then they saw something large heading straight towards them. They screamed in fear as whatever appeared came closer.

* * *

Meanwhile the Seashocker was still trying to get away from the Scauldrons, but with very little success.

The Riders tried to fly down to assist, but one of the Scauldrons shot its head out of the water. It then began to blast scalding hot water at them fortunately they were able to dodge the blast.

"Can someone please tell me why we're risking everything to help this pain?" Snotlout asked.

No one answered, but that was probably because the Scauldrons tried to blast them again. Astrid then saw the second one making its move towards the Seashocker. She tried to follow it, but with them underwater it was impossible for them to get a clear shot.

"They're underwater," said Astrid. "I can't get a clear shot."

"They're in a feeding frenzy," said Hiccup as the Seashocker try to swim away from the Scauldrons. "It's too dangerous to get any closer."

The Seashocker was soon cornered by the two Scauldrons, but fortunately there was an underwater cavern beneath him and he escaped through there. The Scauldrons followed him, but this made it impossible for the Riders to see what was going on.

"What happened? Where did he go?" Fishlegs asked. They looked at the bobbles in the water and Fishlegs looked at Hiccup. "Hiccup, did he just…"

"Oh, man," said Snotlout.

"Fishlegs, I'm sorry, but in the end this nothing and do against nature," said Ragnar.

"We tried everything, Fishlegs. I'm sorry," said Astrid.

"Me too, Fishlegs," said Hiccup. "I guess we should head back."

The Riders began to head back towards the Edge. Hiccup start when he saw that Fishlegs didn't follow and was still looking at the water.

"I am not leaving. Not yet," he said firmly. "This is my fault and somehow, someway, he is still alive, then it is my responsibility to get him back to the safety of his pod."

Hiccup sighed. "Fishlegs…"

Fishlegs then looked up at him. "Hiccup. He is a fighter. He's gonna make—"

Then out of nowhere the Seashocker jumped out of the water and soared over Fishlegs' head before he landed back into the water.

"Yes! He lives! He lives! Fishlegs!" Fishlegs cheered.

However he then noticed a Scauldron jumping out of the water. "Uh-oh."

It was at that moment the twins arrived and they were pulling in the water.

"Incoming! Yeah!" Tuffnut yelled.

The twins then cut a cross between Fishlegs and Scauldrons, which gave Fishlegs and uptime to get away. The Scauldrons then dived into the water, thinking that it saw the Seaschocker, but in fact it was an electric eel. The Scauldrons began to panic the moment it saw it.

"Giants zapping eel!" Snotlout yelled.

Hiccup turn to the twins. "I'm pretty sure I said a few _small_ eels."

"On Loki Day, you go big or you go home!" Tuffnut shrugged.

They watched as the Scauldrons chased the eel thinking that it was the Seashocker.

"It's working. The zapping eel is confusing the Scauldrons," said Fishlegs.

"You knew you could Loki Scauldrons?" said Tuffnut.

"Let's Loki 'em even more," said Hiccup and looked at Toothless. "Come on, bud."

"Go Meatlug!" Fishlegs yelled.

"Let's do this, boy," said Ragnar.

The three of them then flew down towards the water and began blasting at the Scauldrons. Then the other Riders began to join in causing as much confusion as possible. Fishlegs kept his eyes out for the Seashocker and saw that it was making a break for the coves mouth.

"Oh, this is our chance," said Fishlegs. Fishlegs then followed the Seashocker as they got close towards the coves mouth. "Come on, just a little further. We're almost there."

They then flew past the coves mouth and Fishlegs cheered. "We did it, Hiccup! We saved him!"

Hiccup then notice something in the water coming straight towards them. "Another Scauldrons," he said.

Fishlegs turned around and saw the third Scauldrons heading straight towards the Seashocker. There was no way that the Seashocker could stop without getting attacked by it.

"Oh, this is gonna hurt," said Fishlegs as he stood up.

Hiccup realise what he was planning on doing. "Fishlegs!"

Too late, Fishlegs dived into the water and landed right on top of the Seashocker. Then just as the three Scauldrons charge towards them Fishlegs grabbed the heads of the Seashocker and slammed them together.

This caused a massive pulse across the ocean and Fishlegs screamed in pain as electricity surged through his body. The Scauldrons were unable to stop and slammed right into the pulse and they got electrified.

There was then a huge explosion and next second Fishlegs was thrown out of the water and landed hard on the beach.

"Okay," he groaned as the other Riders landed.

"Fishlegs, are you all right?" Hiccup asked running towards his fallen friend.

Ragnar took a look at him. "He's fine, a little shook and up, but after that I can't blame him."

"That must have blown him twenty yards," said Ruffnut impressively. "New record!"

"Don't worry, Fishlegs. In time you'll be able to fill your legs again," said Tuffnut. "I mean, probably."

"That was one of the gutsiest moves I've ever seen, Fishlegs," said Astrid.

"Hey, it's nothing I wouldn't have done," said Snotlout.

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Then, why didn't you do it?"

"'Cause I wanted to give Fishlegs a taste of the Snot," said Snotlout. They all just gave him blank looks. "Taste good, doesn't it?"

Astrid crossed her arms. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

Hiccup and Ragnar then helped Fishlegs to his feet and they stirred into the lagoon as the Seashocker jumped into the air.

However when it landed back to the water the Scauldrons had recovered, but fortunately reinforcements arrived. Three Seashockers appeared and the poor than combined sparked angrily at them. Knowing that they were outnumbered, the Scauldrons quickly retreated back into the open sea.

The Seashockers then approached one another and it seemed that they would happy to be together once more.

The Riders had mounted their dragons in order help, but it was clear that they weren't needed any more.

"Look at that, Fishlegs," said Astrid proudly. "You did it. You won."

Fishlegs sighed. "We did it."

They watched as the Seashocker jumped out of the water shining in the sunset as he headed towards the open sea with his friends.

"Don't you love a happy ending," said Ragnar smiling at the site.

* * *

Later that evening, the Twins were wandering through Dragon's Edge heading straight towards Hiccup's hut.

"Finally, we're getting the respect we deserve," said Tuffnut.

"Yeah, you think I'm underdressed?" Ruffnut asked looking at her cloths. "I could have won my browner tunic."

They then lifted the door to Hiccup's hut and Tuffnut stepped forward proudly. "Your Vikings of the Year have arr—"

Suddenly a cloister of fish landed right on top of them and Hiccup and Toothless appeared.

"Loki'd!" Hiccup laughed.

The twins just stared at him and then Toothless opened his mouth and a purple glow came out of it. The twins rushed out of the hut just as he fired a plasma blast.

"Bad dragon!" Tuffnut yelled.

They turned around a corner then saw several bear traps in front of them. Unfortunately, they had no choice but to carry on moving because Toothless firing plasma blast. They quickly rushed to the ladder, but the moving so fast they collided with one another and Tuffnut fell down to the next floor.

Ruffnut placed a foot on the ladder and at once it broke apart and she landed on top of her brother. Fishlegs then appeared smiling mischievously at them.

"Loki'd!" he laughed.

Twins then picked themselves up and headed straight towards their hut, but as they ran across the platforms several explosions happened. When the smoke cleared the two of them were covered in ash and coughing out smoke.

"Loki'd!" Ragnar laughed.

The sun had just said when they finally reach their hut and they were panting for breath. They had just about survived, the plasma blasts, bear traps, trick ladders and explosions, but barely.

"Safe now," said Tuffnut.

"I never thought I'd say this, brother, but I think I am ready for Loki Day to end," said Ruffnut.

Unfortunately, that wasn't going to happen any time soon. Their entire hut began to shake as if they were experiencing an earthquake.

"Uh, we might have to wait on that," said Tuffnut.

Then there hut shook once more nearly knocking them off their feet.

"Whoa. How weird is that? An earthquake on Loki Day," said Ruffnut as Tuffnut looked outside.

"Yeah. Too weird," said Tuffnut closing the door. "Hey, is it also aware that there are dragons flying the place outside the windows?"

Ruffnut looked outside and saw Astrid, who was waving at them, riding on top of Stormfly above them. The strangest thing was Stormfly was flying in place and yet she wasn't moving. She then looked down and immediately pulled ahead back in.

"Not if take into account that we're thousands of feet above the ocean, hanging by a rope attached to Stormfly," said Ruffnut.

"Okay, this has gone too far," said Tuffnut. "I'm declaring it officially. You see when dragons start Loki'ing Dragon Riders, that's when the whole sys—"

Suddenly the entire hut shook once more and reluctantly they looked outside. They walked outside and found that Astrid had placed them right on top of the sea stack.

"I don't think the system is safe," said Ruffnut.

Astrid then flew overhead. "Loki'd!" she laughed. "Enjoy your new home, guys. I hear the neighbours are really quiet."

"Evil genius. You got to admire it," said Tuffnut.

"Admire it? I'm straight up jealous for it," said Ruffnut.

"If I ever mention Loki Day again, hold me down and pull all my nose hairs out."

"Mmm, but that's what we do on our birthday."

"Oh, yeah. Well, think of something else that's really painful and has to do with my nose, do that instead. Loki Day."

"Heard that."

Tuffnut then saw his sister raising her fist and he knew what she was going to do. "No!"

The last thing he before he blacked out was Ruffnut's fist.


	24. A Time to Skrill

It was a very dark night out in sea and a glacier stood tall, then it began to shake and the Terrible Terror sleeping on it awoke and flew away as far as they could.

The entire glacier tear itself apart and then out of nowhere a bolt of lightning struck right in the middle of it forming a huge crack in its surface. From inside the crack came a shriek, because this was the glacier where Hiccup had trapped the Skrill three years ago and now it was loose.

* * *

The Dragon Riders reached Outcaste Island and it looked a lot worse than the time the Screaming Death attacked. A few of the towers were still smouldering and hot also Alvin and the Outcasts were nowhere to be seen.

"Whoa, I don't like it," said Ruffnut.

"Weird. I don't see any arrows or spears," said Hiccup.

"No borders from catapults," said Fishlegs.

Hiccup looked troubled. "This really doesn't seem like a Dragon Hunter attack."

"Well, whoever did this meant business," said Astrid.

"And where did everyone go?" Fishlegs noted.

"They must have evacuated."

"What could possibly scare the Outcasts of their island?"

"He's right, my dad is nowhere to be seen," said Ragnar looking slightly worried. "Hardly nothing scares my dad and there's even less that would scare him enough to abandon his island."

"Mutton famine?" Tuffnut suggested.

"Bedbugs?" said Ruffnut. "Once those things show up, you can never get rid of 'em."

Hiccup then noticed something that was indeed troubling. "I think this has something to do with it."

Everyone turned and saw a large crack within a rock and there were scorch marks around it.

"These scorch marks…" said Hiccup. He then looked at the others. "Do these look familiar to anyone?"

"I'm afraid I do and that's not a good thing," said Ragnar.

Fishlegs looked at Hiccup. "Hiccup, do you think it could be…"

* * *

Minutes later they were on their dragons heading towards the glacier, but finding it was not easy because it had moved from the last time they saw it.

Fortunately, Hiccup had a very good memory and spotted it at once. "There. That's the one."

They landed and dismounted their dragons. They soon approached the huge crack on the surface and peered down it.

"Yep," said Snotlout looking at the others. "The Skrill is gone."

"That's a good title for a song," said Tuffnut. "I'm gonna work on that when we get home."

"How did this happen?" Fishlegs asked puzzled.

"Shoddy workmanship, I'd say," said Tuffnut.

"Aren't we the ones who sealed him in that big hole?" Ruffnut asked.

Tuffnut cleared his throat and gestured to Barf and Belch.

"It could be any number of reasons, an earthquake or maybe a lightning storm," said Ragnar.

"It doesn't matter how it got out," said Hiccup getting to his feet. "We've got to get it back before it hurt anyone else, or before Dagur gets a hold of it."

"Well, the question is, where is it heading?" Astrid asked as they all got under their feet.

"Well, since the Skrill gravitates toward storms to channel its lightning, I would say it's following that storm headed due south from Outcaste Island," said Fishlegs pointed.

Snotlout looked up. "Hey, isn't Berk…" His eyes widened. "Oh, no."

* * *

At Berk the storm was now right over the island and had Skrill followed suit. Lightning had just laying down on top of the chief's house and it growled angrily as electricity surged through its body and then it took off shooting lightning everywhere.

At once the A-Team took up to the sky to confront the Skrill.

"Axillary riders! Circle formation!" Gustav ordered.

The Skrill blasted them with a lightning blast, but they were able to dodge it.

The Dragon Riders had just arrived to see both the A-Team and Skrill confronting each other.

"Hey, look at that," said Astrid proudly. "The A-Team, already on the case."

"There's only eager, I'll say that for them," said Ragnar.

Hiccup look slightly concerned. "Yeah, okay, you know, it might be a little early in the dragon riding career to…"

Hiccup really do need to complete that sentence, because the Skrill had just sent bolts of lightning in all sorts of directions. By itself he took down Gustav, Sven and Gothi, he nearly got Spitelout, but he was able to dodge the blast.

"Is that the best you've got, sparky lizard!" Spitelout yelled. It then looked down at his Deadly Nadder. "No offence to you, of course."

Skrill responded by blasting him with lightning and he fell off his dragon.

"Dad!" Snotlout yelled flying down towards him.

"Cover the downed riders!" Hiccup ordered.

They began sore downwards, but Toothless came to a sudden stop.

"Toothless? No. What are you doing?" said Hiccup puzzled.

Skrill then saw them and began to charge up for lightning blast and toothless prepare for a plasma blast.

Knowing that this course of action was suicidal Hiccup tried to pull Toothless back. "Toothless, no!" he yelled.

Toothless then charge straight towards the Skrill and the two of them by their blast. Once the two blasts collided it caused a massive shock wave that sent them flying and knocked Hiccup off of Toothless.

"Toothless!" Hiccup yelled.

Toothless try to catch him, but missed and slammed into several carts. Fortunately, Hiccup had his flight suit on him.

"Oh, come on!" he said as he tried to slip the wings onto his arms.

Hiccup pulled his arms out and glided over towards Stoick, who was riding on top of Skullcrusher.

"Hey, room for one more?" he asked as he landed behind Stoick.

Stoick stared at the wings attached to his arms. "Where in the name of Thor did those wings come from?" he asked.

"Wings?" Hiccup blinked and then he remembered that this was the first time that Stoick saw his flight suit. "Oh, yes. Uh, I'll tell you later. Right now, I have to get my dragon."

Toothless pulled himself out of the large sites that were in the carts and shook his head. Stoick landed and at once Hiccup rushed over towards him.

"Toothless!" he yelled giving him a big hug. "Oh. Oh, I am sorry about that, bud."

"Interesting strategy, going nose to nose with the Skrill," Stoick noted.

"Yeah, that wasn't _my_ strategy," said Hiccup.

Soon the other Riders landed and Snotlout appeared with his father over his shoulders.

"Snotlout, is he okay?" Astrid asked.

"It's my dad," Snotlout chuckled. "He bludgeons his own head for sport. Of course he's fine."

Spitelout tried to speak, but it just sounds like gibberish. He clutches throat and looked extremely furious.

"Like I said, he's fine," said Snotlout and leaned over towards Astrid. "Except for that blast of lightning he took to the head."

Spitelout looked extremely furious as he tried to say something and Snotlout just smiled. "Aw, thanks, Dad! I'm proud of you, too."

Judging from the way Spitelout was looking that was probably not what he just said, but they had a bit more pressing matters than trying to get Spitelout to speak once more.

"Well, all the huts seem to be in fairly good condition," said Fishlegs.

"All except one," said Astrid pointing at the chief's house which was smoking quite badly.

"My house!" Stoick yelled.

"Hey, Chief, is the charred look in this year?" Ruffnut asked.

"I actually happen to think it's _trés_ chic, Chief," said Tuffnut. "I'm thinking of doing it to our hut back on the Edge."

"Weird that Stoick's house is the only one the Skrill attack," said Astrid.

"Huh. That could explain why the Skrill went to Outcaste Island and then here," said Fishlegs.

"It would also explain why it was only focused on one of us," Ragnar added.

"Yeah, it's not randomly attacking. It's looking for me and Toothless," said Hiccup.

Astrid nodded. "And Outcaste Island is the last place it saw you guys, before…"

"Before we will led it into the crevasse and sealed it inside," Hiccup finished.

"He's mad at you," said Snotlout.

"Snotlout's right. It is mad. And it's looking for revenge for trapping it back in that glacier."

"What choice did we have? It was either that or let Dagur have it," Astrid pointed out.

"Why don't you explain that to the Skrill?" Hiccup suggested.

"Look at it from its perspective, Astrid. The moment it awoke it had been hunted relentlessly and then it was captured by the Outcasts, in slaves by Dagur and to top it all off Hiccup frozen solid with in a glacier and now that it's free want to settle the score," said Ragnar.

Toothless then snarled and Hiccup placed a hand on him to calm down. "Ooh. Relax, bud. We've dealt with the Skrill before, we'll deal with it again."

"Is it just me, or is Snotlout's dad acting a little more violent and the range than usual?" Tuffnut noted as Spitelout swung his axe around in a mad like way.

Snotlout laughed. "Looks like the Skrill is and the only one out for revenge." Spitelout then turned and babbled something. "Fear not, dear Father. You will be avenged. We Jorgensons will have our pound of Skrill flesh. I will make sure that it."

Astrid rolled her eyes and looked at Hiccup. "Clearly, the Skrill is coming back to Berk for you and Toothless, and we need to be ready."

"We're not waiting for it, Astrid," said Hiccup mounting Toothless.

* * *

Moments later the Riders were just outside the arena preparing to take off. Astrid wasn't sure about this plan approached Hiccup.

"You're sure this is the way you want to play it?" she asked.

"Yeah, there's no way you can handle that dragon alone, you of all people should know what it's capable of," said Ragnar.

"It's me and Toothless it wants," said Hiccup. "It's me and Toothless it's gonna get."

"But don't you think it would be better if we were there?" Astrid asked. "It doesn't stand a chance against all of us."

"And it knows that, which is why I don't think it'll show up unless it knows it's just me and Toothless."

Astrid sighed. "All right, guys, you heard the man. Let's saddle up."

Everyone were mounting their dragons and Spitelout to be having a conversation with Snotlout, though they couldn't understand it because he was still recovering from his attack from the Skrill.

"What's that, Dad?" Snotlout asked. "You want to stay behind because you have total confidence that I will get your revenge for you? Ha! I respect that—"

Spitelout then shoved Snotlout out of the way and mounted on Hookfang. "Oh, you change your mind? You want to see me avenge you. Oh. Can't say I blame you." Snotlout chuckled. "It will be a spectacular…" He then turned around and saw the other Riders had left. "And everyone's gone."

Snotlout and Spitelout soon joined up with the other Riders, who are flying just above Berk as Hiccup was about to set off on his own.

"Okay, guys, we'll see you soon," he said. "The Skrill will be coming back to Berk as soon as he knows we're alone."

The Riders then flew off leaving Hiccup and Toothless alone to wait for the Skrill.

"All right, bud. Head in the game," said Hiccup.

They then soared up towards the clouds. "He's around here somewhere. Let's see if we can't get his attention."

Toothless then fired a plasma blasts straight into the cloudd and then they waited, but nothing happened.

"I can't see him. Can't you, bud?" Hiccup asked.

Then all of a sudden lightning flashed and they saw the shadow of the Skrill deep within the clouds. Seconds later merged out of them with lightning charging through its body and it looked extremely angry when it saw Hiccup and Toothless.

"Okay, Toothless, now!" Hiccup yelled.

Toothless then dive just as the Skrill fired a lightning blast and soared above the ocean. Despite being so close to the water the Skrill followed them.

"Nice move, bud," said Hiccup rubbing Toothless' head. "Now keep him close but not too close."

Toothless did his best, but it wasn't easy trying to fly straight and dodging the lightning blasts the Skrill was firing.

"Come on, just a little longer," said Hiccup.

The Skrill chasing them down firing lightning blast whenever it got the chance.

* * *

Meanwhile at the glacier, the other Riders were preparing their trap to recapture the Skrill.

"Okay, this trench is definitely deeper than the last one," said Fishlegs as he and Meatlug finished melting the ice to create a much deeper trench. "Hopefully, it will hold the Skrill this time."

Spitelout was shaking his arms furiously. "You mean after the Jorgensons exact their revenge, right?" said Snotlout. "We should at least be the ones to melt him into that hole."

"It makes more sense for the twins to do it they can cover the area a lot larger than any of us," said Ragnar. "You, Astrid and I are only to remain on standby in case we have to force him into that whole."

"Rag's right, Snotlout, we don't have time for the Jorgensons nonsense," said Astrid. Spitelout murmured something. "If you have something to say, say it."

Snotlout laughed. "Real funny, Astrid." He then looked at his father. She messes with me like that all the time. We're totally on the same page and she's in love with me."

"Here he comes!" said Fishlegs pointing.

"Okay, as soon as its inside and Hiccup and Toothless are clear, we seal it up," said Astrid as they flew off to a safe distance.

Hiccup and Toothless were making their way to the glacier and the Skrill was not far behind them.

"Toothless, aim for the tunnel," said Hiccup.

Toothless accelerated towards the glacier and flew straight into the tunnel. However, the Skrill came to a sudden stop.

The other Riders were watching from a ridge and watched the entire scene. Both Ragnar and Fishlegs looked at one another and they had a pretty good idea what was going on.

"Uh-oh," said Fishlegs.

"This is not good," said Ragnar.

"What's going on? Why did it stop?" Snotlout asked.

"Call me crazy, but I think he knows it's a trap," said Fishlegs.

"That's one smart dragon," said Ruffnut.

"I hate smart dragons," said Tuffnut and looked at Belch. "Which is why I love you."

"Are we surprising, considering it's the same trap we used on him three years ago and let's face facts it's quite recent from his perspective," said Ragnar.

* * *

Hiccup and Toothless were still flying through the tunnel unaware of this event. It wasn't until they were quite deep into the tunnel that Hiccup noticed the Skrill wasn't following them.

"Well, this isn't good," he said as he forced Toothless to make a sharp U-turn.

* * *

Outside, however, the Skrill began blasting the tunnel with a lightning blast creating a cave in. It then flew straight at them and Snotlout and Fishlegs flew out of the way. But instead of attacking them it began to last the glacier with a lightning blast.

"It's trying to seal Hiccup and Toothless inside!" Astrid yelled.

"Who knew dragons had a sense of poetic justice," Ragnar blinked.

Then out of nowhere Spitelout forced Hookfang down and charge straight towards the Skrill and they could hear Snotlout screaming behind his father.

"Watch out!" Snotlout yelled.

The Skrill fired a lightning blast that grazed Hookfang forcing him down. Hookfang crashed the ground and Snotlout and his father were thrown off him.

The Skrill then began to attack Astrid tried a blaster with a lightning blast. Fortunately, Stormfly was fast enough to dodge the attacks, but the attacks did cause the other Riders to scatter as they got closer towards them.

Meanwhile the ground, the two Jorgensons got back onto their feet and Spitelout began mumbling something as he swung his hands hitting Snotlout constantly.

"Dad, stop yelling. I can't think," said Snotlout. He then looked at the battle above them. "We gotta distract the Skrill." He then yelled at the Skrill. "Hey! You wanna be so may?"

Spitelout, however, have a much better distraction. He shoved Snotlout out of the way blabbing about something with two axes in his hand.

"Will you let me handle this?" Snotlout yelled. "I mean us?"

The Skrill heard Snotlout yells and turned to face them.

"Bring it on, Sparky," said Snotlout as he grabbed one of the axes his father was holding.

The Skrill then charge straight down towards them, but before it could attack plasma blast shot out of nowhere. The blasts came through the cave in that the Skrill caused and everyone saw Hiccup and Toothless flying out of it completely unscathed.

"That's for trapping us in an ice tunnel," said Hiccup.

"Hey, how come he gets revenge?" Snotlout asked.

Toothless then by the plasma blast at the Skrill, but it dodged it and countered with a lightning blast. Toothless very dodged it with a barrel roll and they flew off out to see.

Hiccup try to lose the Skrill within a nearby sea stack maze, but the Skrill was just as manoeuvrable as Toothless and continue to fire lightning blasts at them. Its aim seem to be improving, because most of the blasts were inches away from Hiccup.

"Okay, new plan," said Hiccup. Toothless grunted no doubt asking what that plan was. "I don't have one yet. Uh, for now, we just need to find safe cover. And I know exactly where that is. Toothless, head north."

Toothless then flew north and the Skrill followed continuing to blast lightning at them. Fortunately they were able to survive long enough to reach their destination, the Ship Graveyard.

Then Hiccup felt one of the Skrill's lightning blasts shot my past his ear, singeing some of his hair. He looked around and saw in the dense fog that Toothless' tailfin was on fire.

"Uh, Toothless, hold on! Hold on!" Hiccup yelled.

This made things even more difficult, because not only do they have to avoid a lightning blasts but Toothless was struggling to stay aloft.

They soon flew past an assortment of different ships and they crashed onto the deck of the _Reaper_. The crash was a bit rough as they skidded to a stop and Hiccup was thrown off of Toothless' back.

"Well, that could have hurt more," said Hiccup getting to his feet. "I suppose. But only slightly."

First he looked around for the Skrill, but since as they were blasted by lining any more this meant that they had lost it in the fog.

He then turned and looked at Toothless. "Okay. Let's have a look at that tail."

Toothless showed his tail fin and they would beyond repair. The fabric had been burnt off and the rods were pointing all sorts of directions.

"Okay, I'll get your spare," he said looking through the satchel, but found nothing. "Oh, apparently, that was the spare. Well, at least we lost the Skrill."

Then out of nowhere lightning rained down on top of them and since there was a lightning storm above them that could only mean one thing. The Skrill was right on top of them, but Hiccup noticed the shots were completely random and not trained on them.

"He's trying to flush us out," said Hiccup. The two of them then began running across the deck. "Let's see if we can find something to fix that tail."

Hiccup ran over to a barrel, but then noticed that the blasts certainly stopped. He looked up into the foggy sky and then saw the mast falling straight towards them.

"Toothless, look out!" Hiccup yelled as he shoved the Night Fury away just in time.

The mast landed right where they were standing smashing the barrel to pieces. Hiccup then looked at the sail that was flapping in the wind and he found exactly what he needed to fix Toothless tailfin.

"Oh, thank you, Dragon Hunters," he said smiling.

Hiccup then began work on Toothless tailfin and about ten minutes later the repairs were finished. "Now, this should get us up in the air. But how are we going to take out that Skrill?"

He then got an idea as he climbed onto Toothless' saddle. "Then again, maybe—maybe _we_ don't have to. I bet those Dragon Hunters would love to see this guy in action."

Then a lightning blast shot out of the fog and this one was a lot closer than the previous ones. Hiccup looked up and discovered that the Skrill was flying overhead roaring at them.

"Come on, bud. Let's get that Skrill to follow us," said Hiccup.

They then took off into the air and will follow close behind by the Skrill.

* * *

Not far from the Ship Graveyard was Ryker's flagship.

"Cap, there's a storm approaching," said the Hunter in the crow's nest. "Should we change course, sir?"

Ryker looked at the storm. "Yes. Tell about, due south."

"Wait a minute. Nobody move," said Dagur looking at the storm through his spyglass.

"Oh, what is it now, Dagur?" said Ryker looking slightly annoyed.

"That's no storm," he said. "I know those magnificent flashes anywhere. That's my Skrill!" He then looked at the helmsman. "Head towards it."

"What?" Ryker gasped in surprise. "A Skrill, you say?" He then laughed. "That's very rare. Very valuable." He then frowned at Dagur. "You've seen this one before?"

Dagur then turned on him looking quite insulted. "Have I seen it? I owned it. It's mine! All mine!" He then look quite teary eyed. "After all these years, my baby's home. Come home to Daddy Dagur, Skrilly. I've missed you so!"

* * *

The one person who didn't miss the Skrill was tried avoid not getting struck by lightning blast. Toothless was flying as fast as he could and performing quite a few manoeuvres to dodge the blasts of lightning that the Skrill.

They soon flew close to the water and saw the Dragon Hunters ship.

"All right, just a low and they won't see us, bud," said Hiccup. "Not with that light show going on up there."

* * *

On the ship, Dagur was looking through his spyglass and saw the Skrill emerging from the storm clouds. And just like Hiccup predicted, they were so focused on it that they did notice Hiccup and Toothless flying low towards them.

Dagur the notice of the Hunters moving catapult into position. "Don't even think about it," he said. "That's my dragon up there."

"Let him handle it," said Ryker to his men. "He knows the dragon better than any of us."

Hiccup and Toothless flu closer and closer towards the ship. "This is it, bud."

They then shot up instantly giving Dagur quite a scare that he fell over.

"Was that Hiccup?" he spluttered. "Why would he lead a Skrill right to us? It's not my birthday. Is it?"

Dagur pulled himself up and look straight up at the Skrill. "Be ready. When the Skrill get spooked, it'll run for the clouds. And we don't want to channel that lightning. Oh, no, we don't."

He then saw the Skrill getting closer and shooting lightning everywhere. "Archers, fire!" he commanded.

The Hunters began to fire as many arrows as they could at the Skrill and one of them struck its tail. They heard the Skrill screeching before it fell towards the ocean shooting lightning in every direction before it slammed into the water.

Dagur and Ryker chuckled evilly at the site.

Up in the air, Hiccup saw the Skrill had fallen into the water and now he had to get it before the Hunters did.

"Okay, sounds like the Hunters fell for it," he said. "Now, let's go get him out of the water before they get there."

They then turn direction and flew downwards straight towards the ship. "Come on, bud. If Dagur gets that dragon, he'll be impossible to deal with, not that he is a lot of fun anyway."

The Hunters are just launching net into the water and snacked the Skrill.

"Sir, a Night Fury!" said a Hunter pointing up into the air.

"Come on, Toothless," said Hiccup as they got closer towards the ship. He then pulled his sword out preparing to cut the net. "Here we go. Here we go."

However, before he could get anywhere close to the net a couple of archers fired arrows at him and one of them knocked his sword out of his hand.

"Stay away from my Skrill, Hiccup!" Dagur roared as they flew past. "Hurry! Hurry, bring him to me!"

More Hunters fired arrows at Hiccup, but the way out of range for any of them to hit him.

"Forget them. They're out of range," said Ryker.

"Thanks for the gift, Hiccup. It'll make an excellent weapon," Dagur smirked as they pulled the Skrill on board.

"And if not, its hide will fetch a hefty price," said Ryker looking at their new acquisition.

Hiccup looked down at the ship horrified. "What did I just do? I've led it right into their hands."

* * *

A few hours later, Hiccup and Toothless reached Dragons Edge and landed at the stables where the other Riders, minus Snotlout and Spitelout, were waiting.

"Hiccup? What happened?" Astrid asked as they rushed over to him.

"Where have you been?" Fishlegs asked.

"What happened to the Skrill?" Ragnar asked.

"It's a long story," said Hiccup.

"Or is it a very short story?" Tuffnut asked examining Toothless tailfin. He then showed them the tailfin that had the Dragon Hunters crest on it. "Looks to me like someone has changed his allegiance." He then placed the tailfin down and look towards Hiccup. "I knew this day would come. Sees him!"

Then just as Hiccup hopped off Toothless, Ruffnut tackled him to the ground.

Hiccup was quite shocked and surprised by this and attempted to push Ruffnut off him as the rolled across the floor. "What the—would you…"

"Got you, traitor!" said Ruffnut.

Fishlegs then ran over to them to break it up.

"Fishlegs is in on it too," said Tuffunt. "No, you don't."

Soon they all dog pile on top of Hiccup, who was my extremely difficult to believe. "Okay, everybody, stop jumping on everybody," he wheezed.

Soon they all got up and Fishlegs turned on Tuffnut. "How could you even think that? Hiccup? A Dragon Hunter?" he said in disbelief. "Just the idea he would even have anything to deal with them!"

"Actually, Fishlegs, let's not go quite that far," said Hiccup as he picked himself up.

Everyone just stared at him.

* * *

Moments later they were all inside the stables and Hiccup began to explain what had happened when they were separated.

"You let the Dragon Hunters capture the Skrill?" said Astrid in disbelief.

"That wasn't the plan," said Hiccup. "They were supposed to take it down and then we would swoop in and grab it away. But…"

"They got to it first," Fishlegs finished.

"So, Dagur has the Skrill again?" said Snotlout. "Great! Now he's just gonna chain that being up like a puppet and take him on a 'Greatest Hits' attack run of the archipelago!" Spitelout started to babble once more. "I agree, Dad, I'm very disappointed in Hiccup, too."

"They had some sort of new net-shooting catapult," said Hiccup.

"Net-shooting catapult," said Ruffnut. "You know, no one ever plans for the intangibles."

Fishlegs looked at Hiccup. "But, Hiccup, it's just—"

"Confusing," Tuffnut offered. "I know that I, for one, am confused."

"Yet, intrigued," said Ruffnut.

"Ah, yes. Moral ambiguity. Something else you can never see coming. Yep, catapult nets and moral ambiguity."

"Look, there's really no moral ambiguity here," said Hiccup tiredly. "I messed up. I really messed up. And I'm not sure how to fix it."

The twins gasped.

Hiccup sighed. "Oh, what now?"

"We've just never heard you say that before," said Tuffnut.

"You always know how to fix it," said Ruffnut.

"Yeah, well, guess what? I'm not perfect," said Hiccup with his hands over his hips.

"What? No. What?" said Tuffnut horrified. "Whose painting am I going to have above my bed?"

"Seriously?" said Ragnar.

"What? How else am I going to admire someone?" Tuffnut asked.

"First of all, ew," said Astrid. She then turned and looked at Hiccup. "Second, everything you did, you did to protect that dragon and to protect all of us."

"She's right," said Ragnar. "We've all made mistakes and that's how we learn…" He then looked at the twins and Snotlout. "Most of the time anyway."

"He's right, the question isn't how you fix it, it's how we all fix it. As a team," said Astrid.

All Riders then walked over to Hiccup smiling.

"My dad says we're letting you off to easy, but we're still in," said Snotlout.

"Now, we just have to figure out a way to find the Hunters," said Astrid.

"Hiccup, which we was that storm heading?" Fishlegs asked.

"East."

"Then they'll be going west. That way, the Skrill can't harness the lightning and attack them."

"They would also choose a place that has easy access to the water so they can contain the Skrill without any fear of it shooting any lightning and some ideal cover," Ragnar added.

"Good thinking, guys," said Hiccup. "There's a group of islands just east of where we were. Lots of secluded beaches and covered a hide in."

* * *

Later that night, they headed west and they found the islands. Fishlegs had gone ahead to scout since Meatlug was the smallest of their dragons and the only one of them not able to make much noise.

He soon returned and flew beside Hiccup. "Hiccup, I think I found them," he said. "There's a campfire and a lot of singing in really deep voices around the other side of the island."

Fishlegs then led them towards the area he mentioned. They landed behind a few bushes and looked over them to see several Hunter around a campfire and cages for dragons behind them.

"Oh, tell the one about the Viking girl with the hairy bunions," said a Hunter and the others laughed.

Hiccup then looked at the others. "Okay, we'll quietly make our way along the tree line over to those cages. That must be where they're holding the Skrill."

Spitelout began blabbing and swinging his mad-ish way. "My dad says that's a terrible plan and that we should just attack," said Snotlout. He then realise what he just said. "Wait, what?"

Too late Spitelout rushed past them and charge straight towards the Hunters.

Hiccup facepalmed himself. "Okay, change your plans. We'll use Spitelout as a distraction. Snotlout, you and your dad keep the Hunters busy while the rest of us go get the Skrill."

Snotlout nodded and mounted Hookfang before heading over to his father to provide backup. The others soared up into the air and headed towards the cages.

"Let's go, bud," said Hiccup.

The Hunters were still laughing, stopped the moment Spitelout jumped at them and slammed his axe into their campfire. The Hunters quickly armed themselves and surrounded Spitelout, but he simply disarmed one and head-butted him before grabbing the skull of another and slamming into the ground before slamming his elbow on top of them.

The Hunter quite stunned by this, but not as much when Hookfang slammed his terror into them sending them flying.

"Dad, up here," said Snotlout.

Spitelout looked at him and started a babble before charging at the Hunters once more. "What you mean, where have I been? You're welcome."

Their distraction was just what the others needed as they snuck to where the cages were located. There were several dragons inside them, but their main priority was rescuing the Skrill and they found it as it was the only cage that was in the sea and it was covered by a sheet.

"That's gotta be the right cage," said Hiccup. "It's the only one submerged in water." Hiccup dismounted Toothless and look to the others. "Cover me."

Hiccup slowly approached the cage and remove the sheet. They're sitting in the middle of it was the Skrill and he didn't look happy. Though Hiccup probably feel the same way if he was trapped in the cage with his ankles in the water and facing the person that froze them inside a glacier.

"I know, I know, you can't fire while you're in the water," said Hiccup holding his hands up defensively. "But don't worry. We're here to help."

Hiccup slowly made his way onto the pontoon and approached the Skrill as calmly as possible. He outstretched his hand, but quickly pulled it back as the Skrill tried to bite it off. Toothless roared at him immediately.

"No, no, Toothless. I'm okay, bud," Hiccup assured.

Hiccup once again began to outstretched his hand and the Skrill roared at him. "All right, pal, let's just keep it down or they'll hear us."

"Oh, it's too late for that," said a familiar tough gritty voice.

Hiccup's heart dropped as he turned around and found that they were surrounded by Hunters aiming arrows at them. And once the Hunters dropped a net on top of Toothless and surrounded the remaining dragons and they were soon joined by Snotlout and Spitelout.

He then saw Ryker pointing his sword at them and Dagur approaching them with an evil smirk on his face.

"Told you he'd come back for my Skrill," he said as he approached Hiccup. "How could you, Hiccup? We've barely had time to get reacquainted."

He then approached the Skrill's cage and chuckled evilly. The Skrill roared at him. "It's all right, baby. This is all still so new," said Dagur as if he was talking to a new-born baby.

"Never mind that, Dagur," said Ryker. "Just look at all the new dragons your friend has brought us." Dagur then shoved Hiccup forward. "Lock 'em up. And muzzle the Night Fury."

Hunters were shoving Toothless into a cage while a never Hunter placed the muzzle over his mouth. Toothless for back determined not to be caged and Hiccup were shoved to the other Riders and Spitelout.

Hiccup looked around and smirked. Astrid and Ragnar noticed this instantly and recognise the look he was giving.

"I know that look," said Ragnar.

"What are you thinking?" Astrid asked.

Hiccup looked at the Skrill, which was trying to break free from the cage. "They're the enemy of my enemy—"

"Might kill us all?" Astrid offered.

"Yes. But he also might help us."

"Your plans get crazier and crazier by the day," said Ragnar.

"Tell me about it," said Hiccup before charging towards the Hunters.

This sudden action surprised them and he dodged the swing of a sword from a Hunter and then tackle the two that were shoving Toothless into the cage.

"Toothless! The cage!" Hiccup yelled.

Toothless made a run for the Skrill's cage and began to push it over. It was heavy, but with one final push he was able to the cage onto the pontoon meaning that the Skrill's legs were no longer in the water.

He then jumped away from the cage just as a lightning bolt struck the cage. The Hunters had to cover their eyes, but when they looked up they saw that the Skrill was now free and he wasn't looking too happy for being locked up. He then fired a lightning blast that knocked several Hunters of their feet.

Ryker pulled out a bow and aimed an arrow at the Skrill. The Skrill tried to take off, but its tail was caught in the bars.

"No!" Hiccup yelled. He then placed himself between Ryker and the Skrill. "No!"

Ryker fired the arrow, apparently not caring if he had the Skrill or not. Then out of nowhere Toothless jumped out and took the arrow.

Hiccup rushed over and rubbed Toothless' head. "Toothless."

The Skrill then finally freed itself from the cage and lightning caused right through its body as it glared down at the Hunters.

"Uh, what's it doing?" Dagur asked.

"You tell me. It's your dragon," said Ryker.

One frightening moment Hiccup thought the Skrill was going to attack him and Toothless, but instead it flew over his head and charge straight towards the Hunters.

"Oh, no," said Dagur.

Ryker grabbed another arrow from his quiver, but before he could fire it both he and Dagur were blown off their feet by a lightning blast from the Skrill. It then began to fire lightning right down on top of them and the Hunters scattered trying to get as far away from it as possible.

Spitelout snarled at the Skrill and then saw Ryker's bow and arrow. He quickly aims the arrow at the Skrill and shot it. The arrow hit it and it fell to the ground and upon seeing it he began grunting something enthusiastically.

"He's saying, 'Spitelout, Spitelout, oi, oi, oi,'" Snotlout translated as he facepalmed himself.

* * *

Next morning, they arrived at the glacier with the Skrill in a net which was being carried by Fishlegs and Meatlug.

"Okay, Fishlegs, a little to the left," said Astrid as they descended towards the ravine. "Now, a little to the right. All right, that's it. Lower him in."

Hiccup watched as Fishlegs lowered the Skrill into the ravine. Upon looking into its eyes he couldn't help but feel guilty about trapping him in ice once more.

"Wait! We can't do this," said Hiccup.

"Sure we can," said Snotlout. "We drop him in, and then, boom, we seal it closed."

"What I mean is, we shouldn't do this."

"Hiccup, the Skrill handed you and Toothless. It wanted to kill you," Astrid reminded.

"But it didn't. It saved us," said Hiccup. "And it risks its own life doing it. If we do this, we're no better than the Dragon Hunters." He then began to outstretched his hand towards the Skrill. "We're just using a different cage. And he doesn't deserve that."

Astrid looked at Ragnar. "You heard the man, besides showing mercy is how Hiccup made a friendship with Toothless."

Astrid nodded and pulled out her axe, she then gave it to Hiccup.

Fishlegs lower than that and Hiccup sliced the net open. The Skrill then roared as electricity surged through its body. It then turned and looked at Hiccup and Toothless and lowered its head in a sign of respect and they did the same to it.

"Why are we lowering our heads?" Tuffnut asked puzzled. "Oh, are we checking foreheads? Is this something on my forehead?"

Skrill then turned and looked up at the sky, roared and fired up bolt of lightning into the sky. Then a bolt hit Spitelout on the head bring him another shocking experience. I then watched as the Skrill flew away.

"So, you knew he wouldn't turn on as if we let him go, huh?" said Astrid.

Hiccup shrugged and returned her axe to her. "Yeah… why not?"

Ragnar just shook his head. "You sure like to live dangerously."

"Well, my dad says he's very proud of us, especially me. His favourite son," said Snotlout.

Spitelout crossed his arms glaring at his son. "I didn't say that," he said.

Snotlout's eyes widened as he slowly turned towards his father. "Dad, you got your voice back. That's great."

"If it?" Spitelout then grabbed his son's shoulder before he could run off. "We'll see about that. We have a lot to talk about, boy-o."

The Riders laughed as the sky shot lightning within its clouds.


	25. Maces and Talons Part I

It was a nice peaceful day and the riders were enjoying it by attacking Ryker convoy of ships. A Hunter from a support ship was trying to shoot Hiccup down with a ballistas, but was having very limited success.

"Fishlegs, flaming boulder!" Hiccup yelled as a catapult launched a flaming boulder.

Fishlegs flew straight towards it and Meatlug ate it in one gulp. "See, girl?" said Fishlegs. "I told you we'd have time to eat."

Astrid then came flying in torching one of the catapults. "Arrows coming next, guys!" Astrid yelled.

The Hunters aimed their arrows at Astrid and the twins, but as they fired Hiccup, Ragnar and Snotlout flying and nowhere and blocked their attempts with their armour. Fishlegs then fired a lava blast causing them to scatter.

Ragnar flew into was one of the support ships and Skull gave out a massive roar that forced all the Hunters to cover their ears. Then after a twins flew by blasting the ship while the Hunters were distracted.

Ryker was watching everything from his flagship using his spyglass and he was starting to get annoyed.

"Hey, bud, let's set these guys free," said Hiccup.

Toothless then fired a plasma blast at the deck of Ryker's flagship and flew straight into the hold. From there they ran through the break and opened every single cell. The captured dragons follow them as they exited the ship.

To say this annoyed Ryker and Dagur would be an understatement.

"I keep saying, 'Don't underestimate them,'" said Dagur to Ryker. "And what you do? You underestimate them!"

Astrid then fired several spikes at them, Dagur dodged them behind the massed, but Ryker blocked them with his wrist guard without even looking.

"Someone is giving them information. Someone who knows our every move," said Ryker looking up as Heather flew by.

Have got a quick glimpse of Ryker and judging from the look he gave he was starting to suspect her. She needed to prove that she was on his side and saw Snotlout flying past over support ship.

"Sorry about this, Snotlout," she said and blast the sea stack he was flying towards knocking him off of Hookfang.

"Hookfang!" Snotlout screamed as he fell.

Fortunately, the twins appear in graph and just before he fell into the ocean.

"Well, that had to be embarrassing," said Tuffnut.

"You knew you had such a feminine scream?" said Ruffnut before flipping him onto Barf and Belch's back.

Heather then began to chase them down blasting them to make it look convincing that she was still one of the Hunters and unfortunately it was much to the twins' expense. Ruffnut was then blown off Barf, but Hookfang managed to capture before she fell into the ocean.

"Really?" said Snotlout taking Ruffnut's place. "Her, he saves?" Hookfang then soared past them. "Thanks a lot, Hookfang."

Ruffnut to take Snotlout's place on Hookfang. "I know I'm not as stocky or annoying as Snotlout, let's try and work together, okay?" she said to Hookfang.

She then forced Hookfang to fly down towards flag ship and they're supplying boulder from one of its catapults. However, they were not able to dodge the net launcher and they fell into the sea.

Heather groaned, this is not what she wanted.

"They're down! Pull them aboard," Dagur ordered.

While they were busy pulling Ruffnut aboard, they didn't notice the deck being covered with green gas.

"Okay, Snotlout, you gas, I spark," said Tuffnut.

"I got it, I got it! Okay," said Snotlout as the Hunters realised too late what was going on.

Next there was a huge explosion that knocked Dagur and the Hunters of their feet.

"Yes! How awesome are we?" said Tuffnut.

"Um, let me think," said Snotlout pondering. "Totally awesome! That's who we are."

"All right," said Tuffnut high-fiving Snotlout.

Ruffnut and Hookfang then reappeared looking extremely exhausted and wet.

"Hey, when you're done handing out the Viking of the year awards, you mind getting us outta here?" Ruffnut asked.

"Shall we?" Snotlout asked Tuffnut.

"We shall," Tuffnut replied.

The three of them then flew off as Ryker's flagship was on flames.

Snotlout looked at Tuffnut. "That was—"

"Indescribable!" Tuffnut yelled.

"You!" said Ruffnut glaring at Snotlout. "Get off my dragon."

"Uh, actually, my boy, Snot, and I are gonna hang for a bit," said Tuffnut. "You know, relive the glory of battle. You don't mind riding Hookfang, do you, sis?"

"Ugh! Come on, Hookfang," Ruffnut growled.

Hookfang apparently wasn't too happy either, because he was snarling at Snotlout.

Meanwhile the flagship, Ryker and Dagur had just experienced Astrid soaring right past them.

"Finish her!" Ryker ordered.

Heather knew she had no choice and chased after Astrid cutting across a path. Astrid looked at Heather knew she had no choice either.

"Single spine shot, girl," she said to Stormfly.

"Sorry, Windshear, but this need to look real," said Heather to Windshear.

Stormfly then fired a spite straight towards Windshear and it hit her tail. This caused Windshear to lose balance and land on Ryker's flagship.

They watched as the other riders retreated no doubt back to their base. Astrid looked back at Heather and couldn't help but feel concerned, but that was nothing in comparison to Ragnar's feelings. He didn't like the idea of putting her in danger and there was no more danger than acting as a spy for them it would only a matter of time before they realise the truth.

Heather then began to examine Windshear. "It's okay, girl. Just nicked you."

Ryker then approached her and crossed his arms. "What were you doing up there?"

"You have something to say, Ryker?" Heather glared.

"Something didn't look right," he said.

"Hey, which part? You giving her a heads-up I was there? Or are you doing nothing, leaving the exposed?"

Ryker growled and drew his sword. Fortunately, Dagur showed up and grabbed his arm.

"Now, now. Let's not get crazy," he said.

Ryker scoffed. "You're talking to me about crazy?"

"Let me put it another way. If you touch one hair on my sister's head, I'll run you through and where your rib cage as my battle armour."

Ryker grunted and sheathed his sword and then one of his Hunters appeared.

"We're heading back to the island," he said.

"On whose orders?" Ryker asked.

"Viggo's. He's waiting."

Ryker expression suddenly changed it almost looks like fear and then he looked back at Heather and Dagur.

"Good. We'll let him settle this," he said.

"Whoo," said Dagur.

"What you know about Viggo?" Heather asked.

"Oh, just that he's pretty much the opposite of Rykie," he said.

"How so?"

"Svelte. Smart. And, when I say smart, I mean supposedly cleverer than me, which is almost inconceivable, it's very hard to fathom and I'm still gonna need some proof," he laughed uncontrollably and Heather just smiled nervously. "It's impossible. Who could be…" He then start and look serious. "But that's what they say."

He then leaning closer to Heather. "Oh! And he loves the art of the kill. Loves it! And when he puts you to sleep, he's like a fart of wind, you never seem coming."

Heather just gave him a black expression. "What does Ryker say about him?"

"Not much. I think the big boss scares the little guy. Scared of his own little bro." He then looked at Heather with sympathy in his eyes. "Sad. Nothing worse than a family rift."

He then gave her a big hug much to Heather's embarrassment. "Oh, uh…" she said.

"How great is it that you're here, huh? That we're here? Together?" He then pulled away from her and she smiled at him nervously and then he looked at her seriously. "What were you doing up there?"

Heather was quite worried, but then Dagur laughed. "Ha! Gotcha! You are too easy." He sighed and pulled her in close. "Now, let's go meet this…" He then acted all big and tough. "Viggo Grimborn. Ooh, now I've got the shivers."

As he walked away Heather put on a serious face, this was the moment that she had been waiting for. The moment where they can capture Viggo and put an end to the Dragon Hunters.

* * *

Later that evening at Dragon's Edge, the Riders had just returned to the stables. Strangely enough Snotlout was still riding on Barf and Ruffnut were still mounted on Hookfang.

"Did you see that look on Ryker's face?" said Snotlout, before Ruffnut shoved him off Barf's neck. However he quickly recovered and his face was full of excitement. "I was like, 'Tuff, now!' And you were like—"

"'Your wish is my command, Snotman!'" Tuffnut finished dramatically. "And then—"

"Bam!" they both yelled.

While the two of them were praising one another, Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar were discussing Heather and how her cover had almost been blown.

"We have to pull Heather out," said Astrid. "If I hadn't reacted her cover would have been blown."

"I wanted her out after the Snow Wraith incident," said Ragnar. He hadn't quite forgiven Astrid about even the fact Heather was a spy from him, but he never got it in the way of missions.

Hiccup on the other hand wanted to keep her therefore little longer. "I wanted her out weeks ago and somebody talked me into—"

"I know I did," said Astrid. "But, things were different then."

"How?" Hiccup asked.

"Yeah, because things don't seem different to me," said Ragnar.

"It's way too dangerous," said Astrid.

"It's always been way too dangerous," Hiccup pointed out.

"Astrid you've got to admit that we do live dangerous lives," Ragnar pointed out.

"This has gotten crazy, guys," said Astrid. "And, she hasn't even met up with this Viggo character."

"Exactly. Viggo Grimborn leads the Dragon Hunters," said Hiccup. "If we can take him down, the whole Dragon Hunter army will be without a leader and they will collapse."

"And if we keep in there too long they going to discover that she is a spy and Astrid have a bit of experience what it's like being in a Hunters prison cell," Ragnar pointed out. "I know capturing Viggo is important, but are we really going to risk Heather's life?"

As they were talking Snotlout and Tuffnut were busy laughing and complementing one another.

"You are so tough and nutty," Snotlout laughed.

"And you are so lout and snotty!" said Tuffnut.

They then began rolling one another as they wrestled playfully.

Astrid and Ragnar were still trying to convince Hiccup about how dangerous Heather was putting herself in.

Astrid looked at Hiccup. "If something happens to Heather—"

"Nothing is going to happen to her. She's way too smart for that," said Hiccup. "And if she thought for a second that they were onto her, Windshear would get her out. Besides, would you think she would do if we try to pull her out of there?"

Astrid and Ragnar looked at one another and they both knew the answer to that question. "Exactly," said Hiccup. "She'd never go for it. You have to remember that."

The conversation was interrupted when they saw Snotlout and Tuffnut rolling by on a wheelbarrow. It then came to a sudden stop and they were both thrown off it.

"Best time ever!" they yelled.

"Oh, my Thor," said Snotlout.

"I can't believe you just said that!" they said at the same time. "Me neither!"

Snotlout shrieks. "Did we just think each other thoughts?"

"Uh, I think we just did," said Tuffnut. "'Cause that's what I just thought."

Snotlout then placed his hands on his shoulders. "You know what that means?"

"I have no idea."

"We just became…" He then began to talk like he was doing a singsong. "Official best friends."

"What?" Tuffnut gasped. "I have never had an official best friend! Always unofficial acquaintances."

"Well, you do now. Come on," said Snotlout. "Bring it in, but this time, for the real thing."

They watched Snotlout and Tuffnut hide one another which was extremely disturbing.

"It's good. It's good, it's real. It's real enough," said Tuffnut.

Astrid had enough of this. "Ugh! Will you two please take it somewhere else? I can't hear myself think!" she said as she walked off in a huff.

Tuffnut then looked at Snotlout. "Hey, you wanna go someplace where nobody can tell us off?"

Snotlout looks like the teary eyed. "I thought you'd never ask."

* * *

Later that night there were in a cave along with Barf and Belch. Snotlout just stared at it speechless.

"Uh, it's perfect," he said. "Where did you find this place?"

"Oh, I like to say it found me," Tuffnut shrugged.

"Great story. Now, what shall we call this Shangri-La?" Snotlout asked.

The two of them pondered for a moment and the two of them got the same idea. "'The Awesome Viking Cave Clun North Easy,'" they said at the exact same time.

The two of them gasped and looked at one another. Then they pulled one another into a hug.

"This is too real! It's getting so real," said Tuffnut.

The two of them broke apart and laughed.

* * *

It was late at night and Ryker had docked ship on an island that could only be the Dragon Hunters base of operations. As they made their way to the tent that was located in the dead centre of the island, Heather noticed dozens maybe even hundreds of dragons in chains or in cages.

They made their way inside and there sat at the table was a handsome young man with short black hair and brown eyes and was sporting a goatee. On the left side of his neck there were three scars no doubt from a dragon and his face was deeply calculative as if he was trying to find their fatal flaws just by looking.

He was wearing a black tunic with red scales on his shoulders and around his waist. He also has spiked shoulder pads and a silver belt buckle with Dragon Hunters' tribal crest on it, and black wrist guards.

Heather also noticed that he seemed to be fiddling with game pieces from a game board. It only took several seconds to realise that the game board belong to Mace and Talons. Now she never played the game herself she knew that it was more the test in the game to future chiefs to test their battle strategies as if there were facing against the real battle.

"They say there are two ways to be fooled," he said as he fiddled with one of the pieces. "One is to believe what isn't true. The other is to refuse to believe what is." He looked at them with a slight smirk. "'Mace and Talons.'"

He then got up and made his way to them. "I began playing with my grandfather when I was just a boy. I always insisted upon being the Honourable Viking Chief. I could never understand how he bested me time and time again."

He chuckled and Dagur and Heather exchanged looks. "For years, I assumed his skill transcended mine. I believe what wasn't true. But, you see, in 'Mace and Talons,' as in life, the line between good and evil is often unclear."

He then tapped the lantern with the game piece and it swung back and forth both shining light on the peace and covering it in shadow. "Black and white can become grey so easily. What one soul considers evil, another might consider righteous."

He then placed the piece down on the chess board and picked up another piece that resembled that of a mace. "The Honourable Chief who fails to see this is found to be…" He then knocked the Viking chief piece over with the mace. "The fool."

He then turned to Ryker and outstretched his arms. "Welcome. Brother!" The two brothers then hugged one another and once they pulled apart Viggo placed a hand under his chin. "You must be weary. The dragon trade is an exhausting business."

Then all of a sudden a Hunter came in and tossed another onto the ground right at Viggo's feet. "Even more so when profits wane because inventory goes missing."

He then pulled his blade and pointed it at the Hunter much the Hunter's dismay. "Uh, Viggo, I only borrowed the hide to exchange for food. It wasn't missing for more than a day," the Hunter said quickly.

Viggo pointed his blade at the Hunter's neck and then placed his sword underneath the hunted arm and lifted him up and looked him straight in the eye. Everyone could see the fear in the Hunter's eyes as he looked at the emotionless Hunter leader that was standing before him.

He then looked at the other Hunter and nodded and he began to pull the now relieved Hunter away.

"Oh, thank you, Viggo. Thank you," said the Hunter.

Viggo noticed the surprised look on Heather's face. "We're not animals," he said as he shaved his sword. "Rest. Much to discuss tomorrow." He then placed a hand on Heather's shoulder. "She can stay."

Dagur looked from Viggo to Heather and then left with Ryker.

Viggo looked at Heather. "Come. Walk with me."

* * *

They walked outside as they began to patrol the Hunters' base.

"My brother's treated you well, I trust?" Viggo asked.

Heather looked at him in curiosity. "You forgave that man. I wasn't expecting that," she admitted.

"Forgiveness. Not really a sound business practice, now, is it?" he said and then she heard the screams of the Hunter from earlier. He then led Heather towards the cliffs edge. "Trust, however, is imperative, Heather." They stopped just before it and Heather noticed that Viggo still had a hand on her shoulder. "And, there simply cannot be a traitor among us."

For one horrifying moment Heather believed that Viggo knew that she was a spy.

"A man will never know how far he's willing to go until he steps to the edge and looks down," he said as they got closer to the cliff. He then looked at Heather. "Wouldn't you agree?"

"Ah, I suppose, metaphorically," she said.

Then suddenly the cliffs edge broke apart and Viggo pulled her way. "I've always hated the use of metaphors," he said as he pulled her to safety and brushed himself down. "Now, down to business. I need your assistance, my dear."

Heather blinked. "You do?"

"Yes. In exposing this wrongdoer who is in our midst."

"Oh, of course," said Heather relieved that Viggo had no idea that she was the spy. "Do you have any ideas of who it is?"

"Unfortunately, yes," he admitted. "Ryker has always been a bit jealous of the power structure amongst the Dragon Hunters and his role in that hierarchy. That type of ambition can often cloud the mind."

"So, you think it's Ryker?" Heather asked.

"I'm not entirely certain," Viggo admitted. "See, your brother claims to know these Dragon Riders well, yet they always seem a step ahead of us. Now I would never suggest turning on one's own family—"

"But if Dagur is standing in the way of your… of our success, that is not to be tolerated," Heather finished.

"Couldn't have put it better myself. Nor is it tolerable if this wrongdoer is my own flesh and blood." He then smiled at her and they continued on their walk. "I'm so pleased that we are able to see eye to eye on this, Heather. I was going to ask if I could trust you, but you've made that question unnecessarily. Will you see what you can uncover?"

Heather nodded.

"Excellent. In the meantime, I'd like you to join me in a most delicate 'retrieval,'" he said as he stopped and placed his hands on her shoulders. "But, we must keep it to ourselves. Tell me, have you ever encountered a Flightmare?"

"As a matter of fact, I have," said Heather smiling. "And I can even tell you where to find one."

Viggo just smiled at her.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Dragon's Edge, Snotlout was sitting down at the cave that Tuffnut showed him. They just sat there awkwardly in silence, but that silence was shattered when they heard something outside.

Tuffnut tried to get to the entrance first, but Snotlout pushed him back and beaten to it. There standing outside was Ruffnut.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"Let me in!" Ruffnut yelled. "Astrid is driving me nuts."

"No can do, poo. This is a private club," said Snotlout leaning against the cave wall. "To gain entrance you have to—" He stopped when Ruffnut showed him the Dragon Eye. "Hang on a second."

He then leaned in closer to Tuffnut and whispered, "It's your sister and she has the Dragon Eye. Should I let her in?"

Tuffnut pondered for a moment. "Well, I am kinda bored." He then started as an idea popped into his head. "Wait. We could do dragon shadow puppets."

Moments later, Tuffnut places hands together and was casting shadows on the cave walls from a combination of the light from the lantern and the Dragon Eye. In one hand he has to do dragon and in the other was that of a Viking.

"No! Stop! Stop!" he yelled mimicking the poor Viking that was going to be devoured by the Dragon.

Both Snotlout and Ruffnut were not exactly engaging in the show.

"This place is a dump," said Ruffnut, who was holding up the Dragon Eye.

Snotlout leaned back. "It's a fixer…" He stopped when he is back hit something sharp and he grabbed to discover he had just leaned back in a rib cage of some unknown animal. "Great bones, though."

Tuffnut finally stopped performing his rubbish puppet show and looked at his sister. "So, how'd you get your grubby little hands on that thing?"

"I just told one Mr. Hiccup Haddock that I was taking it. And because he puts his full and unwavering trust in me, he handed over with pleasure," she said.

Her brother and Snotlout gave a blank looks, because they knew in a million years that Hiccup would never trust Ruffnut with such an item or anything for that matter. She looked up and saw that Barf and Belch were giving her the same looks.

"Okay, fine. I stole it when he was chasing Bjorn Boar out of his hut."

Then they suddenly heard a loud gasped and turned to see Fishlegs pointing at the Dragon Eye opened mouthed. "What are you doing with the Dragon Eye?"

"Hiccup let us borrow it," said Snotlout.

"Yeah, he knows we have it," said Tuffnut.

"I stole it," said Ruffnut.

"I knew it," Fishlegs grumbled. "You know he doesn't like you guys playing with it."

"That's why it's fun to steal it," said Ruffnut as if that made it all right.

"Are you coming in or not?" Snotlout asked.

"Fine," said Fishlegs as folded his arms. "I guess someone should be here who knows how to use the Dragon Eye correctly."

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar were meeting up with Heather on a sea stack. They then held the flapping of wings and saw Heather approaching.

"You sure you weren't followed?" Astrid asked.

"Positive," said Heather she hopped off Windshear.

Windshear then ran up to, Toothless, Stormfly and Skull excitedly and the four dragons began to play with each other.

Heather made her way over to the three Riders. "Besides, Viggo suspects Ryker and Dagur. He asked me to go with him to capture the Flightmare. Just me, Windshear and him."

Hiccup blinked. "Flightmare? Why would Viggo want the Flightmare?"

"I know, it doesn't make much sense," said Ragnar.

"Guys, you're missing the point," said Heather.

"They does that from time to time," said Astrid.

"No, we don't," said Hiccup.

"Yeah, we always stick to the important details," said Ragnar.

"Look, it's me, Viggo and Windshear," said Heather. "The perfect time for an ambush."

"I agree, but how exactly does Viggo think the three of you are going to capture the Flightmare?" Hiccup asked.

"Yeah, we could barely keep one at bay and that was with four dragons," said Ragnar.

"You haven't met Viggo Grimborn. He is a professional Dragon under."

"Right, but you're not going to actually let him capture it," said Hiccup.

"Of course not. That's what the ambush comes in," Heather explained. "You guys show up, gran Viggo and we set the Flightmare back on its path."

Hiccup crossed his arms. "Now all we have to do is find it."

"It follows a stream of growing algae as its food source. Last year, I spent a lot of time tracking it, pinning down its location every couple of weeks. I know where it should be and I gave that information to Viggo."

"Which made him trust you even more. Hmm." Hiccup then looked at Ragnar. "You've been very quiet what's on your mind?"

Ragnar crossed his arms and looked at them. "It's just that I had a vision a few days ago I saw a lot of fire and a Flightmare in a cage, but one thing that stood out was a man in black leather armour with three scars around his neck and had such a cold-hearted and calculative face."

"That's Viggo," said Heather.

"I'm just worried that this might just be a trap," said Ragnar.

"I told you he doesn't suspect me."

"I know, but you may want you to think that," said Ragnar rubbing the back of his head. "Listen, I'm just worried about your safety and you been close to this guy isn't exactly helping."

"Rag, I appreciated, but I have to do this," said Heather placing a hand on his shoulder. She looked into his eyes and that one look told him that this hurt her just as much as it hurt him. "Listen, I better get back."

She then pulled out a map. "This is the algae trail. Follow it to here," she said pointing on an island on the map. "This is where we'll be."

"So will we," said Hiccup.

Heather then kissed Ragnar on the cheek and mounted Windshear before taking off. As she flew off Ragnar couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen.

* * *

Moments later, Hiccup led the other Riders to where Heather had instructed.

"Whoa! Heather's tracking and mapping skills are quite extraordinary," said Fishlegs looking at the map with an impressive look. "Is there no end to that girl's talents?"

"Hmm, can we just talk about the elephant in the sky for a second?" Tuffnut asked.

"No," said Hiccup.

"Cool," said Tuffnut. "Why do we think Viggo once the Flightmare so badly?"

"Maybe Viggo likes the way the algae stuff make you glow when you rub it all over yourself," Ruffnut suggested making her brother laugh.

"You know what? You may not actually be that far off," said Hiccup. "He's gotta be using its algae or its paralysing spray for something."

"We could ask him ourselves, if we were waiting for him when he gets there," said Astrid taking the lead.

* * *

They soon approached the island and landed tallest cliff. They reached the edge of the cliff and saw the Flightmare drinking from a small river covered in growing algae.

"There!" said Hiccup pointing. "Let's stay together. We need to make sure Viggo doesn't get near that dragon."

"How do we even know when Viggo's here?" Fishlegs asked.

Toothless then growled and Hiccup looked up to see a ship heading straight towards them and he knew instantly that ship along to Viggo.

"He already is," said Hiccup. He then turned and looked at the twins and pulled out a bag. "Okay, Ruff, Tuff, make sure you get enough algae—"

"…to lure the Flightmare away," said Ruffnut taking the bag. "We know."

"This guy never stops," said Tuffnut. "'Lue the Flightmare. Don't eat the algae.'"

"Ridiculous. I mean why would we eat the algae?"

The twins looked at one another and an idea appeared in their heads.

"Why wouldn't we eat the algae?" they asked one another.

The twins then mounted Barf and Belch and flew off.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Viggo's cabin, Heather was looking out the window.

"I can't see the algae trail, but we should be getting close," she said.

"Oh, we are, Heather," said Viggo. "In fact we're almost there. Exciting, isn't it?"

Heather just smiled.

* * *

Meanwhile on the island. Hiccup and the others were preparing for their ambush. But then Astrid noticed something quite frightening.

"Uh, Hiccup? You might wanna see this," she said.

Hiccup looked up and saw four more ships approaching them from the west and they too belong to the Dragon Hunters.

"Hiccup, you might wanna see this, too," said Fishlegs.

Hiccup turned once again and saw three ships approaching from the east like the others they belong to the Dragon Hunters as well.

"Uh, I don't understand, I thought Heather and Viggo were coming alone," said Snotlout.

"They were," said Hiccup. "Which probably means they're not coming at all." He then looked at Ragnar. "Looks like you are right."

"I won't say I told you so," said Ragnar as flaming boulders headed straight towards them. "Because I don't know can survive this."

"Everyone, look out!" Hiccup yelled as they mounted the dragons.

They just now we avoided getting hit, but it was close.

Heather made her way onto the deck of the ship she was on discovered the extra ships on both sides. She realised that this whole entire thing was a trap and that Viggo knew she was the spy all along.

"You set this whole thing up," she said turning to Viggo.

Viggo just smirked as he held up the Mace and Talons game piece. "He's called the 'impostor.' Some call him the 'traitor,'" he said. "I thought you should have it. As a parting gift. Pity, really. I had hoped you'd be a better adversary. And after we got off such a smashing start."

Heather turned when she heard an explosion coming from the tallest cliff on the island. She then drew out her twin blade axe and charged at Viggo. However, he moved with such speed that he ripped it from her hands and pulled her in pinning her down with her own acts against his body.

"How did you know?" she asked as he tried to break free from the hold.

"I knew from the moment I laid eyes on you," said Viggo. "You're no Dragon Hunter, my dear." He then looked at home mockingly. "Aw, don't despair. At least your friends will all be dead by the time we arrive."

That single sentence gave Heather the strength she needed. With her leg she was able to push the axe out of Viggo's hand and break free from his hold. She quickly re-claimed her axe, but when she turned to face Viggo he was gone.

She then heard shouts and looked up in time to see two hunters dropping down from the mast with their weapons held high. She blocked their attacks and look to them straight in the eyes as she was gonna turn all her rage upon them.

Up in the air Hiccup and the other Riders were moving into position to deal with the ambush the Hunters had laid.

"Now, on my command, fire," Dagur ordered from his ship. "Don't let them out of your sight this time."

Ryker was hanging bowstring of a ship as he began giving orders to his men. "Keep closing in on them. They'll lead us right to the Flightmare," he commanded.

From the air Hiccup wasn't liking their odds, there was just too many ships to deal with and there was also the problem with Heather, because they had no idea what had became other.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the island, the twins were unaware of the events that will going out on see as they made their way towards the Flightmare.

"Okay, just don't near its mouth," said Tuffnut as they carefully approached the river with a glowing algae. "Sprays this mist that can freeze you with fear the instant it hits you."

Ruffnut just stared at him. "And you know this how?"

Tuffnut shrugged. "I'm a fan."

Tuffnut then began to take some of the glowing algae into the sack. This did not get unnoticed by the Flightmare and it slammed its tail into the river splaying them with the algae.

"Do I get any on me? Am I glowing?" Ruffnut asked. "Because I really don't want this thing to see me as food."

"Eh, you're fine," Tuffnut assured not realising the Flightmare was approaching them. "How about me?"

"Same."

Then suddenly the Flightmare stood up and roared right into their faces. Instantly the twins ran for it and the Flightmare began to follow them.

"Go! Go! Go! Go!" Ruffnut yelled as they approached Barf and Belch.

Barf and Belch at once use their gas and spark attack to drive the Flightmare away, but it was just too nimble. The moment the twins mounted on their dragon they took off and the Flightmare followed them not close behind.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Riders were having problems with the Hunters ships. They were firing so many arrows it was hard to block them, especially for Astrid who didn't had any armour or any immunity to the tipped dragon root arrows.

Then out of nowhere whether twins flew past with the Flightmare not close behind.

"Not the way I would have done it, but that's one way to go," said Hiccup.

The twins were so busy trying to get away from the Flightmare, which was creating a ghostly trail behind it, that they were able to assist the other Riders. The Hunters were not just throwing arrows now they were throwing boulders and they were slowly gain surrounded.

They decided to flying close towards the ships and began blasting whatever they could, but it was only a temporary solution at best.

Heather meanwhile was to engage with the Hunters on Viggo's ship. She had just knocked one off the bridge and was now engaging the last Hunter. She then perform the most unexpected move, she tossed her axe to the hunter as he thrusted his spear and then grabbed his weapon.

She then began whacking him with the wooden pole of the spear and then tossed is another hunter that was charging towards. She then captured her act which was flown into the air and then disarms the fourth Hunter before knocking him off the bridge.

She then heard Windshear cry out and turn to find her in a cage and muzzled. "Windshear!" she yelled. "I'm coming, girl!"

She then made her way to the lower deck and stepping on the faces of the Hunters as she made her way towards the cage. She then opened the cage and quickly mounted Windshear. The Hunters prepared a fire arrows at her, but Windshear fired several spikes causing them to scatter.

"Nice job, girl," said Heather patting her on the head. "Let's go help the others."

The Hunters tried desperately to stop her from escaping, but was no good she was way out of range before the get a proper fix on her. From the bridge Viggo watches she flew off with a fixed expression, in truth he hadn't planned for her to escape, but it was of little concern.

The Riders are now grouped together once more and were still trying to avoid getting hit by the arrows and boulders from the ships. It was only a matter of time before they were overrun

"Hiccup, there's too many of them," said Astrid.

Just at that moment the twins blew by with the Flightmare close behind causing their own little bit of chaos with its missed.

"And the Flightmare really isn't helping," Fishlegs added.

Toothless filer plasma flat and just narrowly avoided taking a hit from several arrows himself. "We'll be fine as long as we stay from its missed."

"We need a new plan," said Ragnar as Skull blocked several arrows.

Hiccup agreed with Ragnar has the flu over to the twins they tried desperately to get away from the Flightmare.

"Hiccup, can't you just let it know we're the good guys?" Tuffnut asked.

"Yeah. Tell it to come in for the big win," said Ruffnut.

Hiccup looks at the twins and then look down at the river for glowing algae and idea popped into his head.

"You guys are brilliant!" he said.

"I don't know about brilliant," said Tuffnut. "But we do have a certain glow about us." He then laughed at his own little joke. "Get it? 'Cause of our faces."

"And the brilliance is short-lived," said Hiccup rolling his eyes. "Follow me!"

He then led the Riders down towards the Hunters ships and be Flightmare followed suit. Ryker frowned as the Riders got closer towards them.

"He is persistent. You have to give him that," said Dagur.

"Yes, well, in this case, his persistence will not pay off," said Ryker confidently. He then turned to the approaching Riders. "Fire!"

The Hunters unleashed their arrows at the approaching Riders, but they dodged them. Then Hiccup for another bag of algae that the twins gave him and Toothless was holding two other bags of algae as did the other Riders.

As they flew over Ryker and Dagur's ship they tossed the bag straight at the Hunters covering them up with a glowing algae. Ryker looked at the algae and laughed.

"Oh, no! You got us," he said smugly making the other Hunters laugh. "We surrender."

"We surrender," Dagur laughed. "Good one, Rykie. Bring it on, Hiccup!" He then turned and looked at the glowing algae. "Hey, this stuff's cool. Shiny."

Then all of us suddenly Flightmare appeared and started knocking the Hunters around.

Hiccup flew above their ships with a smirk on his face. "Ryker, Dagur, I'd like you to meet my friend, the Flightmare."

As the Flightmare moved along Dagur's ship the nearby hunters started to get paralysed when its mist touched them.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Dagur yelled. "Get back to work. Shoot someone."

"They can't," said Ryker. "The mist from the Flightmare freezes its victims with fear."

Dagur sighed. "Perfect."

The Riders continued their bombardment with the algae and the Hunters ran away from the Flightmare as it approached. Heather then appeared doing her own damage the ships with Windshear.

"I'm so sorry, Hiccup," she said as she made her way to the Riders. She then looked at Ragnar. "You were right, Viggo did figure me out."

"We know. It's okay, he tricked all of us," said Hiccup. He then looked at Ragnar. "Well, most of us."

"What can I say when your father is Alvin the Treacherous you tend to know treachery," Ragnar shrugged.

Hiccup then looked at Heather. "Where is he now?"

"Still on a ship, I think," said Heather pointing at one of the ships.

Then they noticed several hunters were able to toss nets on top of the Flightmare.

"Its mouth. Get its mouth now," Dagur ordered. Quickly the Hunters placed the muzzle on the Flightmare preventing it from spewing its mist. "That's it! Yeah!"

Heather narrowed her eyes. "Sorry. Not gonna happen," she said.

Then before anyone could stop as she flew down towards Dagur's ship.

"Heather, no!" Hiccup yelled.

"Heather!" Ragnar yelled.

They watched helplessly as a Hunter fired a net launch at capturing both Heather and Windshear. Hiccup and Ragnar flew down to assist, but even with their armour they couldn't get anywhere near the ship with all the arrows shooting over their heads.

"Astrid, keep trying for Heather," said Hiccup as they retreated. "It's time Viggo and I were properly introduced."

"I'm with you," said Ragnar as they flew down towards the ship Heather had pointed out.

Astrid and the other riders tried to fly down to rescue Heather, but they can get anywhere close with all the arrows and boulders flying around. Astrid watched helplessly as she saw the Hunters taking Heather below the deck.

"We're numbered! Retreat!" she ordered.

The Riders followed her lead of the flu away from the ships.

Meanwhile, Hiccup and Ragnar had reached Viggo's ship, but once they landed they found the entire ship was deserted.

"Where is he?" Hiccup asked.

"Looks like he abandoned ship," said Ragnar.

Astrid then landed on the deck. "We couldn't get Heather. There were too many of them," she said as she dismounted.

"What about the Flightmare?" Hiccup asked.

"Gone."

"Viggo, too," said Hiccup. "Astrid, this guy isn't messing around."

"Yeah, this guy can give Loki a run for his money," said Ragnar with his hands on his hips.

"No kidding," said Astrid.

"Our dragons may not be enough," said Hiccup. "We're gonna have to out-think this guy, outsmart him somehow. Or Heather and Windshear have no chance of—"

"Don't say it," said Astrid quickly. "Please, just don't say it."

"One way or the other this guy is more dangerous than any person we faced, my father, Dagur, even Ryker and that's because this guy is using his brain not his fists," said Ragnar.


	26. Maces and Talons Part II

Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar were still on Viggo's ship. They were just overcoming the ambush they walked into and the loss of Heather, Windshear and the Flightmare.

Hiccup was looking over the side of the ship still processing what just happened. "I don't get it. How did Viggo get away?" he said. "How did we lose Heather, Windshear and the Flightmare?"

"Let's face it he outsmarted us," said Ragnar.

"I don't even want to think about it, what they're going to do to her and those dragons," said Astrid rubbing her arm.

Soon the Fishlegs and the twins appeared.

"You guys find anything?" Hiccup asked.

"No, the fog was too thick," said Fishlegs as he landed. "They used it as cover and just vanished."

"He had it all planned," said Ragnar.

"We should've just pulled Heather out, Hiccup," said Astrid. "I knew something like this was—"

Hiccup placed a hand on her shoulder. "Astrid, she wouldn't have come with us."

"It could be worse. We could've brought the Dragon Eye," said Tuffnut. Ruffnut then elbowed him. "Ow!"

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "How do you know I don't bring the Dragon Eye?"

Tuffnut blinked when he realised his mistake. "How did I know you didn't bring the Dragon Eye?" he repeated. Ruffnut then kept elbowing him again and again. "Ouch!"

"Yeah, okay, you're right, I didn't bring it," Hiccup admitted.

"Thank Thor," said Astrid.

"If we lost that it would have truly been a disaster," said Ragnar.

Snotlout then appeared landing on the deck. "No kidding. Then, Viggo would have Heather, Windshear, the Flightmare and the Dragon Eye," he said counting them off his fingers.

Hiccup's eyes widened. "Which is still back on Dragon's Edge, completely unguarded."

"Well, this day gets better and better," Ragnar sighed.

* * *

They quickly return to Dragon's Edge and arrived just as the sun rose. When they got there they found the entire place trashed, the Dragon Hunter had got there first and turn the entire place inside out.

"Look at this," said Fishlegs. "I feel violated."

"This is the last part of Viggo's plan," said Hiccup looking out to sea with his arms crossed.

"Lead us away so the rest of the Hunters and armada could stay behind and come after the Dragon Eye," said Snotlout.

"You have to admit this guy is a master strategist," said Ragnar.

"How did I not see that?" Hiccup moaned.

He made his way over to his hut to locate the Dragon Eye, but there was no sign of it at all.

"It's gone," he said after checking his chest. "They got it."

"Are you sure you put it away after you got it from the twins?" Snotlout asked.

"Got it back from the twins?" Hiccup frowned. "What are you talking about?"

* * *

Snotlout soon led them to the cave where he and the twins spent last night. The entire place was wrecked there was food all over the floor, crates and barrels smashed and spread across unevenly on the floor.

"Wow. They really wrecked this place," said Hiccup.

"This is pretty much how we left it," said Snotlout.

"Except, I don't remember that sword been there," said Tuffnut gesturing to a sword that was through an apple in the mouth of a stuffed yak.

"No, no, no, no. Remember, we were playing Pirates versus Vikings and your Bjorn was the Pirate Captain?" Snotlout reminded.

"Oh-oh, right," said Tuffnut chuckling. "That is one great game." He then looked at Hiccup and the others. "Yeah, this is pretty much how we left it."

They began looking through the wreckage and Tuffnut pulled the Dragon Eye, which was covered in oil and feathers, out of the wreckage.

Hiccup just stared at it. "What on earth is on there?" he asked.

"Boar rind grease," said Tuffnut. "Don't worry. It'll buff out." He then spat on it and rubbed it against Ruffnut's back and presented to them, except still quite a lot of the grease was still on it. "See? Well, takes a while."

Hiccup took the Dragon Eye from Tuffnut and glared at him and his sister. "I can't believe you took this without telling me. You know, all you have to do was ask and you could've used it. It belongs to all of us."

"Yeah, you two, do you know what could've happened if Viggo got a hold of this?" Snotlout asked.

"Seems to me if I hadn't removed the Dragon Eye from your masterful hiding place, we'd be having a very different conversation right now," said Ruffnut crossing her arms.

"Let's just be thankful for small mercies," said Ragnar.

Hiccup made his way outside and leaned against the entrance to the cave. A hundred different thought was entering through his head.

"Hey. You okay?" Astrid asked placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah…" He then shook his head and walked off. "No. Astrid, I let it happen. I put Heather and Windshear in that position. I risked the Dragon Eye being taken. I fell for Viggo's plan. I should have listened to Ragnar from the start." He sighed. "It's a mess."

"You're right, it is," said Astrid. "But, if there's a mess, we clean it up. All of us. Together."

"We can get the A-Team from Berk, load up whatever weapons we can and go in, dragon's blazing," said Fishlegs as he and the other Riders exited from the cave.

"Can I bring Macey?" Tuffnut asked. "She's been begging to come along on a mission."

"That's a good way to get captured," said Ragnar speaking up. "Viggo has already proven that he is a master strategist and deceiver and we've never faced anyone like him before. My father, Dagur and Ryker charge in and rarely think ahead, but Viggo is different."

"Rag's right, we're not going anywhere. Nobody is going anywhere," said Hiccup he then saw the stunning looks on their faces. "Not yet anyway. Think about it. We do what we do really well. We're pretty smart group. We're fast, we're fearless and we ride dragons."

Ragnar is right, this guy, Viggo, he manipulated us like a bunch of inexperienced little kids. If we have any chance against him, we can't go in dragons blazing like we usually do. No, that could get Heather and Windshear killed. That could get one of our skilled."

"Well, I, for one, and definitely against getting us killed," said Tuffnut raising a hand. "Or at least my getting killed."

"Yep, I have to agree," said Ruffnut. "And not just because we're twins and we always think the same thing."

"So you just want to leave Viggo to hunting dragons at will?" Astrid asked in disbelief. "You want to do nothing?"

"He didn't say that," said Ragnar.

"I want to do the right thing," said Hiccup. "And that is going to take some thinking."

They watched as Hiccup walked off in deep thought.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the Dragon Hunters Island, Ryker approached the Flightmare that have been de-muzzled and placed in a cage.

"All right, Dragon. Dinnertime," he said as he tossed a bucket of glowing algae near its cage.

The Flightmare just banged against the cage trying to get itself free. Ryker just their pointing his spear at it. "Viggo wants you to eat up, like a good little boy. If it was up to me, you'd starve."

"Come now, big brother," said Viggo as he approached Ryker and the cage. "This dragon is our guest. His value to us is immeasurable. We must treat him well, keep him happy."

He then grabbed the bucket and placed it in the Flightmare's cage. It just snarled at him and began eating out of the bucket.

"The bigger question is, what to do with our other guest," said Viggo.

"The traitor," said Ryker. "Whispering Death tunnels. Drop her in. Watch them tear her to pieces. It could be entertaining for the crew. Boost morale."

Viggo shook his head. "I'm not concerned with entertaining the crew," he said as he got to his feet and began stroking his goatee. "They must stay sharp. It's only a matter of time before Hiccup formulates his parry."

Ryker just gave him a blank look. "Counter-attack, big bother," said Viggo rolling his eyes. "Thank Thor he blessed you with strength of body."

Ryker just growled.

"Leave Heather be for now. She will prove useful." He then looked at the Flightmare. "Almost as useful as our glowing friend here."

* * *

Elsewhere on the island, Dagur was taking Heather, who had a hands cuffed, towards one of the cages.

"This should keep you nice and cozy until we bring this Dragon Rider nonsense to it horrifying conclusion," said Dagur shoving her towards one of the cages.

"Dagur, we come from a proud and historic tribal Vikings," said Heather. "Berserkers, we don't turn on each other. We stand for each other. How can you just ignore that?"

"Well, I let it enter my noggin and then I pay no attention. Right? I mean, that's how you ignore something," said Dagur.

"But, you don't. You can't. I know you, Dagur," said Heather desperately. "We share the same blood. You are too smart to ignore anything, Brother."

"Can I ask you something, Sister?" Dagur asked narrowing his eyes.

"Of course. Anything."

He then leaned in close towards her. "Where were all these lovey-dovey family values when you were trying to blow up my ship and kill me?"

"I didn't know you are my brother at the time. And if you remember, you destroyed my entire island," Heather pointed out.

Dagur was slightly taken aback, because he had forgotten that. "Hm. Good point." He then looked at her curiously. "Are we okay, you and I, on the whole thing? Still some lingering feelings of scepticism?"

Heather just remain silent and looked away not able to look in in the eye. Dagur then shot into the cage and slammed it shut. "Thought so."

"Wait. What are you doing?" Heather asked.

"If there's one thing I've learned out here over the years, is that I can only trust one person." He then leaned in closer to a cage. "And you know that person is?"

"Dagur."

"Correct!" Dagur yelled. "Dagur! That's who I trust. He's so trustworthy. He's faithful. Tried and true, that Dagur.

"I'm your sister. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Oh, good." He then turned and glared at her. "Then start moving your mouth and don't make any more trouble! You know, you're really giving the family a bad name."

Heather sighed as he walked away.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar were making their way over the open sea.

"Hiccup, what are we doing?" Astrid asked.

"Before we face Viggo again, we need to learn more about him," said Hiccup. "Let's take another look at his ship. Maybe we missed something."

They soon landed on Viggo's ship and began to search it from top to bottom. They finally reached the break and still found nothing that gave them any idea on Viggo.

"We've been through this place before, Hiccup," Astrid reminded. "They took everything when they left."

"You have a notice, Viggo never actually puts himself in danger?" Hiccup asked as he looked around. "He fights with his intellect. Planning every move, accounting for every scenario. Take Heather."

"You think he knew she was working for us all along?" Astrid asked.

"I think, at some point, he found out, and then used her to manipulate us."

"From what I have deciphered from the logbook from the _Reaper_ , the captain described Viggo as a businessman and he never gets rid of something that can prove useful tip, whether its men, dragons or anything potentially valuable," said Ragnar as he paced up and down. "Also wants something has ceased to be useful he destroys it rather than leaving loose ends."

"Sounds about right," said Hiccup.

Then they noticed Toothless making his way to one of the cells

"Watcha got there, bud?" Hiccup asked as they made their way towards him.

They found a crate or a box of some kind covered by a piece of cloth. Hiccup remove the cloth and discovered it was a game board and one that he recognised. It was Maces and Talons, but he only had three pieces one on each island and in the middle was a broken piece.

"Maces and Talons," said Hiccup looking at the game board. He then looked at the different pieces and recognise them instantly. "The 'Viking king.' That's supposed to be me, trying to save the Traitor."

"Who's that, then?" Astrid asked gesturing to the last piece.

"The Chief of the Marauders," said Hiccup. "If I had to guess, I'd say Viggo."

"It was like he is quite interested in this board game," said Ragnar.

Hiccup then picked up the broken pieces of the Traitor. "And this piece? This is the 'Traitor.'"

"Also known as Heather," said Astrid.

"I suppose this is how he strategised his battles and movements," said Ragnar mending down of the game board.

"It's almost like Viggo wanted you to see this," said Astrid looking at Hiccup.

"It's a challenge for him to me," said Hiccup. "He's daring me to play."

"Why did he break Heather's piece?"

"To send a message," said Ragnar grimly.

Hiccup nodded. "Exactly, because the Traitor dies in the end. The Traitor always dies."

He then dropped the pieces onto the small island on the game board.

* * *

They soon returned to Dragon's Edge with the Mace and Talons game board. The moment Fishlegs saw the game board he looked at Hiccup excitedly.

"Hiccup, Maces and Talons!" he squealed. He then looked up at Hiccup excitedly. "Does this mean…"

"No, Fishlegs," said Hiccup.

"But Maces and Talons was designed to test the abilities and decision making expertise of future chiefs in the heart of battle."

"I'm not taking over as Chief of Berk," said Hiccup firmly. "Viggo left this for me. He wants me to play Maces and Talons with him."

"Viggo's here?" Tuffnut spoke up.

"We got next!" Ruffnut yelled.

Hiccup had to push the twins back to prevent them from meddling with the board. "Guys, no, no. He's not here and we're not using the board," he said and the twins stopped and looked at him. "We're playing for real. With real people."

Hiccup when reached for the Traitor piece and showed it to the others. "Viggo is forcing my hand. He is making me play for Heather's life."

"And what happens if you don't play?" Fishlegs asked.

Hiccup looked at Astrid and Ragnar and then drop the pieces of the Traitor onto the board.

Fishlegs stared at the board and got the idea pretty fast. "Oh, no, no, no. Well, you, have to play, Hiccup. You just have to," he said looking up at Hiccup.

"And we need a strategy," said Snotlout.

"We do, Snotlout," Hiccup agreed. "And that strategy has to be different than any he's ever seen or tried. Otherwise, Heather won't stand a chance."

* * *

It was afternoon on the Dragon Hunters Island and Viggo and Dagur were playing a game of Maces and Talons. However, instead of using a board, they were using Hunters and Berserkers as pawns.

"Come on, Dagur. Think," said Viggo as he sat relaxed on his throne. "I know there's a brain and all those scars and tattoos."

"I am thinking. This is my thinking face," said Dagur as he turned to the field. "All right, I'm moving my long ship next year Dragon Hunter's King ship."

Dagur's Berserkers then move towards a single hunter who was acting as the King ship.

Dagur laughed as they surrounded the Hunter. "What you think of that?"

Viggo just sat there motionless. "I think you've forced me to relocate seven of my Hunters. Interesting move."

"Yes! I knew it," Dagur yelled triumphantly. "I hereby take all seven. They're mine. All mine! And for good measure, I sentence them to life in Berserker prison."

Viggo sighed. "If you must." He then leaned in closer to Dagur with a slight smirk on his face. "Now, how many, Hunters are there in Maces and Talons?"

"Eight."

"And you've just captured seven of mine."

"Yes, I did. Give up?"

"Well, I would, how you not fail to realise that my one lone Hunter has a mace to your Viking King's head."

Dagur turned just in time to see a Hunter slamming his mace on top of the berserker that was acting as his Viking king. He then turned to Viggo, who had an even larger smirk now.

"Game over." He then got off of his throne and began to walk off "You see, Dagur, a player has to be willing to sacrifice every one of his pieces to be victorious. Every one. Pieces, as with people, are expendable. No one is irreplaceable."

Dagur eyes widened as he had a feeling that Viggo was indicating that his usefulness was soon coming to an end.

* * *

Later that night, Hiccup and the other Riders were making their way towards Dragon Hunter Island.

"All right, remember guys, Viggo is a master of deception. We have to be one step ahead of him at all times or it's game over," said Hiccup.

"Sounds a little to me like it's already 'game over'," said Tuffnut.

"Yep, that was my interpretation," said Ruffnut.

Then out of nowhere arrows zipped beside them and they found themselves doing zigzags trying to avoid getting hit.

"Whoa! Where are those coming from?" Fishlegs asked.

They looked down and saw more arrows shooting at them through the clouds.

"Beneath the cloud cover," said Astrid. "They must have ships down there."

"How did they know we were up here?" Fishlegs asked puzzled.

Then everyone felt heat and a burst of light coming from Snotlout. They turned and found that Hookfang had ignited just so Snotlout could keep warm and they all glared at him.

"Seriously?" said Ragnar.

"What?" Snotlout asked. "I was chilly. Now I'm warm and toasty."

"And you'll be dead and buried if Heather is killed because you couldn't stand the cold," Ragnar said gritting his teeth.

Snotlout gulped. This was the first time that anyone had seen Ragnar threatening anyone or with such fire and anger in his eyes.

Thanks to Snotlout the Hunters now knew they were coming and were shooting arrows through the clouds. Fortunately, since they were still in the cloud cover and hire the Hunters below which are shooting randomly.

"We must be close to the island," said Hiccup.

"Uh, Hiccup…" said Astrid.

They saw a break in the cloud cover and saw the island below them and it looked well-fortified base of operation.

"Viggo's base," Hiccup yelled.

"Are you sure that's it? It looks kinda deserted," said Fishlegs. Then all of a sudden flame shot out of nowhere creating a wall of fire blocking their path. "And I stand corrected."

They looked down and saw at the base were four Typhoomerangs and several Hunters were stabbing them with the tip of their spears.

"He's using flipping Typhoomerangs as blow torches?" said Snotlout trying to avoid getting burnt by the flames.

"I thought you liked it toasty," Astrid smirked.

"I like toast-y not toast-ed."

The Hunters kept on stabbing the Typhoomerangs whenever they stopped meaning that there was no opening through the wall of fire.

"I have to say, you totally undersold this guy, Hiccup," said Tuffnut. "He's even more devious than—"

"Look out!" Hiccup yelled as he, Ragnar add Fishlegs dodged a blast of fire from the Typhoomerangs below.

"Maybe we should turn back? Why the place to regroup? There's no way we're getting through that," Astrid suggested gesturing to the wall of fire I was in front of them.

"No. All this is just a distraction," said Hiccup.

"It's fire, Hiccup. Actual fire," said Snotlout.

"I'm gonna have to concur on that one," said Tuffnut looking up at his helmet which was smouldering.

"What I mean is, Viggo doesn't want us to retreat," said Hiccup as he zigzagged through the columns of fire that will erupting from below. "It just seems that way. He wants us to get past the fire and the arrows. He wants me to find Heather. And then his game really begins."

"Well, if he wants us to get through, he's got a funny way of showing it," said Snotlout trying to avoid getting burnt by the columns of fire.

"He doesn't want us to get through. He wants us to go around and attack him from the back."

"And then he'll set a trap for us just like he did before," said Ragnar.

Snotlout blinked. "Oh. That sounds way better. But that's not what we're doing. Is it?"

"Nope," said Hiccup. He then looked at the columns of fire. "We're going in this way. Straight into the fire." He then looked at the other Riders who just stared at him as if he was insane. "Now, I know you guys think I'm nuts."

"Yes," said Snotlout.

"The fire from the Typhoomerangs is like a giant tornado," Hiccup explained. "If we fly right into that I have it, it'll be hot, but the fire won't touch us."

"Inside it?" Snotlout yelled. "This whole plan sounds completely theoretical."

"My fine sister and I have performed said feat of daring many times throughout the history of Nut," said Tuffnut.

"Yeah, for fun!" said Ruffnut. "It does work. As long as you don't panic while you're inside."

Everyone just stared at the twins wondering how they manage to live for so long after doing so many daring feats.

They soon flew down the tornado of fire and Snotlout and Fishlegs were the only ones that were screaming their heads off as they flew down it. The twins on the other hand were standing on the neck of their dragon with excitement all over their faces.

The Hunters try to find the Riders but it was likely disappeared without a trace.

"Where'd they go?" said a Hunter puzzled. He then looked at the other Hunters. "Cease fire! Cease fire!"

At once the Typhoomerangs stopped their attacks, but once the flames dispelled they saw the Riders hovering above them.

"Hello, boys. How's it going?" Snotlout asked smugly. "Fire!"

Too later the Hunters realised they had been tricked and the Riders started blasting them.

"You guys free the Typhoomerangs. I'm going after Heather," said Hiccup.

"Not alone you're not," said Ragnar.

Hiccup nodded and the two of them flew off.

* * *

Meanwhile, Viggo was sitting in his tent in front of the Maces and Talons game board and suddenly there was a huge explosion followed by the ground shaking. Out of the corner as he saw Ryker entering.

"They're here, I assume?" he said.

"Not the way you'd planned," said Ryker. "They went through the fire. Right down the middle of it."

Viggo actually looked impressed. "Brilliant. Simply brilliant," he said. "That boy does know his dragons, I give him that."

"Are we gonna do something?" Ryker asked, who didn't share his brother's sentiment. "Most of the troops on the other side of the island."

"Come on now, big brother," said Viggo getting up. He then walked past his brother and patted him on the shoulder. "What fun would a game be if saddled with an inferior opponent?"

"Whatever you say, little brother."

Viggo went outside and seconds later Dagur met up with him.

"Uh, there's a rumour going around that the Dragon Riders broke through the Typhoomerangs," he said.

"You're sure about that?" Viggo asked.

"Yeah. And thinking the four Typhoomerangs flying into the horizon are a pretty good indication," said Dagur gesturing to the Typhoomerangs that were flying away.

"Dagur, you did do what I told you to do with the prisoner?"

"Of course. But, I'm still thinking—"

"Stop thinking," said Viggo turning towards him with a fixed expression. "All thinking has been done. You simply need to do what you're told, follow orders. Can you do that?"

Dagur glared at him as he walked away and out of the corner as I he saw Ryker walking out of the tent.

"You're the bigger brother, right?" he said.

Ryker sighed. "That I am."

"Don't ever just want to kick the living yak dung out of him?"

"Of course I do. And I could," Ryker admitted. "Easily. But I don't."

"And why would that the?" Dagur asked raising an eyebrow.

Ryker then marched up to him. "He's my brother. Always remember that, Dagur."

Dagur then watched as Ryker walked away.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup and Ragnar began flying over the island trying to find the area where they keep their prisoners. Despite, avoiding the ambush there were still several Hunters here and there and they had to avoiding hit by their arrows.

"Whoa!" Hiccup yelled as some arrows flew past him.

Toothless quick return and fired a plasma blast making the Hunters duck for cover. Skull let loose a powerful wall that forced several Hunters to cover their ears.

Then suddenly Hiccup saw a bright glow in the distance and realised at once that it belongs to the Flightmare.

"Let's get a closer look," he said looking at Ragnar.

Ragnar nodded.

They then headed towards the light and landed on the ground and found the entire place covered with cages.

"If they were going to keep Heather prisoner and well-guarded this would be the place," said Ragnar as they dismounted.

Hiccup nodded in agreement and looked back at Toothless and Skull. "We'll be fine. You two stay here and keep them busy."

Then the two young Vikings ran across the cages that were housing dragons, under normal circumstances they would try to free them, but their main priority was to find Heather and rescue her.

Of course, the dragons weren't too happy about this and this was proven because one Deadly Nadder almost struck them with its spikes. They kept on looking through the cages and suddenly they saw the Flightmare.

"What have they done to you?" Hiccup asked looking for the bars of the cage.

The Flightmare had a mother over its mouth preventing it from spewing it's missed, but strangely there was a small little hole within the muzzle which was slightly confusing. The Flightmare then slammed into the cage causing Hiccup to retreat a little.

"Hiccup, we don't have time for this," said Ragnar.

Hiccup didn't like it but Ragnar was right. "I'll be back I promise."

They kept on looking through the cages, but deal they found no sign of Heather.

"We'll never find this way," said Hiccup.

"If you're open to suggestions I'm always," said Ragnar.

Hiccup looked around and then saw a trebuchet. "That's it."

Hiccup then pulled out his shield and fired the grappling hook which wrapped itself around the trebuchets arm. Ragnar placed his arms around Hiccup and with one good pull they were launched straight up into the air. From there they could see a cage with a figure sitting inside it and Heather's double bladed axe.

"Got her," said Hiccup.

They landed on the cage and somersaulted off it before making their way towards Heather's cage. They quickly broke the lock off it and opened the door to approach Heather, who had a blanket over her head.

"Heather, thank Thor you're right," said Ragnar.

"Come on. We've gotta get outta here," said Hiccup.

Ragnar then pulled the blanket of her, but only to discover that it was not Heather sitting there and instead it was Viggo.

"Welcome, Hiccup and the same to you Ragnar," he said.

Hiccup raised shield and Ragnar went with swords. "Where's Heather?" Ragnar demanded.

"Hm. Bad news. She will be joining us tonight," said Viggo as he stood up and looked directly at Hiccup. "But, on the positive side, you've far exceeded my expectations. Good on you." He then looked at Ragnar. "And I must say I'm quite impressed that you were the only one to see my deception last night and you coming to rescue your fairest maiden so poetic something from a children's storybook, but alas this tale will not have a happy ending."

Hiccup and Ragnar then saw hunters appearing out of the bushes aiming arrows at them.

"So many guards, so little time," said Viggo with his hands behind his back. "But, please. I am enjoying this. I'll give the two are you a head start."

"Why would you do that?" Hiccup asked.

"Because, I am nothing if not a good sport. And if I didn't, the game would end here. And what would that be?"

Hiccup and Ragnar didn't waste any time started to run as fast as they could.

"I don't suppose you got any ideas together is out of this mess," Ragnar asked.

"I'm thinking on it," said Hiccup. He then frowned. "Why would he give us a head start? He knows we have…" This only came to a stop and came face-to-face with several Hunters holding the Flightmare… "Dragons."

They got ready to fight and then out of nowhere came Toothless and Skull.

"Thank Thor you're okay, bud," said Hiccup.

"Same with you, Skull," said Ragnar.

"There you are," said Viggo's voice. They turned and found him standing on top of one of the cages. "Didn't get as far as I imagined."

"Game's over, Viggo," said Hiccup.

Viggo jumped off the cage. "I'm so sorry you feel that way. Was I not a worthy adversary? Don't answer that. Your surrender speaks volumes."

"No one is surrendering," said Hiccup.

"We would fight to the end," said Ragnar pulling out his blades.

"All right, then here's what I propose," said Viggo. "Turn over what you stole from me, what has belonged to my tribe for centuries, and I will give you serious thought to letting you and your friends go free."

"You're talking about the Dragon Eye," said Hiccup.

"'Dragon Eye.' A fitting name," Viggo nodded. "If you don't mind, I'll use that."

"And as for your proposal we both know that your businessman and we Dragon Riders are bad for your little business," said Ragnar.

"You can have it your way, Viggo. But don't say we didn't warn you," said Hiccup as the two young Vikings mounted their dragons.

Viggo then nodded to the Hunters holding the Flightmare and before they could do anything it sprayed both Hiccup and Ragnar with its mist. Instantly they were unable to move and work completely at the mercy of Viggo.

"You and your Night Fury along with your friend and his Boneknapper played right into my hands," said Viggo as he made his way towards them. "To be honest, I expected more."

He went through Hiccup satchel and pulled out the Dragon Eye. He then showed it to his brother and men and they cheered in triumph. One by one they slowly disappeared back into the forest and Viggo look at Hiccup and Ragnar one last time.

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third and Ragnar Keatson, I've enjoyed our time together. I truly hope we are able to compete again," he said.

* * *

Meanwhile, Dagur was leading Heather, who was still shackled, and two Hunters through a tunnel. He then stopped and pointed down another tunnel and Heather and Hunters walked past him.

"Wait. This doesn't seem right," said one of the Hunters.

The other Hunter nodded. "Aye, Viggo specifically said—"

He never finish that sentence, because Dagur suddenly slammed the heads of the two hunters together knocking him out cold.

"News flash! I no longer care what Viggo has to say," he said of the two unconscious Hunters.

He then looked at Heather with an emotionless expression.

Heather had a feeling she knew what he was about to do. "Dagur, please. Don't…"

Dagur raised his axe up high and have a close her eyes as he brought it down. However it never struck and when she opened her eyes she found that he had cut her shackles. She stared at him as he began to whistle and of war came down a tunnel and she turned to find Windshear approaching her.

Heather instantly ran up to her and hugged her. "Windshear! You're okay!" she said.

She then turned and looked at Dagur, who had his back to her as he walked away. He paused and looked over his shoulder to look at her, before walking off.

* * *

Meanwhile, the mist the Flightmare fired on Hiccup and Ragnar were starting to wear off and they were able to move again along with their dragons.

"Finally," said Ragnar as he tried to get the feeling back into his fingers.

Hiccup tired and found their footprints leading away deep into the forest. Toothless and Skull began to sniff the tracks.

* * *

Not far away inside a cave, Viggo, Ryker and their Hunters were standing in the centre of a cavern with the Flightmare.

"What are we doing? Let's kill it and move on!" said Ryker looking at his brother.

Viggo made his way towards the Flightmare and held out the Dragon Eye. Then a Hunter pulled a lever releasing the mist from the muzzled Flightmare which struck the lens on the Dragon Eye.

They suddenly heard noise and you instantly that it was Hiccup and Ragnar heading straight towards them.

"Viggo! Dragon Riders!" Ryker warned.

"Just a moment more," said Viggo. He held the Dragon Eye study as it began to shake and is hands and a few seconds later he said, "Release the Dragon!"

The Hunter released the muzzle and the Flightmare flew off just as Hiccup and Ragnar arrived.

"Viggo!" Hiccup yelled.

Then suddenly the Flightmare attacked them and forcing them to retreat down the tunnel.

"Accepting defeat is the most difficult, but necessary, part of competition, Hiccup," said Viggo as they left.

Hiccup and Ragnar flew down the tunnel with the Flightmare in tow, but they were able to get outside. From their position they could see the Riders not too far away.

"Guys, out of the way!" Hiccup yelled.

"What? We just gone here," Ruffnut frowned.

Then suddenly they saw the Flightmare heading straight towards them.

"This isn't a very fun reunion," said Tuffnut as the Flightmare chased them.

They don't get very far, because sprayed them with its mist and they fell hard to the ground totally helpless.

"Over here!" Fishlegs yelled.

Flightmare then turned and faced him and by a spurt of mist. Fishlegs was able to dodge it, but Snotlout, who was directly behind him, wasn't so lucky and they too fell to the ground.

"We need to get that thing out of here, back on its food trail," said Hiccup as he and Ragnar flew up towards Astrid.

"And how do we do that?" Ragnar asked.

Suddenly the Flightmare turned and faced the three of them. Then out of nowhere Heather appeared on Windshear.

"Heather!" Astrid gasped.

"Your live, thank Thor," said Ragnar relieved.

"Don't hurt it, girl. We just need to scare it off," said Heather.

Heather then flew up straight towards the Flightmare chasing it down and firing spikes added. Astrid then fired a stream of fire preventing it from escaping and soon it found itself in a four-way sandwich between Hiccup, Astrid, Ragnar and Heather.

Knowing it could not stand a chance against the four of them it blew off towards the open sea in the direction of its food trail. Once the Flightmare disappeared from view Heather and Windshear flew off without even saying goodbye.

"Let's sweep the tunnels! Come on!" Hiccup ordered.

"Hiccup, there's no way he's still down there," said Astrid.

"Besides, the island is properly covered with Hunters by now we will be to get anywhere close," said Ragnar.

"You know Viggo had this whole thing figured out from start to finish. He's long gone by now," said Astrid.

Hiccup knew they were right, but they didn't make it any easier. He had lost for the first time in his Dragon Riding career. He then roared in anger straight up into the sky so loud that the gods themselves could hear him from Asgard.

* * *

They then flew off away from the island. They met up with the other Riders, sea stacks not too far away from the Hunters base. It was then that Astrid noticed that Hiccup still looked furious about himself.

"Where's Heather?" he asked.

Astrid shook her head.

"You know her, she's a bit of a loner, but I'm sure we'll see her again," said Ragnar.

Hiccup look down at the ground in shame and Astrid knew what was wrong. "He got the Dragon Eye didn't he?" Hiccup silence confirmed it. "We'll get it back, Hiccup. Besides, he has no Snow Wraith key. Without that, it's useless."

"And he knows that," said Hiccup as he took out the Marauders Chief piece from Maces and Talons. "So, why did he wanted so badly?"

"You think he has another way to unlock it?" Ragnar asked.

"He knew I would take the key out for ever coming to this island and my mistake is properly cost us," said Hiccup.

"You've only lost one that you have lost the war yet," said Ragnar. "Besides, not everything went as he planned. We're all still alive, have managed to escape and we now know a better idea of our enemy. I call that a victory."

Hiccup didn't answer continue to look at the Marauders Chief wondering why Viggo took the Dragon Eye on what he was planning next.

* * *

Meanwhile, on Viggo's flagship, both Viggo and Ryker were sitting in Viggo's cabin looking at the Dragon Eye which had no Snow Wraith embedded in it.

"Well, at least it's decorative," said Ryker. "Useless without a key, but decorative, nonetheless."

Ryker began to make his way out of the cabin, but Viggo smirked and slammed his fist on the table. The Terrible Terror that was trapped in a cage on it shot out some flames straight towards the Dragon Eye.

Ryker turned as he saw the glow exiting from the Dragon Eye producing a much larger map than normally. It was all in different colours, different markings all across the wall.

Ryker was speechless. "Wait, how did you…"

"When the Dragon Eye was constructed, the locking mechanism was given an emergency release," Viggo explained. "A filament, that can only be burned away by the glow of a Flightmare." Viggo then approached the huge map against his wall. "Hiccup will come to know that his carelessness will cause every dragon on earth to be slaughtered and sold, including his Night Fury."


	27. Enemy of My Enemy

It had been months since the encounter with Viggo and they had found no trace of the Dragon Hunter. This concerned Hiccup greatly, which was my first thing in the morning he was at the stables trying to get Toothless to where his armour.

The Night Fury was very reluctant, no matter how many times you try to persuade him. Eventually he had enough and began shaking his body and sending the different armour parts scattering across the floor.

"Oh, come on, bud, please work with me here, please?" Hiccup begged.

It took some effort, but eventually Hiccup managed to lead Toothless to the door trying to be as stealthy as he could. He didn't want the others to know what he was planning, because he knew that they will try and stop him.

"We're almost out of here, so…" said Hiccup said as he opened the doors. "Toothless, just…"

They then stopped dead in their tracks when they saw both Astrid and Ragnar standing there with their arms crossed and both with annoyed looks on their faces.

"Astrid! Ragnar! Hey! Hey," said Hiccup nervously. "So, what brings you two here so early in the morning? You just going for a test flight with Stormfly and Skull? Yeah, well, same here. With Toothless, though, of course, because, Stormfly and Skull, that would be, you know…"

"This ought to be good," said Ragnar rolling his eyes.

"I don't believe this," said Astrid shaking her head. "You're going for recon flight. Alone. With no support. No cover. We talked about this."

"And, as usual, you become your stubborn self," Ragnar added.

"I know," said Hiccup raising a hand up calmly. "I just didn't wanna wake anybody. It's no big deal. Really."

"Yes, it is," said Astrid, with her hands on her hips. "It's way too risky."

"She's right, you can't keep on doing this," said Ragnar.

Hiccup just stood there in silence.

Astrid sighed. "Hiccup, he's not out there. It's been months since the Viggo…"

"Fiasco?" Hiccup offered.

"I was going to say 'episode'," said Astrid.

"It's not like you could have stopped it," said Ragnar.

Hiccup just place the pieces of Toothless arm on the ground.

Astrid shook her head. "You have to stop this. You're gonna wear yourself into the ground looking for this guy who doesn't want to be found."

"She's right, this sort of obsession is bad for your health, it could get you killed," said Ragnar.

"I'm fine, guys. Really," Hiccup assured. "Besides, maybe Viggo is an out there, but his Hunters are. If I just find one to question—"

"They won't tell you a thing," said Astrid.

"She's right," said Ragnar. "They're more afraid of him then they are of us and going without your armour is even more dangerous."

"Don't blame me, blame Toothless," said Hiccup gesturing to his dragon, who grunted in annoyance. "Hey, you're the one who doesn't want to put it on." He then looked at them. "You don't know if they won't tell me anyway."

Astrid and Ragnar looked at one another and they knew they can convince Hiccup out of this.

"Look, if you're going, at least let us go with you," said Astrid.

"Fine," Hiccup groaned.

Astrid and Ragnar then rushed into the stables, but instead awaiting he picked up Toothless' armour and made his way to his dragon.

"Okay, bud," said Hiccup. "It's now or never."

However, Toothless responded with a plasma blast knocking the pieces of armour out of Hiccup's hand.

* * *

Realising that there was no way he could persuade the Night Fury to wear the armour, he decided to leave it behind.

"When Astrid and Ragnar finds out you're not wearing your armour, I am not covering for you," Hiccup warned.

They then soared away from Dragon's Edge and no doubt leaving a very angry Astrid and Ragnar behind. He knew he had to find a way to make it up to them once he returns, that if he lived through their anger. Though right at that very moment he was more preoccupied with flying than to worry about his angry friends.

"But, with all that armour on, would we be able to do this?" Hiccup asked.

He then released the tailfin, which was yellow and black with a pitch of Toothless on it. Then they soared across the sky spinning and then dive towards the ocean.

"Man, that new tail is awesome," said Hiccup looking back at the tailfin.

Hiccup laughed when Toothless spun on his back causing Hiccup to experience a face full of seawater, which actually woken even more.

"Wow, I owe you one," said Hiccup.

They then spun up right and Toothless did a dragon's equivalent of a chuckle. That's when they saw alone ship in the water he recognises the Dragon Hunter ship.

"Gotcha," he said. He then looked down at Toothless. "Hey, bud? Let's get in closer.

They then dive towards the ship, but to their surprise they found the ship in ruins. All the men were laid on the deck, and looked as if there was a massive battle and that the Hunters lost.

They then landed on the deck to inspect the damage and find any clue on what caused it. He saw no other bodies, they were attacked by pirates and even they were he doubted that a bunch of pirates could ransack a Dragon Hunters vessel.

"Looks like a dragon might have got the best of them," he said. Toothless growled indicating that he wanted to leave and Hiccup rubbed his head. "Yeah, let's get out of here."

Then all of a sudden the Hunter got onto their feet and grab their bows and crossbows.

"What the—?" Hiccup gasped, realising too late it was a trap. "Sky, Toothless!"

Toothless do need to be told twice and took off into the air and at once the Hunters fired their arrows. They managed to dodge the few bolt and arrows, but one Hunter skilfully struck Toothless' tail.

At once Toothless went rigid and fell towards the ocean.

"Toothless!" Hiccup panicked. He struggled to keep them steady. "Come on, bud!"

Fortunately, they were close by at an island and Hiccup desperately try to guide Toothless there.

"We can make that!" Hiccup yelled encouragingly.

They managed to fly over the coast and then suddenly Toothless began to descend as he began to lose feeling in his wings. Hiccup screamed as they crashed into the forest and crashed into the ground hard.

Once Hiccup check to see that every piece of him was all right he rushed over to Toothless, who roared in agony.

"I gothic, Toothless. I'm right here," he assured.

He then made his way to the Hunter arrow which was still wedged in Toothless' tail. The moment he touched it Toothless screeched in pain. With one good jerk Hiccup managed to dislodge the arrow and Toothless winced in pain.

"I know, Dragon Root. We just gotta wait it out, bud," said Hiccup. He then took a good look at Toothless, who wasn't getting any better. "But who knows how long that's gonna take."

He then rushed over to the top of the hill and could see on the horizon that the Hunters' ship was sailing towards them.

At once he rushed over to Toothless and try to lift him. "Oh, come on," he said as he strained to lift the Night Fury.

* * *

A few minutes later the Hunters landed on the island and set off into the forest hunting for the Dragon Rider and his Night Fury.

* * *

It took great effort, but Hiccup managed to limp Toothless towards the cave that was big enough to hide in and shelter the two of them.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, bud," said Hiccup once they were inside and sat down next to his dragon. "I am so sorry I got us into this."

Toothless groaned.

"I know, bud."

Hiccup then heard voices and rushed to the cave's entrance and saw two Hunters making their approach towards them.

"Oh, why didn't I listen?" he groaned as he cursed himself not listening to Astrid and Ragnar. "Why didn't I—what is wrong with me?"

Toothless groaned and began thrashing about.

Hiccup rushed over to him. "Toothless, please," he said calmly.

Toothless roared.

"Okay. You stay still and keep quiet. I'll gonna buy some time. I'll be back for you. I promise."

Toothless roared as Hiccup left the cave. He watched helplessly as Hiccup began to cover the cave's entrance with foliage.

Once Hiccup finished ranging the foliage so that the Hunters one spot the cave, he rushed to the nearest bush and hit in it. He then noticed the two Hunters only a few yards away from the cave. Hiccup quickly picked up a stone and tossed it over their heads creator noise and guiding the Hunters away from him.

Hiccup sighed and began to move, but then to his horror he stepped on a dry twig. He then turned nervously towards the Hunters, who turned around and spot him instantly.

"There he is! Get him!" one of them yelled.

"After him!" yelled the other one.

Hiccup didn't stick around and ran as fast as he could away from the cave and the two Hunters followed him. He was so busy running that he didn't notice that one of the Hunters turned, no doubt to corner him.

As he ran he looked back and saw one of the Hunters approaching him fast and the moment he looked away he heard a noise. He turned and saw the Hunter unconscious, it was like someone had hit him on the back of the head.

"What the—?"

It was so preoccupied on the first Hunter that he didn't notice the second one was sneaking up behind him. Then suddenly he heard a noise and turned, but found nothing.

He decided there could be more of them and ran, but then he heard noise up ahead. He then quickly turned and heard behind a tree.

Seconds later the Captain and several Hunters appeared.

"You two, go that way," said the Captain pointing.

Two of his Hunters nodded and walked in the direction he was pointing at. He then led his two remaining Hunters down another path.

Hiccup sighed with relief and sat down, hoping to catch his breath.

He didn't notice a hunter aiming a crossbow at him and was aiming the bolt directly at him. Then something hit the Hunter and Hiccup got at the moment he had a noise and ran as far as he could.

* * *

Elsewhere in the forest the Captain and more Hunters gathered around.

"We think they got away, sir," said one of his lieutenants.

"They didn't get away," said the Captain. "I saw the dragon go down myself."

Hiccup was actually behind but eavesdropping at the Hunters conversation.

"Gather more men and double back," the Captain ordered. "And check the caves. We're not leaving until we find the Rider and that Night Fury."

Once they left, Hiccup took that as his chance to meet back up with Toothless, unaware that someone was covering his tracks with a tree branch.

* * *

Hiccup soon return to the cave and once he was certain the foliage was still in place, he ran up to Toothless.

"Hey. How you doing?" he asked.

Toothless only roared weakly.

"You think you can stand up, bud?" Hiccup asked. He then bent down and try to assist Toothless. "Come on, let's try to get you up. What you say, huh?"

Hiccup struggled to raise Toothless onto his feet and slowly guided him away. "Come on, no, no, it's okay," he said preventing Toothless from toppling over. "I got you, Toothless. It's okay, bud." Toothless then toppled over. "Oh, come on. Think, Hiccup. Think."

"Keep looking!" a voice outside yelled. "That Night Fury went down somewhere around here."

Hiccup rested to the foliage and through the leaves the source three Hunters making their way towards the cave.

Then Toothless groaned at once Hiccup rushed over to him.

"No, no, no, Toothless! You gotta be quiet, bud!" said Hiccup tried his best to calm his Dragon down.

Toothless then shrieking loudly, so loud that the Hunters outside could hear him.

"Hey, over there!" a Hunter's voice yelled.

Hiccup heard the Hunters approaching the cave and knew they would find them. He cursed himself for not bringing any weapons you is the only thing at hand, a rock.

"Okay. If they want you, Toothless, they're gonna have to go through me," said Hiccup as he took up a fighting stance.

Then suddenly heard strange noises outside, grunts and groans. It was as though there was some sort of fight outside.

"What?" Hiccup stared.

Then he saw someone moving the foliage away and prepared himself for a fight.

Then walking into the bright sunlight was someone he least expected, someone who is more dangerous than the Hunters. Someone who tried to kill him a dozen times.

"Hello, Hiccup," said Dagur the Deranged.

"Dagur?" Hiccup stared.

Dagur slowly approached them.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Hiccup warned. He then looked to Toothless, hoping that he was fit enough for a fight. "Toothless!"

Toothless growled and tried to stand, but he simply toppled over. Hiccup knew he had a fight Dagur himself and charged at him shouting.

"Easy, brother," said Dagur calmly. Hiccup swung the fist with the rock, but Dagur simply sidestepped and dodged his back fist. "Hiccup! I'm not here to hurt you."

He then dodged another swing with the hand with the rock and grasped Hiccup in a firm hold.

"I'm here to help. Seriously, you need to calm down," he said and dragged him outside.

Toothless tried to rise, but he was still too weak to help.

Once they were outside, Dagur tossed into the clearing. Hiccup stood up at once and that's when he noticed the Hunters lane down on the ground unconscious.

He then turned to Dagur with a bewildered look. "You?"

"Plenty of time to answer all your Hiccupy questions later," he said chuckling nervously. "Right now, we need to move your dragon before these guys wake up. Or you can handle them yourself. Hmm?"

Hiccup didn't like it, but he knew he had no choice.

* * *

Moments later both he and Dagur began dragging Toothless out of the forest. This had to be the weirdest day in Hiccup's life and he had a lot of them.

"Okay, keep it moving," said Dagur. "At the boy, Hiccup."

"Don't need the encouragement," said Hiccup.

As they walked Toothless snarling at Dagur and Hiccup couldn't really blame him.

"Hi, there," said Dagur smiling. Toothless then threw his head back in resentment. "Oh, come on. If I was gonna harm you, don't you think I would've done it by now?"

"I don't know," said Hiccup honestly. "You're pretty crafty."

Dagur blinked. "Crafty. Thank you, Hiccup. I appreciate the kind words," he smiled. He then gave him a curious look. "They were kind, right?"

Hiccup shook his head. "You are so weird."

Dagur then drew a dagger and tossed it. It missed Hiccup's head by inches and at first Hiccup thought it was one of his crazy moments. Then he heard a sound of a mechanism and turned round to find a dragon trap not too far away.

He then turned back to Dagur. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Dagur smiled.

They then continue moving Toothless through the forest.

"Dragons are a little heavier than they look," said Dagur.

* * *

They kept on walking for hours, though Hiccup had no idea where they were going. He had to trust Dagur on this one and he couldn't believe he was actually doing it.

"Come on, Hiccup," said Dagur. "That's it. Help me out here."

They soon came to a stop.

"Wait here," said Dagur and made his way down along the path. A few seconds later he heard him say, "We're good. Come."

Hiccup through the bushes and found himself at the edge of a waterfall that overlooks the valley. Under normal circumstances he would have found the view quite beautiful, but right now all he could see was a dead end.

"Oh, I knew it!" Hiccup groaned facepalming himself. "What was I thinking?"

Dagur was just below him near the edge of the waterfall. "Hiccup, this isn't a trap. Look. There."

Hiccup frowned at him. "What… what are you…?"

"Hiccup!" Dagur yelled. "Just look! Please? I'll stay right here."

Hiccup walked a bit further along the edge to get a better look at the waterfall and that's when he saw it. A pathway that led to a cave just behind the waterfall.

* * *

Minutes later, he and Dagur were moving Toothless along the pathway, being dreadfully careful since the pathway was covered in water.

One wrong slip and they could tumble over the edge and fall to their death. Hiccup actually almost did trip at one point.

"Be careful, now," Dagur advised. "It can be a bit…"

Then Hiccup and fell off the edge. Dagur quickly grabbed his hand, but he was straining trying to pull in backup.

"Toothless!" Hiccup yelled. "Come on, bud!"

"You gotta help me, Toothless!" Dagur yelled.

Dagur then slipped off the edge, but fortunately Toothless managed to grab hold of Dagur's leg with his mouth. Toothless then began to pour the Berserker and Viking back onto the pathway. All three of them panted for breath after that little experience.

"Sorry about that," said Dagur. "My fault. I should've warned you earlier. I'll try to do better."

Dagur then got up and moved towards Toothless.

"And I have officially stepped into an alternate archipelago," said Hiccup shaking his head.

* * *

Minutes later they entered into the cave.

"Okay, right over here. Good job, Hiccup," said Dagur.

Once they laid Toothless down, Dagur began to start a fire using two rocks. That's when Hiccup notice several engravings on the cave wall and some notes.

"Yeah, I tend to have a lot of time on my hands these days," said Dagur noticing Hiccup's interest on the drawings.

Dagur then grabbed a blanket and a bucket of water and made his way over to Toothless.

"Here you go, little buddy, there you go," said Dagur as he a wet towel on top of Toothless' head. He then looked back at Hiccup. "It's important to keep the mind sharp."

He then laughed, but Hiccup wasn't in a laughing mood.

"Yes, answers," said Dagur. "I did tell those were en route." Hiccup sat down on an old crate. "Well, after I came to the unfortunate realisation that I was completely expendable while part of the Dragon Hunters. And under the command of Viggo Grimborn…" He then clenched his fists. "Oh, I would have loved to have seen the look on his face as I drove a…" He then relaxed and took a deep breath. "Have you ever tried that? It's cathartic. I used to think that the only deep breaths with the last ones."

He then laughed and then came to abrupt stop. "How's Heather?"

Hiccup honestly had no idea, they hadn't seen Heather for months, but he can tell Dagur that. "Yeah, you know, Heather, she's okay."

"Good. Good," Dagur nodded. "And her dragon? What was it, Windshower?"

"It's Windshear."

"Right. Sorry."

He then plays day blank and underneath Toothless' chin. "Here you go, little buddy."

He then moved it closer to the fire. "Anyway, at that learning experience, I drifted at sea for quite some time, then shipwrecked here." He then placed another stick on the fire." I've been alone on this island for months. You know, it's amazing what a near-death experience and hours upon hours, upon hours, upon hours, upon hours, upon hours of alone time will do to the mind, body and soul, Hiccup. I mean, you should try it sometime."

Hiccup chuckled nervously.

"What's so funny?" Dagur blinked.

"You. This. I mean, I knew you were crazy, but this takes the cake."

"I am not…" Dagur yelled as he stood up. He then calmed down. "Crazy. But I do understand your scepticism."

"Dagur, why in the name of Thor should I believe a word you say?" Hiccup asked asking the question had been on his mind ever since he ran into the lunatic.

"You shouldn't. I don't deserve the benefit of the doubt," Dagur admitted.

He then grabbed a bucket and walked over to Toothless. "Oh, you take that little water, yes, you good boy." He then looked to Hiccup, walked over to examine Toothless. "He's not looking good."

"He's never been hit with one of those," said Hiccup as he looked at Toothless' tail. "I don't know, maybe… maybe Night Furies react differently?

"I never liked those Dragon Root arrows," said Dagur. "Seemed like cheating to me. I hate cheaters."

"I wish Ragnar was here, he would know what to do," said Hiccup.

"Ragnar? Isn't that the guy but my sister has the hots for?" Dagur blinked.

Hiccup rub the back of his neck nervously. "Yes… but how about we focus on Toothless and then discuss your sister's love life."

"Enough," Dagur shrugged. "There is an antidote, you know. I saw Ryker and his men make it. I give you the ingredients and together make the antidote to save your glorious Night Fury." He then got up and walked. "Unless you want to take the chance of him surviving this on his own?"

Before Hiccup could answer, Dagur grabbed a pair of swords and tossed one over to Hiccup. "You may need that. They're still out there."

* * *

Moments later they were outside the waterfall searching for ingredients. They then stopped so that Dagur could examine a weed in the ground.

"Bitterweed. That's the first ingredient," he said he then sniffed the weed. "Looks just like this, but darker."

"So, what caused this new Dagur?" Hiccup asked as he began searching through the weeds.

"I told you. Near-death experience and a lot of time to think," said Dagur.

"About what?" Hiccup frowned.

"Well, when you only care about yourself, life is simple. Your actions are clear. Consequences?" He then laughed. "Who cares? When that changes…"

Hiccup nodded. "Heather?"

"She's blood, Hiccup. Which makes her even closer than you and me."

Hiccup could never get used the fact that Dagur kept on referencing him as his brother. It was possibly the most disturbing thing ever since Astrid wooed Snotlout.

Dagur then saw the weed they were looking for, but when he tried to grab it and they heard a growl. They soon discovered that a Changewing had camouflaged itself as a rock and was growling angrily at them.

"Changewing!" Hiccup yelled.

The Chagnewing snapped at them causing Dagur to topple over and began looking at the two of them, no doubt wondering which one of them to attack first.

However, before it attacked them, Dagur places hands over his mouth and began to whistle. Whatever he did it cause the Changewing to disappear and Hiccup herd movement indicating that the dragon was running away.

"What?" Hiccup stared.

Dagur leaned back and sighed. "A little something I picked are along the way."

* * *

Moments later they began searching for the second ingredient.

"Okay, now we need the branch of a Fire Fern," said Dagur. "It's the long, red planned underneath the big Elm tree. Just make sure you don't…"

He then heard Hiccup scream. He quickly turned and found Hiccup at the base of a large Elm tree in front of a red planned and clutching his hand in pain.

"…touch it with your bare hands," Dagur finished as he picked up the branch with his sword.

"Thanks for the early warning," said Hiccup wincing.

"I gotta work on that," said Dagur. He then grabbed his wrist. "Give it here. Get, come on. Can't take you anywhere."

He then dug Hiccup's hand into a nearby lake.

"Keep it in the water," he said as he grabbed a jar. "Hey! Next ingredient, fresh water."

He then looked at Hiccup curiously. "So, you wanna tell me why you're out here on your own?" he asked. "Because I'm surprised that Ragnar was nowhere near you, you two are practically brothers."

"Not really," said Hiccup. "Let's just say you aren't the only one who changed after Viggo Grimborn."

Dagur nodded in understanding. "That surfing kill you from the inside, Hiccup. Revenge. Anger. Obsession. Trust me, I know. It can make you do things you never thought you were capable of. Cause you to take chances, make mistakes. If that doesn't end you, it'll eat away at you slowly."

Hiccup just stared at Dagur as he got up. "You'll live."

* * *

Then they began hunting down for the last ingredient, which was located on top of a large boulder that was about thirty feet tall.

"Are you sure?" Hiccup asked.

"Yes, I'm sure. Purple Oleander," said Dagur and gave Hiccup a sideways look. "Do you always nag like this?" Hiccup looked at him. "Kidding." He then laughed. "Sense of humour? No? Sense of humour?"

Hiccup shook his head. "Blue Oleander can kill dragon. How… how is purple any different?"

"Well, for one thing—"

"Please don't say, 'it's purple'," Hiccup warned.

Dagur crossed his arms. "I was going to say 'nature'. It's always a great mystery, Hiccup. Take Heather and I. Where brother and sister and yet we're very different."

Hiccup had to admit that Dagur had a fair point and the reading had any time to argue, for all he knew Toothless was getting worse. Also, if he didn't get back to the Edge soon Astrid and Ragnar will be doing the killing.

"I must be out of my mind to go along with any of this," Hiccup groaned as he walked over to the boulder.

He then began climbing the boulder and Dagur just simply watches progress.

Then two Hunters from their head out from behind a bush. Slowly one of them drew his mace and made his way over towards Dagur. He raised the mace and then Dagur, who must've senses presence, turned quickly and punched and right in the face.

"My face," the Hunter groaned clutching his nose.

"Ooh! That feels good," said Dagur.

Hiccup and now reach the top of the boulder and he looked down. He saw Dagur, who had tackled the Hunter, pummelling a Hunter on the face. Then he saw a second Hunter making his way towards Dagur.

"Dagur!" Hiccup yelled.

Dagur duct dodging the mace by inches and rolled to his feet. He then stepped back to dodge the second swing and sidestepped to dodge the third and then punched the Hunter right across the face and grabbed the mace.

He raised the mace prepared to deal the final blow, but then he stopped in mid-air and released it. Hiccup, who had just retrieved the Purple Oleander, walked over to him looking slightly surprised that he did that.

"I told you, I've changed," said Dagur.

Then suddenly Dagur shoved Hiccup out of the way. "What was that for?" Hiccup yelled.

He looked up and his eyes widened, because he found a bolt wedged in Dagur's shoulder. Strangely enough he didn't exactly look concerned by it.

"Stuck right in there, look at the way it's…" he said before he toppled to his knees.

Hiccup turned and found a Hunter standing there with a crossbow in his hand. The Hunter roared casting his crossbow aside and holding out his mace.

Hiccup quickly spun instinctively and grabbed the mace. Then equally instinctively he closes eyes and help the mace out and he heard a loud grunt sound.

He opened his eyes to find the mace inches from his face and that Hunter, who ran straight into the mace and looked very winded. Clutching his stomach the Hunter toppled over and Hiccup took several deep breaths.

* * *

Hours later, Hiccup was standing near a fire where a pot was brewing. He started to put all the ingredients needed to create the antidote for Toothless and began to stir the contents with a stick.

He then looked to Dagur, who was unconscious. He had to drag the Berserker all the way to the cave and the treaties wound. He was fortunate that Ragnar taught in basic first-aid and he was able to create a sling around his arm.

He then heard a gasp and saw Dagur waking up. "Whoa! Those were some crazy dreams," he exclaimed.

Hiccup bent down and looked at him. "You'll live."

Dagur then noticed the sling. "You… did this? For me?" he said surprised. He then sniffed. "I don't know what to say. I mean, nobody has ever—"

"Dagur, it was the least I could do," Hiccup interrupted. "Think of it as payback for, well, everything."

Then they heard a hissing sound and Dagur got to his feet and together the two of them me the way out of the pot.

"Was just about to give it to him," said Hiccup.

Dagur examine the contents. "Needs more purple. Definitely," he said and dropped another Purple Oleander into the pot. Almost immediately the contents turned purple. "There. That should do it."

Hiccup remove the pot from the fire and placed it in front of Toothless. The Night Fury, however, turned his head away from the contents.

"Hey, we can always wait for the effect of the arrows to wear off and hope they don't find as before then. But that could take quite a while," said Dagur. "It's up to you, Hiccup. But I would suggest you lose the paranoia. It is a terrible existence. And it's not you."

Hiccup sighed, because he knew that Dagur was right. Hiccup grabbed the pot and poured it down into Toothless' mouth.

"There you go, bud. It's okay," said Hiccup.

Toothless swallowed the potion and at once stood up. At first it looked as if the potion had worked, but then he began to roar uncontrollably.

"Toothless? Are you okay?" Hiccup asked fearfully.

Toothless fidgeting and roar until he eventually collapsed.

"Toothless!" Hiccup yelled running to his dragon. He then turned on Dagur angrily. "What did you do?"

Dagur just shrugged.

Hiccup turned back to Toothless, who was fidgeting uncontrollably.

"Oh, come on. Come on. Stay with me, bud!" Hiccup begged. Again Toothless collapsed and Hiccup turned furiously on Dagur, who took several steps towards them. "You stay away from him!"

"Hiccup, I didn't know. You have to believe me," said Dagur holding out his hand defensively.

Hiccup roared and slammed into Dagur, who casually made his way to the cave entrance, causing the two of them to topple over the edge. They then landed on the river and were carried away by the current.

They try grabbing hold of the rocks, but they were too slippery to get a proper hold on. They were forced to follow the current and nearly hit a few rocks along the way, but eventually they managed to pull themselves onto the edge.

Dagur got the feeling back into his arm, but had little time to enjoy it because Hiccup tackled him.

"I'm gonna kill you!" Hiccup roared.

Fortunately for Dagur, he was still stronger than Hiccup and managed to pin him to the ground hoping to talk some sense into him.

"I didn't hurt your—"

He stopped when he saw the Dragon Hunter Captain and Hunters pointing their weapons at them. He then held out his hands in surrender.

* * *

Moments later they were in a clearing and the two of them had their hands tied. The captain looked down at them with a smirk on his face.

"We're going to find that dragon, it's only a matter of time," he said. "Why don't you make it easier for everyone?"

The Hunters sniggered, but they didn't say a word.

"Maybe this will burn a hole in your memory," said the Captain gesturing to one of his men.

A Hunter grabbed Hiccup forcefully and towards a fire they had set. Hiccup could see what they were planning, because in the fire he could see a hot poker. The Hunter grabbed the poker and pressed it on a bucket and Hiccup could see the emblem of a dragon skull with a sword through its head.

"Now, you will be part of the Dragon Hunters forever," the Captain smirked as the Hunter drew the poker closer to Hiccup's face.

"Okay! Enough! Enough! I'll take you to the Night Fury!" Dagur yelled.

"No, Dagur!" Hiccup yelled.

The Captain gestured for the Hunter to stop and he dropped the poker.

"Take a few more men with you, just in case," said the Captain.

The Hunter then released Hiccup and at once Dagur rushed over to him. Two of the Hunters followed him, in order to keep a close eye on him. He smirked as he drew his hand to the fire which started to burn the rope around them.

The Hunter drew their weapons a bit too late, because the rope snapped and he rammed his shoulder into the charging Hunters and caught the sword one of them dropped.

"Come on, come on, hurry, hurry, hurry!" Hiccup explained holding out his hands.

Dagur made his way to him, but then turned and found Hunter charging towards them. "Sorry, brother. You'd just slow me down."

He then run off and one of the Hunters try to shoot him with an arrow, but he deflected the shot with the sword.

"You're a fake, Dagur!" Hiccup yelled as Dagur ran into the woods. "A fake! I hate you! You hear me? I hate you!"

Dagur kept on running through the forest and heard every one of Hiccup's words and shook his head. He then made his way over towards the waterfall.

Some of the Hunters began to give chase, but the Captain stopped them.

"Forget him. He's worthless," he said. He then looked to Hiccup. "This one will take us to the Night Fury. We'll come back for Dagur later, put an end to his miserable life."

They then made their way towards the shoreline.

* * *

An hour later they made it to the ship and the Captain looked at Hiccup.

"Last chance," he said. "You wanna help that dragon? Help yourself?"

Hiccup glared at him. "I'll die before I talk."

"Then die you shall. Viggo will see to that." He then looked to his Hunters. "Take him."

As they made their way to the rowboat, Hiccup looked back at the island and his eyes widened. For in the distance he could see something flying towards them and he recognised the sound it was making.

"Move," said the Hunter shoving him.

Then suddenly a plasma blast slammed right into the Hunter and a second one took out another. Then zooming overhead was none other than Toothless.

Hiccup laughed. He soon stopped when he realised who was riding him, it was Dagur, who looked as if he wanted to be anywhere else than on the dragon.

Toothless then flew back down towards the beach and performed a barrel roll to dodge the bolts the Hunters fired. He then hovered above them and a Hunter tried to strike him, but Dagur caught the bolt and laughed.

The Captain drew his sword and forced Hiccup onto his knee, pointing the blade at him. He had hoped that the dragon would not harm him as long as he has his master.

Toothless soared up into the sky.

"Easy, dragon!" Dagur yelled.

Toothless then zoomed down towards the Captain, almost making Dagur vomit. He performed another barrel roll to dodge the Hunters bolts and blasted the remaining Hunters with a plasma blast. He then zoomed over the Captain's head and landed behind him growling.

Toothless then roared, knocking Dagur off the saddle, and the Captain ran for it.

Hiccup smiled at Toothless as the Dragon nuzzled him. "Bud! It's good to see you, too!"

Dagur then hobbled his way towards Hiccup with a hand over his stomach as if he was trying to keep the contents inside it. "I have no idea how you stomach that," he said.

He then sliced the rope with the Hunters bolt he caught earlier and the two of them shook hands.

The moment they let go, Hiccup heard Toothless.

"Oh, Toothless! It's good to have you back!" he said relieved. He then mounted on Toothless' back. "Now, what you say we show him how it's done?"

Hiccup press down on the scabbard and release the tailfin. Seconds later they soared into the air.

"Toothless! Barrel roll, multiple blasts!" Hiccup commanded.

Hiccup performed a barrel roll and unleash stable larger plasma blast that the Hunters ship, making all the remaining Hunters boards who jump overboard. He then began to chase down the Captain.

Dagur watched briefly and then turned to the Hunters ship with a smile on his face.

The Captain kept on running, hoping to escape the Dragon Rider and his Night Fury. He then ran through the forest, knowing the trees are too thick for them to follow him.

"They **'** re so much tougher when they have you chained up, huh, bud?" said Hiccup.

They then left.

The Captain poked his head from behind the rock he was hiding behind. He thought he was saved, but soon found that he had walked into something much worse when he saw the Changewing's head appearing right in front of him.

He whimpered and next second the dragon pounced on him.

Hiccup and Toothless soon return to the shoreline to pick up Dagur, but discovered that he was nowhere to be seen.

"Wait? Where'd he go?" Hiccup asked looking around.

That's when he knows the Hunters ship was also missing and they took off into the air. However, there was no sign of the ship nor of Dagur.

Toothless growled and Hiccup nodded. "Yeah. We owe him one," he agreed. "Besides, maybe he'll get to Viggo before we do."

They then flew off in the opposite direction, but then appearing out from behind the cloud cover was the Dragon Hunters ship which was manned by Dagur.

"Hiccup! Tell Heather I'm coming for her!" he yelled at the top of his voice, unsure whether Hiccup heard him not.

The Berserker then sailed into the white blue yonder while the Dragon Rider soared into the opposite direction.


	28. Crash Course

It was a normal day on the Edge and Hiccup and Toothless were filing plasma blast at the cliff wall. They were gathering rock so they could use them on their catapults in case Viggo attacked the Edge.

"Hah! Great choosing, bud," Hiccup cheered. "Perfect for the catapults."

Fishlegs and Meatlug then grabbed the rock and flew off towards the catapults that were mounted on the cliff face.

"Nice catch, girl," said Fishlegs. "Your athleticism is nothing short of breathtaking."

Fishlegs happily licked Fishlegs and dropped the rock which then fell into the ocean. The two of them then casually flew away from the ocean acting as if nothing had happened.

"So fast! Good girl, Meatlug!" Fishlegs yelled as they flew passed Hiccup.

Hiccup shook his head, but then his attention was diverted when he heard explosions coming further down the cliff face.

"Yeah, okay, should another one," said Tuffnut's voice.

"Letter to the right," said Ruffnut.

Hiccup turned and saw the twins at the cliff face and watched as Barf spewed gas into the cracks within the cliff face.

"Now go down, down," said Tuffnut.

Belch then ignited the gas causing a small explosion.

"Yes, perfect. Uh, nice shot. It is again!" Tuffnut yelled excitedly.

They then kept on doing the same process again and again. They then stopped and examine their handiwork.

"Hmm. What you think?" Ruffnut asked her brother thoughtfully.

"I think we need to chisel the jawline more," said Tuffnut thoughtfully. "Make them more in and of our visage."

"Agreed," Ruffnut nodded.

"Will you guys do something that's actually important?" Snotluot called as he flew down towards them on Hookfang, who was carrying a net of rocks.

"What could possibly be more important than this?" Tuffnut asked gesturing to their masterpiece.

Snotlout looked down and saw the twins had carved their own faces into the cliff face.

"I'm sick of this," said Snotlout as Astrid and Ragnar appeared, whose dragons were also carrying rocks in nets. "If these clowns aren't gonna pull their weight—"

"Hey, boyo!" Ruffnut yelled. "Never talk to a girl about her weight."

"No wonder you can't land a girlfriend. Am I right?" said Tuffnut holding his hand up high five, but his sister just let them hang.

Astrid and Ragnar laughter the comment.

Hiccup then flew up to them. "Guys, let's get all these catapults loaded before the sun goes down?"

Then suddenly they heard the sound of trees cracking and turned towards the forest. They couldn't see anything due to the thickness of the trees, but they heard something big approaching.

"What was that?" Astrid asked.

"I know, but it's crumbling my eyelids," said Ruffnut looking at the stone sculpture of her face, and the eyelids were definitely crumbling.

The rumbling got louder and they could see one of the tree shaking in the distance. Whatever was coming it was only disturbing the dragons

"Okay, easy, Stormfly!" said Astrid, as he tried to keep Stormfly calm.

"Easy there, boy!" said Ragnar as he tried to keep Skull study.

"Whoa! What are you doing, Hookfang?" Snotlout yelled as Hookfang fidgeted.

They had more rumbling and it was definitely getting louder.

"Something's coming towards us!" said Hiccup.

"Something big!" said Fishlegs.

They can now see several more tree shaking.

"Oh, Thor! Oh, Thor!" Fishlegs panicked.

Hiccup looked down at Toothless. "Let's get out of here."

They then began to fly away from the rumbling, but Stormfly, Skull and Hookfang were lacking, because of the stone nets they were carrying.

"Stormfly!" Astrid yelled.

"We're carrying too much weight!" Ragnar yelled.

"Astrid! Ragnar! Snotlout! Cut your boulders loose," Hiccup called.

The three Viking then began to fiddle with the nets.

"I'm trying. It's tangled!" Snotlout yelled.

Astrid and Ragnar, however, were able to untie the ropes and the boulders fell to the ground. Unfortunately, they were falling right on top of Snotlout and Hookfang.

"Toothless!" Hiccup yelled.

Toothless quick returns in mid-air and fired a plasma blast and destroyed the boulders that were heading towards Snotlout.

Then Hookfang's claw got caught in the net making it extremely difficult to fly. They then crashed to the ground and skidded to a halt. Before they could react, they saw what had been chasing them. It was the Fireworm Queen.

Snotlout screamed instantly.

"The Fireworm Queen?" Hiccup stared.

Snotlout chuckled with relief. "I pretended to be scared, so the dragons wouldn't be," he said, but he screamed again when Hookfang picked himself up so to look at the Queen.

The last time they had seen the Queen it was when Snotlout had pushed Hookfang so hard that he lost his fire. It was a desperate search, but they found the Queen who then revitalised Hookfang with her venom.

The two of them nuzzled, but then the Queen backed away as if she was in pain. The two of them then seem to be in a conversation of some kind and Hookfang suddenly ignited.

"Whoa! Ow! Hookfang, careful!" said Snotlout as he tried to avoid getting his butt on fire.

The Queen then screeched as if she was in some sort of distress.

"Hiccup, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Fishlegs asked flying close to Hiccup.

Hiccup nodded. "Yeah. Something's off."

"She is a bit far from home," said Ragnar as he pulled in towards them.

"Yeah, what is she doing out here, away from her island?" Fishlegs frowned.

"I'm not sure," said Hiccup Andy flew in closer to the Queen.

At once the Queen snarled at him, but Hiccup held out his arm calmly. "Whoa, no, no, no, no. Take it easy, girl. Just trying to figure out what's going on."

The Queen then began to fidget around as she screeched. Hookfang then roared in response as if he understood what was wrong.

"Being a dragon expert, I can tell that she wants Hookfang to follow her," said Snotlout.

"Follow her?" Fishlegs frowned. "Where? Why?"

"Maybe it has something to do with these," said Hiccup, gesturing to the scars across the Queen's face.

"Dragon Hunters?" Astrid asked.

"It's possible," said Ragnar, though he looked slightly uncertain.

"If I had to guess, she needs help defending herself," said Hiccup.

"And, since the Fireworm Queen and Hookfang have a history, he's the only dragon she trusts," Fishlegs surmised.

"Well, if she's looking for backup, she came to the right dragon," said Snotlout. "Those Hunters wants to mess with the Queen? They're gonna have to go through me and Hookfang."

Hookfang roared in agreement.

Snotlout then looked to the Queen. "Come on, your Highness. Lead the way."

The Queen then took off.

* * *

Hours later they were still following the Queen back to her island.

"Stay close, Hookfang," said Snotlout as they followed her. "Come on, on her tail, come on."

"Snotlout, wait up!" Hiccup yelled as he and the other Dragon Riders try to keep up with him.

"I told you, Hiccup, she came for us and Hookfang. We got this," said Snotlout firmly.

"No one is doubting your level of 'got,' Snotlout," said Hiccup. "But if Viggo and the Hunters are here, you might need a little backup."

"Okay," said Snotlout reluctantly. "But just remember you're backup, and we're… frontdown, which is the opposite of backup."

He then looked down at Hookfang and urged forwards. "Let's go, Hookfang, come on."

As they flew closer to the island, Hiccup had an unusual feeling.

"Uh… you guys feel that?" Hiccup asked.

"Feel what?" Astrid frowned.

"I don't feel anything," said Fishlegs confused.

"I don't see anything unusual," said Ragnar.

"Why must he speak in riddles?" said Tuffnut.

"It's to calm. No sign of any Dragon Hunter ships," said Hiccup looking down at the water.

They stop just beyond the cave and the Queen hissed at them and then headed towards the cave.

"Whatever she wants help with is in there," said Snotlout gesturing to the cave. "Let's go, Hookfang."

Hiccup turned to the others. "Everyone be on alert. We have no idea what could be waiting inside those caves."

"Says Hiccup the Obvious," Tuffnut snorted.

"Sometimes I feel like we're the normal ones," Ruffnut whispered.

They then landed on the ground and follow the Queen inside the cave and they found nothing out of the ordinary once the entered.

"No arrows, no footprints. No sign of Viggo or Ryker," Astrid frowned. "I don't get it."

"Well, she didn't do all that damage to herself," said Snotlout "so, if it's not Hunters then it's something else."

"It could be a rival dragon," Ragnar offered. "I examined those scars on her and they don't match those other dragons the Hunters abuse."

"It's possible, but what could threaten her?" Hiccup frowned.

Fortunately they weren't in the dark, the Fireworm Queen was writing their way through the tunnel, but still they found no sign of anything.

As they kept on walking, Fishlegs felt something hit his arm and looked. He saw some strange green ooze on it.

"Guys, I have a sneaking suspicion we may not be alone," said Fishlegs.

They kept on walking until they reach day cavern where the Queen came to a sudden stop.

"What is it, your Majesty?" Snotlout asked.

Then they found what the Queen was leading them to when they turn round the corner. It was a large black scaled dragon with yellow lines across its side and yellow underbelly. It resembled something of a crocodile with large lumps on its back.

It was at the moment digging its way through a pile of rocks as if it was searching for something.

"What is that?" Astrid asked.

Fishlegs at once opened the pouch on his belt and pulled out a set of cards.

"What are those?" Tuffnut asked.

"These are my dragon cards," said Fishlegs as he looked through them. "I've been working on them for months."

Hiccup approached Fishlegs and looked at the cards. Each one of them had a picture of a dragon and a description at the bottom, class, size and speed any information a Dragon Rider would need when discovering a new dragon.

"Fishlegs! These are incredible," said Hiccup.

"I know, right?" Fishlegs smiled.

"It will certainly make our job a lot easier for now on," Ragnar agreed as he approached them.

He then showed the two Vikings a card. "Yeah, look. I even have dragon classes, sizes and speed. All this dragon knowledge, right at our fingertips."

"Right!" Hiccup smiled.

"Excellent!" said Ragnar.

"You three need a hobby," Snotlout muttered.

"How do you know this isn't a hobby?" Ragnar questioned.

"I knew it," said Fishlegs as he held a card. "It's a Cavern Crusher. I've never seen one in the flesh." He then began to examine the card and failing to tell the rest of the Riders what was on it. "Ooh, mystery class. Whoa!"

"Uh, Fishlegs?" said Hiccup. Fishlegs legs turned and saw the blank looks on the other Dragon Riders. "Care to share, or…"

Fishlegs chuckled quietly. "The Cavern Crasher is a scavenging Mystery Class dragon. Is known for pushing other dragons out of their homes and taking over."

"Why would it do that?" Astrid asked.

"I'm not entirely sure," Fishlegs admitted. "Warmth? Shelter? Protection?"

"I find it hard to believe a dragon that big would need protection," said Astrid.

"That's why the Queen came for us to help," said Hiccup. "She couldn't get it out of here all by herself."

"Blah, blah, blah. We found the culprit. Now let's get to work, and am-scray this agon-dray," said Snotlout.

Snotlout and Hookfang then charged at the Cavern Crusher.

Fishlegs looked up and saw what they were doing. "Snotlout, I wouldn't—"

Snotlout ignored him and carried on charging at the Cavern Crusher, which hurt them approach and turned and roared at them. It then moved at an incredible speed for dragon its size and Hookfang tried to blast with a fire blast, but it scales were too thick.

Then fired a blast of its own of green flames that shot right over Snotlout's head. "Ah! Come on, Hookfang! Watch out!"

Hookfang then jumped at the Cavern Crusher, but it dodged him with unbelievable speed. It then began to run across the cavern walls and ceiling like a spider. The Riders lost sight of it for a brief moment and then it landed right behind Astrid.

It then blasted her, but she was able to duck in time and Stormfly turned firing a stream of fire at it.

"Are there two of them?" Astrid asked as it dodged Stormfly's breath attack.

"Nope! Extremely fast, especially for dragon that big," said Fishlegs.

He was so busy contemplating that he didn't notice the Cavern Crasher was right above him.

"Fishlegs!" Hiccup yelled and Toothless fired plasma blast.

The plasma blast struck the Cavern Crusher, but it had very little effect. It then began to run and Ragnar and the twins tried blasting it, but to no avail.

"Blast it!" Hiccup commanded and Toothless fired a plasma blast at it again, but again it had no effect.

It and ran to the cavern entrance they just came through and stood there. Then suddenly mucous began to exit permit bumps on its back and it charged at them again leaving a trail mucous behind it. It zigzagged through all the dragons before any of them could land a hit and ran to the other side of the cavern.

"Look out!" Hiccup yelled as he, Ragnar and Astrid moved out of its way as it charged at them.

He then headed straight towards Snotlout and Hookfang, who stood ready to blast it. However, it sidestepped and ran down the tunnel behind them.

"No, you don't!" said Snotlout.

Hookfang then fired a fireball at it, but the Cavern Crasher turned round the corner at the last second. The blast actually hit the nuke as it left behind and suddenly it was set alight surrounding them all in a wall of fire.

"Oh!" said Snotlout in disgust. "What is that stuff?"

"Now, that my friend, is a framing trail of awesome!" said Tuffnut.

"Ah! We can't get through these flames," said Astrid.

"Okay, and then Astrid swoops in and kills the fun," Tuffnut muttered in disappointment.

If the flames weren't bad enough the entire cavern began to cave in. This was bad, they couldn't escape the crumbling cavern or else be risked getting burnt by the flames surrounding them. They were trapped.

Then suddenly the Fireworm Queen landed on the flames create a path for them.

"Okay, everyone out!" Snotlout yelled.

The Riders quickly rushed down the tunnel where the Cavern Crasher had entered. They stopped and the Fireworm Queen rushed past them and continue to run down the tunnel.

"Whew!" said Fishlegs in relief. "It would appear that we're in the middle of a territorial dispute."

Hiccup nodded and looked at the others. "Okay, guys, the Queen needs our help, so we're gonna—"

"No, no, no. No time for thinking. We need action. That's why she came to me and Hookfang," said Snotlout.

"Yeah, Snotlout, that's fine, but—"

"She saved Hookfang's life, and a Jorgenson always repay his debts. So that's exactly what we're going to do. We're gonna save her life."

"But you can't go by yourself!"

"I'm not by myself. I'm with Hookfang. And we're doing this alone." Snotlout then looked down at Hookfang. "Now, Hookie!"

Then before Hiccup could stop them they ran into the tunnel and suddenly there was a massive cave-in preventing them from following.

* * *

Unaware of the cave-in, Snotlout kept on flying down the tunnel in search for the Queen and the Cavern Crusher. They soon caught up with the Queen.

"There she is!" said Snotlout.

They then flew right up next to her.

"Listen, uh, Queenie, but you brought us here because you need our help—" The Queen ignored them and started shooting fire down a tunnel. "I think it's a shortcut, Hookie. Good idea!"

They then followed the Queen down the tunnel, but he wasn't entirely sure what she was after.

"I'm not sure the Cavern Crasher is down here," said Snotlout.

He looked around at the tunnel walls and it felt as if they were going down even further.

"Wow, we're deep," he said. "This might be the deepest I've ever been. I don't like this, Hookfang. Maybe we should go back." Hookfang snorted and started to shake his head, making his objection known. "Hookfang! Okay, okay. It was just a suggestion. Brainstorming. There's no wrong answer in brainstorming."

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup and the others were stuck in a dead-end unable to follow Snotlout and the Queen.

"There must be another way around this cave-in," said Hiccup.

"We've been down these tunnels before, remember?" Fishlegs reminded. "There were several entrances to the lower chambers."

"I remember this tunnel over here. I think it loops around," said Astrid gesturing to another tunnel.

"Come on, bud," said Hiccup and they followed Astrid down the tunnel.

"Snotlout! Snotlout!" Hiccup yelled.

Toothless tried roaring to find their missing companion, but nothing.

"Come on, where is he?" said Hiccup.

They carried on flying down the tunnel, but then stopped when they saw the Cavern Crasher emerging through the wall.

"Whoa! Where did he come from?" Hiccup stared.

"I know. There was only one way to get in here," Fishlegs frowned.

"It didn't look like that he tunnelled his way through either," said Ragnar curiously.

"Wouldn't it be cool if it flattened its body and came through the cracks in the walls?" said Tuffnut.

Fishlegs facepalmed himself.

"What? How is that not cool?"

"Everyone, grab your bolas," said Hiccup as he pulled out a bola.

He then spun the bola right over the Cavern Crasher's mouth, but it didn't wrap around properly and simply slid off. It then tried to blast Astrid and Hiccup tossed another bola at it but it had the same effect as before.

"Almost!" said Hiccup.

The Cavern Crasher then faced them and began shaking his body and mucus began to exit from its bulbs.

"Ooh. What's it doing?" Fishlegs asked as Tuffnut try to hold back a sneeze.

"The mucus! Watch out for the mucus!" Hiccup yelled.

Tuffnut then sneezed in a bit of mucus exited from his nose. "Sorry. How to get rid of that one."

"Not you. That!" said Hiccup gesturing to the Cavern Crusher.

The Cavern Crasher then flicked its tail and launched mucus and covered all of them, much to their dismay.

"This is nasty. Even for us," said Tuffnut in disgust.

"Yuk!" Fishlegs sobbed as he tried desperately to shake it off. "This is not coming off, it's too sticky."

"Have never seen a dragon do this before," said Ragnar holding out his arms in disgust.

"Slime us, will ya?" the twins cried in unison.

Tuffnut then sneezed in a bit of mucus at his sister.

"Ah! This dragon is getting me from all sides," said Ruffnut in disgust.

"Uh, right," Tuffnut nodded. "Bad dragon."

"Let's snot him!"

The twins then charged at the Cavern Crasher and Barf began to unleash gas.

"Ruff! Tuff! Wait!" Hiccup yelled.

Too late, Belch began to spark the gas, but instead ignited the mucus that covered him and the twin's bodies. They did land an explosion against Cavern Crusher, but they were thrown off and landed right behind the dragon, which didn't seem at all fazed by the explosion.

"That hurt," Ruffnut groaned after they grinded into a halt.

"That slime becomes flammable when it hits the air," said Hiccup.

The Cavern Crasher then began blasting them.

"Keep out of the way of those blasts we're cooked!" Hiccup yelled.

Cavern Crasher started to chase after them trying to blast them, but it had the clear advantage since there was not much room to move within the cavern. Or so they were unable to fire back or else risk themselves getting ignited.

"Hiccup! There's not much room to fly in here!" Astrid yelled as one of the Cavern Crasher's blasts narrowly missed her.

"Tell me about it," said Ragnar as he and Skull tried to dodge the attacks.

Hiccup found the same, after doing a barrel roll. "I know," he said.

Cavern Crasher then tried to blast the twins, they were able to take off before they got hit. It then began blasting at them in all directions.

* * *

Meanwhile, Snotlout and Hookfang were still following the Queen down the tunnel. They soon landed and found themselves in the honeycomb chamber.

The Rider and his Dragon watched as the Queen began to climb onto the honeycombs and he realised what was going on.

"Oh. Now I get it," he said. "That Crasher thing doesn't just push dragons out for no reason. It's scavenging for eggs. It's been trying to get here all along. To her hive. What a jerk of a dragon."

Hookfang growled in agreement.

"This is why she came for us, Hookfang. She knew we would help. And that's what we're gonna do." He then noticed his Monstrous Nightmare wasn't paying any attention to him. "Uh, did you hear me, Hookfang? Help her. Geez, what's wrong with you?"

Hookfang snorted and wandered off.

The Queen then removed one of the eggs, which was shaking a bit. She then made her way back down to them.

Hookfang looked at the eggs and saw one of them hatching and the baby Fireworm are merged out of it and landed on his snout.

The Queen then lowered her head towards Snotlout and gave him the egg she was carrying.

Snotlout looked at her stunned. "You want me to… me? I'm Snotlout? I'm completely irresponsible."

The Queen just purred indicating that she didn't care.

"Okay. Okay. Okay, I got it. I got you," he said as he held the egg firmly in his hand.

Then the moment the Queen turned away the egg began to shake.

"Um, hello? Guys!" Snotlout panicked as he held out the egg. "Hatching baby dragon over here. Way above my pay grade."

On the top of the cone shattered and he looked into a defined a baby Fireworm inside. Immediately the baby Fireworm crawled out of the egg and onto Snotlout's hand and made the most adorable screech at him.

"Oh, my gosh! Hookfang, you hear that?" Snotlout said in a childish voice. "It was a little baby dragon roar."

He then began to mimic the roar and the baby Fireworm roared back.

"Aw, look, he doesn't even have his fire yet," said Snotlout noticing the cold skin and the baby Fireworm.

He then began to sing:

 _Baa, baa, black yak,_

 _Have you any further?_

The Queen and Hookfang notice this and at once the Queen climbed back up the honeycombs.

 _Yes, sir, yes sir,_

 _More than your can muster;_

 _I'll be the judge,_

 _Said the little Viking boy._

 _Gimme, gimme, gimme;_

 _Or I'll mace you into a toy._

"My mum used to sing that to me," said Snotlout. The Fireworm squeaked. "Oh, it's just so freaking cute and so freaking—" Then suddenly the baby Fireworm found its fire and itself up. At once Snotlout shook his hand ferociously. "Hot! Get it off!"

He got the baby Fireworm of and it flew across the room, fortunately Hookfang caught it with his snout. He then glared at Snotlout and handed the baby back to him, which he placed in his helmet.

The Queen heard the commotion and looked down at them and the two of them looked at her innocently.

 _Baa, baa, black yak,_

 _Go, you crazy black yak._

He then laughed at the Queen nervously.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup and the other Dragon Riders were having their hands full with the Cavern Crusher, which kept on blasting. If that wasn't enough it kept on swinging its mucus at the walls at setting it alight.

Hiccup and Toothless nearly got hit by that combo and probably would have been blown away they weren't so skilled at dodging.

"You know, believe it or not, that blast really opened up my sinuses," said Tuffnut.

"Oh, yeah? What can you smell?" Ruffnut asked.

"Let me see." Tuffnut then sniffed the air. "Burning nose hair, with a fine whisper of musk."

Ruffnut then sniffed her armpit. "Mm, six days and counting."

"How you to focus on the craze dragon that attacking us," Ragnar suggested.

The Cavern Crasher was now chasing Fishlegs and Meatlug. "Oh, Thor! Oh, Thor! Oh, Thor!" he panicked. He soon reached a dead end and quickly turned the Cavern Crusher. "No, don't!"

Cavern Crasher was about to blast him, but then stopped.

"What's it doing?" Fishlegs frowned.

It looked as if the Cavern Crasher had heard something and it collected lips. It then ran down the tunnel as if it was searching for something.

Hiccup's eyes widened, because he realised what it was after. "Eggs."

"Babies?" Fishlegs whimpered.

"Dinner!" Tuffnut yelled. Ruffnut just narrowed her eyes at him. "What? It seemed to go. You know, it seemed to work, rhythm-wise."

"The Fireworm Queen's eggs!" said Hiccup.

"That's why she didn't abandon the hive," Astrid gasped.

"I'm willing to bet that Snotlout's down there, but I don't fancy putting all our hope and him," said Ragnar. "We need to stop that thing or else it's going to have Fireworms for dinner."

"Oh, no, you don't!" said Fishlegs with a determined look.

They then flew down the tunnel the Cavern Crasher had entered and managed to catch up with the dragon. Then Hiccup and Fishlegs blasted the ceiling just ahead of the Cavern Crasher and created a cave-in, trapping it with them.

"I like to see get through that," Ragnar smirked.

"Great work, gang!" said Hiccup proudly.

"Looks like ugly here isn't making it to the hive," Astrid smirked.

"You guys are leaving me here?" Tuffnut said shocked.

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Not you. The dragon."

"Okay. Now let's try to figure out how to get it out of here for good," said Hiccup. He then pulled out another bola. "Grab your bolas, we'll try again."

However, the Cavern Crasher was studying the cave-in as if trying to find a way out. Then suddenly mucus began to exit from its bulbs at an alarming rate and its body began to shrink down. It then made its way through one of the cracks within the cave-in and disappeared down it.

"I don't believe it," said Ragnar staring.

"Hiccup, Ragnar, did you just see that?" Fishlegs stared. "It collapsed its skeleton."

"And squeezed through the cracks," Tuffnut finished, much to their embarrassment. "Yes! I told you."

"Once again, nobody listens to the Nut," said Ruffnut.

"The Nut is all-knowing."

"The Nut is all-seeing."

"The Nut is all-believing."

"Maybe the Nuts knows how to get through a cave-in," Astrid suggested.

The twins just sat there in silence.

"The Nuts knows not," said Tuffnut dramatically. "Doesn't know how to get in through the cave-in."

* * *

Meanwhile, in the hive, Snotlout were soon surrounded by baby Fireworms. Then suddenly they heard a roar and they all got up.

"We'll just get them out of here," said Snotlout as he ushered the baby Fireworms away. "That's all."

Unfortunately, more baby Fireworms were hatching from their eggs and dropping down like rain drops.

"Oh, of course!" Snotlout groaned. "Isn't this just my luck!"

The babies began screeching.

"Please be quiet," Snotlout begged. "Please be quiet."

The Queen roared and the entire hive shook and Snotlout looked at the Queen. "As a dragon expert, I don't think that's gonna help right now."

He tended to sing to the baby Fireworms to calm them down:

 _Hush, little Fireworm,_

 _Don't you roar;_

 _Or that thing's coming,_

 _Through the floor._

 _If it does,_

 _Then we're all done;_

' _Cause it's gonna fry us,_

 _Like the sun._

Surprisingly the song actually worked in the Fireworms relaxed.

Snotlout sighed, but it was short lived as the Fireworms screeched again.

Snotlout turned to the Queen. "Why do babies always make you pay like that?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup and the other Dragon Riders were attempting to blast the cave-in, but to no avail.

"It's no use, Hiccup," said Astrid. "It's too dense. It'll take us whether to blast through."

"And there's no other way around it this time," said Fishlegs. "We've gotta get through here."

"Shame we can't blast through the cracks, explosion from within could dislodge the cave-in," said Ragnar.

Ragnar's words gave Hiccup an idea. He then quickly turned the twins. "He-hey, Nuts? What you mean 'the Nut knows not'? The Nut knows."

"The Nut does?" Tuffnut said blankly.

"He certainly does!"

The twins just looked at him blankly.

"Oh, right. Of course he does!"

"Who are we talking about again?" Ruffnut asked.

"I don't know. I don't know, just go with it."

"And if there was ever a time for the Nuts to use their all-knowingness and the extremely expert stone-carving skills, it's right now," said Hiccup.

The twins then understood what he was letting on.

"You're right. I it to my public," said Tuffnut. He then turned to a sister. "Sister Nut?"

"I live for my craft," she said.

They then manoeuvred Barf and Belch towards the cave-in and Barf began using his gas into the cracks.

"Fire in the hole!" Tuffnut yelled just before Belch ignited the gas.

* * *

Meanwhile, Snotlout, Hookfang and the Queen got ready for battle. They felt the cavern shook, indicating that the Cavern Crasher was approaching them.

"Okay, guys, this is it," said Snotlout confidently. "It's us three against that huge mucus-shooting, nasty killer dragon." He then lost confidence. "Or, maybe the two of you can take this one."

The two dragon snarled at him.

"Okay, okay, it was just a suggestion," said Snotlout holding out his hands.

He could hear the roars from the Cavern Crasher getting louder and drew out his axe. "It's go time, dragons."

They stood guard over the entrance, but then suddenly the Cavern Crasher appeared out of the wall above them and landed in front of them roaring.

"Hey Crasher," said Snotlout with a firm grip on his axe. "Nice of you to show up. We were expecting you."

The Cavern Crasher turned its eyes upon the baby Fireworms and licked its lips. He then charged, hoping to devour the poor babies.

"Queenie! Now!" Snotlout yelled.

The Queen unleashed a stream of fire at the Cavern Crusher, but it simply allowed its mucus to cover its body and kept on pressing through the flames. It looked as though the mucus was actually protecting it and it roared once the flames stopped.

"Okay, that didn't work so good," said Snotlout. He looked at Hoofkang. "Do we have a plan B? No? Probably should have had a plan B."

Hookfang the fired a fire blast at the ceiling and several rocks fell on top of the Cavern Crusher.

"Good thinking, Hookfang!" Snotlout cheered.

Unfortunately, the Cavern Crasher crawled its way out of the rock through the cracks by collapsing its skeleton.

"Oh, come on! Really?" Snotlout moaned.

Once it was out of the rocks it regained its normal size and even more mucus dripped from its bulbs. It then launch a bit of mucus at the Queen and then blasted her, the combination of the attack blasted her backwards.

"Hookfang! Hatchlings!" Snotlout yelled.

Snotlout and Hookfang ran over to the hatchlings hoping to protect them from the Cavern Crusher. The dragon in question and fired some mucus over their heads and knock several of the honeycombs onto the ground.

Snotlout and Hookfang then place themselves between it and the baby Fireworms as if making a last stand.

"Okay, Hookfang, this is it. Moment of truth. We're not letting it get to these babies," said Snotlout firmly raising his axe.

One of the baby Fireworms called over to Snotlout and screeched.

"Don't worry, little guy. Uncle Snot and Cousin Fang are here," he assured.

They got ready for fight, which may be their last.

"Snotlout?" a voice yelled.

Snotlout recognised the voice instantly. "Hiccup! Don't come down here!"

The Cavern Crasher turned and fired a blast down towards the tunnel.

* * *

Hiccup and the other riders were making their way down the tunnel, which was covered in the Cavern Crasher's mucus.

"Be careful, guys. Crasher slime." said Hiccup gesturing to the mucus.

"Perhaps we should be careful of that, as well? Don't you think?" said Tuffnut pointing ahead of them.

Hiccup turned and saw the Cavern Crasher's blast heading towards them and it was setting the mucus alight. The dragons quickly shielded them from the fire as it covered them.

* * *

Back in hive, the Cavern Crasher turned to face Snotlout and Hookfang ready to finish the fight once and for.

Then suddenly Hookfang took off. "Hookfang, what are you doing? We're in the middle of a fight!" Snotlout yelled.

Snotlout landed on top of the Queen and ignited himself. His flames seemed to be juveniles the Queen as she began to stand.

Snotlout had to cover his eyes, because the flames were so bright. "They're combining their firepower."

He and the baby Fireworm quickly hit behind the honeycombs that the Cavern Crasher had not down earlier. With the now safe Hookfang and the Queen unleashed their firepower that engulfed the Cavern Crasher.

The flames were more intent than anything Snotlout had ever seen, his skin had probably would have melted right off if he hadn't taken cover. He could hear the Cavern Crasher roars of pain as it tried to endure the flames.

The flames then died down and Snotlout poked his head out from behind the honeycombs. He could still see the Cavern Crasher standing and Hookfang and the Queen looked exhausted.

The Cavern Crasher flicked its tail and at once he ducked, but nothing happened. He pulled out from behind the honeycombs and saw that the mucus the Cavern Crasher created had dried up.

"They cooked the mucus right off him!" he gaped.

The Cavern Crasher kept on flicking its tail hoping to produce even a small amount of mucus, but nothing. It tried to shoot another blast, but only a small burst of smoke exited from its mouth.

The Queen then shot out a stream of fire at it and soon she was joined by Hookfang. The two dragons roared at the Cavern Crasher, which slowly backed away.

"Hah! Well, kids, it looks like our Crasher just crashed," Snotlout smirked looking down at the Fireworms. "Why don't we show it the door?"

He then roared swinging his axe and joined Hookfang and the Queen as they slowly forced the Cavern Crasher back. However, it then began to burrow underground.

"Oh no!" Snotlout groaned.

It then reappeared right next to him and began running around, but was then struck by the Queen and Snotlout mounted Hookfang and the added their firepower with the Queen's. But even their combined firepower wasn't enough to drive the dragon away.

"This guy will not give up!" Snotlout growled in frustration.

"Maybe you need some back-up," said a voice.

Then emerging out of the tunnel was Hiccup leading the other Dragon Riders.

Snotlout laughed as his reinforcements arrived. "Right. But remember, your only back-up."

"Oh, I know, pal," Hiccup assured.

They then began to fly around the Cavern Crasher, who tried to blast them, but that was much harder now they were in a much larger cavern. Or so it was completely helpless without its mucus.

Then all the Dragon Riders landed in front of it and began to blasting with their dragon fire. It was enough force to push the Cavern Crasher back and it was forced to retreat back into the tunnel.

The baby Fireworms then approached the Queen now that the danger had passed. The Dragon Riders watched and cheered knowing that their victory was assured.

Hiccup and Snotlout then dismounted that their dragons and approached one another.

"I know, I know, I defied orders again," said Snotlout.

"No, you didn't. I never ordered you to do anything," Hiccup reminded. "This one was all you."

"Why didn't you try to stop me?"

Hiccup looked at him slightly amused. "Would you? Have stopped, that is."

Snotlout rub the back of his head. "Probably not."

"Then why are we talking about it?"

"You know, I could have gotten killed in there," Snotlout pointed out.

"Yeah, but you didn't. You crushed it today, Snotlout." Hiccup then placed a hand on Snotlout's shoulder. "You really did. That was all you."

Snotlout chuckled. "Thanks for the back-up."

He then punched him on the shoulder and Hiccup shook his head as Snotlout laughed.

* * *

Later that evening, they were back on the Edge and finished loading at the catapults, except for Snotlout and the twins. Hiccup and the others flew around the island where they found Snotlout and Hookfang hovering.

Before they could ask what was up, there was a huge explosion and they do need to be told twice who did it.

"We did it again. Only we could have made something this glorious," said Tuffnut. "We call it, 'The Ballard of the Lout versus the Crasher'."

They stared up and found that the twins had added a huge statue of Snotlout with a foot on top of the Cavern Crasher.

"It's breathtaking," Tuffnut gasped.

"Um, isn't a ballad technically a song?" Astrid questioned.

"No. S'not," Ruffnut laughed.

"You get it? It's snot. That's the whole idea," said Tuffnut as he tried in vain to explain the joke. "We made it a ballad so people would be like, 'Isn't it this'? And then we say, 'S'not.'"

"Well, I love it," said Snotlout.

"What a surprise," said Ragnar rolling his eyes.

"Although, Astrid, would you say my likeness is handsome and chiselled enough?" Snotlout asked looking at Astrid.

"Ugh! For the love of Thor," Astrid groaned.

Hiccup laughed and was soon joined by the others.

"Well, just off the top of my head, they got my hair wrong, they got my eyebrows wrong, they got my eyes wrong…" said Snotlout.

"This has been a great day," Tuffnut sighed as Snotlout kept on pointing out more faults within the statue.


	29. Follow the Leader

Fishlegs was standing in the Great Hall and everyone at Berk was cheering his name. Hiccup and Toothless then approached him with a strong determined look.

"'Tis with great pleasure that I, Hiccup Haddock the Third, do hereby transfer all Dragon's Edge power, and all Dragon Rider leadership, both foreign and domestic, to one Fishlegs, Justin Ingerman," Hiccup announced.

All the Vikings cheered some strange reason Stoick had a tattoo of Fishlegs' face on his chest.

"Oh, he looks so good!" said Astrid.

"He so beautiful," said Ruffnut. "I love a man who's just slightly overweight."

"Hmm. I'll make in my man someday," said Gothi, who had somehow regained the ability to talk.

"I'm surprised it took Hiccup this long to appoint him," said Ragnar.

"Now that I'm moving towards my chiefly duties, I think of née Viking more of sound mind and pure of heart to assume the mantle," said Hiccup.

The crowd cheered even louder and Meatlug, who was wearing a tiara, landed right beside Fishlegs.

"Hiccup, Stoick, Gobber, Ragnar, friends and acquaintances, I am truly humbled by the trust bestowed upon me by people I have long respected and loved. A people I will serve," said Fishlegs.

"We love you, Fishlegs," said Snotlout.

"And I, you."

Fishlegs then sat down upon the throne and then all the dragons that fire blasts into the air to celebrate this occasion.

Then suddenly there was a massive rumble and Fishlegs opened his eyes. He found himself on the Dragon's Edge and one of the watchtowers and he had just fallen off it and landed in the snow.

"Meatlug, help!" Fishlegs cried with his torso half buried in the snow.

Meatlug then flew down and picked Fishlegs out of the snow, much to his relief.

"You're always there for me, girl," Fishlegs sighed with relief.

Even upside down he could see an explosion coming from the Edge.

"Oh, no! We're under attack!" Fishlegs cried.

They then flew towards the Edge, but discover that the explosion originated from the twins hut. There he could see Snotlout and the twins laughing.

"Oh, my Thor!" Snotlout yelled excitedly.

"What?" Fishlegs roared.

As he got closer he found Snotlout was holding a jar of Monster Nightmare gel, Tuffnut with a torch in his hand and Ruffnut holding out one of the balloons they used to measure the wind.

"My Thor! That was amazing," said Tuffnut.

"Yeah! Do it again, Snotlout," said Ruffnut.

"Oh, I'll do it again, all right. Way too you get a load of this," said Snotlout as he tipped the jar slowly on top of the balloon.

Suddenly Fishlegs flew overhead and snatched the jar out of his hand. "I'll take that, thank you very much." Snotlout and twins glared up at him. "Monstrous Nightmare gel is not to be toyed with, it for defending the Edge."

"Uh, hello? My dragon makes it," Snotlout pointed out. To prove his point Hookfang ignited. He then crossed his arms and gazed up at Fishlegs. "Besides, who put you in charge?"

"Hiccup," said Fishlegs.

Snotlout and twins just stood there in silence and then broke into laughter, much to Fishlegs' annoyance.

"Hiccup put you in charge of us?" said Snotlout when he finally controlled his laughter.

"Yes," said Fishlegs as he dismounted Meatlug. "While he, Astrid and Ragnar are out exploring, I am the de facto leader."

"De fake-o, maybe," Snotlout snorted. "But de facto? Don't-o think-o so."

"Yeah, this is not the way we remember it," said Ruffnut.

Hiccup had indeed left Fishlegs in charge, but Snotlout and the twins didn't pay attention as they were too busy playing cards.

"I don't recall that, per say," said Ruffnut.

"But what I do recall is your lack of recollection," said Tuffnut.

"Oh, come on! Think about it," said Snotlout as he approached Fishlegs with a smug look and snatched the jar out of his hand. "Why in the world would Hiccup put you in charge of anything?"

"My leadership potential, for starters," said Fishlegs.

Again Snotlout and the twins just are there in silence and then laughter faces off making him even more annoyed.

"Fishlegs, you can never be a leader," said Snotlout as he clutched his chest from laughing so hard. "A leader has to be brave."

"Adventurous," said Tuffnut.

"And a little crazy," Ruffnut finished.

"Or a lot crazy," Tuffnut laughed. "That could work, too."

"Just give it to me," said Fishlegs trying to snatch the jar from Snotlout.

Snotlout then tossed it to Tuffnut, who then totted to Ruffnut. They were playing piggy in the middle with Fishlegs as he tried desperately to grab the jar. Eventually Fishlegs gave up and walked away, sobbing.

"Buh-bye," Snotlout mocked as he walked off. He then turned back to the twins. "Okay, now where were we?"

"We were gonna blow your house," said Tuffnut.

Snotlout was about to agree, but then his face turned blank.

* * *

On the shoreline, Fishlegs and Meatlug were wondering around. Fishlegs was extremely depressed, the first time Hiccup had put him in charge and no one listen to him.

"There's much more than being a leader than just bravery," he muttered. "You have to be quick-witted, lighten your feet, have a keen eye for the unexpected. I have all those."

Then suddenly he heard a gruesome roar and automatically screamed in terror as hid behind Meatlug.

"Don't wanna know what that was," said Fishlegs. He then looked up. "Or do we?"

Bravely he made his way to a cavern and he could hear distant screeches coming from within it. Instantly he screamed and backed away from the cave.

"I'm not afraid," he said to himself. "I'm brave. I'm brave! And I'm even a little crazy."

He took a deep breath and placed a hand on Meatlug. "We're going in, girl."

Together he and Meatlug entered the cave.

"It came from within here, right?" said Fishlegs looking at Meatlug. Meatlug grunted. "That's what I thought, too. Maybe it was—" He gasped when he saw what was in the distance. "Meatlug, look!"

Ahead of them was some old sword in buried in a rock, with ancient runes carved into it. At once Fishlegs began to examine the runes that was carved on the blade and the hilt.

"Look at the markings. Ancient," he breathed.

Fishlegs then tried to free the sword, but it was wedged in deep. He then turned to Meatlug. "Come and, Meatlug. Help me get this out."

As he pulled at the sword, Meatlug started to dig. He could feel the sword moving slightly. "Almost. Keep going."

Then with one great heave the sword came free and he rolled down a steep gradient. Meatlug wandered over to him, fearful of his safety.

"I'm okay, girl," Fishlegs called.

Meatlug spewed some lava that lit the cave. That was when Fishlegs noticed more ancient runes on the tunnel wall.

"What that—?" Fishlegs stared. He turned to Meatlug. "Meatlug, give me another blast."

Meatlug spewed some lava that lit up the cave even more. Fishlegs looked at the runes, but he was unable to decipher them it was clearing Norse but in an ancient dialect.

"You know what, girl? I think you and I have stumbled onto an archaeological find for the ages," Fishlegs breathed. "I hope you're hungry, Snotlout. 'Cause you are gonna be eating your words, big time."

He then mounted Meatlug and they headed outside. "Come on, we gotta go tell the others."

* * *

Meanwhile back at the Edge, Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar had returned to discover that Snotlout and the twins had practically set everything on fire and had exhausted their entire supply of Monstrous Nightmare gel.

"I don't see what the big deal is. It's our stuffed yak," said Tuffnut gesturing to the steaming stuffed yak a foot away from them.

"It's not the yak, Tuffnut," said Hiccup as the three of them looked at the empty jars. "It's the Monstrous Nightmare gel you used to set the yak and fire."

"We've been harvesting it to defend the Edge from Viggo and his army," said Astrid.

"And thanks to you mutton-heads we have nothing left," said Ragnar.

"All right, so we've might've gotten a little carried away," said Snotlout.

"A little?" Ragnar questioned as he looked at the devastation around them.

"What's the big deal? It's not like we don't know where we can get more," said Snotlout as he leaned against Hookfang.

"What if our dragons aren't around?" Hiccup questioned. "What if the Dragon Hunters attack again and we don't have the Nightmare gel?"

"This stuff is not a toy, it's a weapon that we used to defend ourselves and our dragons," said Ragnar.

"Hookfang can't replace all of it," said Astrid.

"I didn't say he was going to," said Snotlout.

"Would you just get more gel?" Hiccup groaned. "I don't care how you do it, just do it."

Snotlout grumbled. "Come on."

He, the twins and their dragons then left in the hunt for more Monstrous Nightmare gel.

"I'll begin work on a new storage system, to make sure these mutton-heads don't get their hands on it," said Ragnar walked off to his hut.

"Hiccup! Hiccup!" a voice cried. Hiccup turned and saw Fishlegs hovering towards him on Meatlug with a sword in his hand. "You are not gonna believe this."

"Yeah, no kidding," Hiccup grumbled as he looked to the devastation around him. "I can't believe any of this." He then turned to Fishlegs with a disapproving look on his face. "Fishlegs, did you know this was going on?"

"Well, yes, I guess. Sort of. I told them to stop," said Fishlegs a little nervously.

"And?"

"And what?"

"And they didn't. And now we've got fires to put out all around the base and then emptied out emergency supply of Monstrous Nightmare gel." He gestured to the empty jars. "Fishlegs, we're on our own out here. Okay? This kind of stuff just can't happen. Not with Viggo out there.

"I just… I… I'm sorry, Hiccup," said Fishlegs apologetically. "You know how the twins and Snotlout can be."

"Yes, I do. But you're better than that. It's just… disappointing."

Fishlegs watched slightly heartbroken as Hiccup wondered off.

* * *

Later that day, Fishlegs returned to the cavern and began sketching out the runes on the cave wall. Meatlug was holding a torch in her mouth to provide light while he sketched the runes.

Hiccup then tossed away his brush in annoyance. "I hate it when Hiccup gets disappointed. Mad, I handle. Disappointment is so much worse," he moaned.

He then grabbed the torch from Meatlug and walked down the tunnel even further. "Keep going, girl. If we can show him what we found, he will—whoa!"

Fishlegs had been so busy talking that he didn't notice the steep gradient and stepped right into it.

"Meatlug!" Fishlegs yelled.

Fishlegs finally reached the bottom of the gradient and rubbed his head. He noticed that the gradient actually resembled steps, but before he could think more on it he was soon tackled to the ground by Meatlug, who then licked him furiously.

"I'm okay. I'm okay," he said as he tried to fend off.

Fishlegs got back onto his feet and found himself in a new tunnel. Meatlug relit the torch and they began to walk down the tunnel.

"Okay. Let's see what's down here."

As they walked down he could hear screeching the distance and next second he saw glowing eyes in the distance.

"Uh, Meatlug?" he said, Meatlug then spewed out some lava.

The glow of the lava revealed a bunch of Night Terrors, which bore a resemblance to Smidvarg.

Fishlegs jumped back in fright and dropped the torch, he turned around and found more of them directly behind them. He whimpered as the Night Terrors began to close in on them.

"Oh, Thor," he groaned as the torch went out.

He quickly grabbed the torch and relit it using a stone. He raised the torch and saw the Night Terrors wonder even closer towards him.

"Uh… hello there," he said nervously as Meatlug growled at them. "My name is Fishlegs. And this is Meatlug. Say hi, girl."

Meatlug snorted.

The Night Terrors were obviously not too impressed, because they screeched even louder and moved even closer towards him.

"Okay," he said fearfully.

He then extended his hand out, hoping to have the same calming effect Hiccup normally had and dragons. However the Night Terror, he tried to calm screeched and he backed away quickly.

"Okay. Okay," he chuckled nervously. "Didn't like that. It's not a problem."

He then open the satchel and Meatlug's saddle. "Oh. I gotta have something in here that you might…" He found exactly what he was looking for. "Boar rinds."

He then tossed pieces of boar rinds towards the Night Terrors, but they backed away from them suspiciously. It was clear that they believe they were poisonous, which was not good for Fishlegs.

"No, no, no, no, it's okay," he said. "They're good. See?"

He extended a boar rind towards Meatlug, hoping that if she hated the Night Terrors would trust him. Unfortunately, when she sniffed it she backed away growling at his.

"Really? Now you're a finicky eater?" Fishlegs grumbled.

Fishlegs knew that he only had one choice, as much as he hated it. He bit down on the boar rind and tried to eat a bit of it. Unfortunately, the boar rind was quite thick and it took quite a while for him to bite off a piece.

Eventually he was able to succeed and smiled at the Night Terrors. "Delicious."

That did the trick, the Night Terrors sniffed at the boar rinds and began to eat them.

"Ah. Good, right?" said Fishlegs relieved as he tossed a boar rind at them. He then looked at them with immense curiosity. "Look at this place, Meatlug. Hugh knew these guys were beneath us all this time?"

He then heard a shriek and turned to find a Night Terror landed on top of Meatlug. He soon realise that it was the only that was not given a boar rind.

"Sorry, that's all I have," he said apologetically. "You know, you look a lot like a Night Terror I know. His name is Smidvarg."

The Night Terror shriek happily at the name.

"Oh, you like that. Well, I can't call you Smidvarg, because that's already taken." He frowned as he tried to come up with a name that was perfect for the young Night Terror. "But how about… Darkvarg? Get it? 'Cause it's, you know…"

Darkvarg then stuck his head in his satchel and fell to the ground. He then shook his head trying desperately to remove it.

"Oh. Oh, no, no, it's okay. It's okay," Fishlegs assured as he removed the satchel. "There you go. No problem. It's just a back. Watch."

He then placed the statue on top of his head and began to wonder aimlessly and sung:

 _I am Darkvarg,_

 _Just a silly in the—_

The Night Terros then screeched.

"Oh, you like that, huh?" Fishlegs smiled.

Then suddenly he found Darkvarg pushing him deeper into the tunnel. "You want us to go this way? Who am I to argue?"

Meatlug followed them, but she looked a bit jealous and grumbled all the way.

They soon entered into a cavern and Fishlegs just stared at the interior.

"What in the name of Thor?" he stared. He then turned to Meatlug. "Meatlug, give me a blast."

Meatlug then spewed some lava illuminating the cavern. It confirmed his suspicion, there were crates, weapons and lanterns piled all over the place.

"It's a lost civilisation. Wow," Fishlegs stared. "These guys have made it their home. They've turned it into their own dragon village." He then noticed a collection of large that resembled a throne. "Oh, I wonder who sits there?"

He then noticed another tunnel that led even deeper into the cavern.

"I wonder what's there?" he wondered as he walked down the tunnel. He soon found himself in another chamber. "Oh, another chamber."

Fishlegs frowned, he saw an opening in the ceiling and yet the Night Terrors didn't take the opportunity to fly out to find more open spaces. What also didn't make sense was that this chamber was larger than the previous one.

"I don't understand," he frowned at the Night Terrors. "Why are you guys crammed in there? Is so much roomier in here. I mean why wouldn't they—"

He soon got his answer when the sun shone down through the hole in the ceiling, the Night Terrors screech as they flew away from the sun's rays.

"Oh, it's the sun," said Fishlegs. "You guys are cave dwellers. You can't be in the light."

He felt sorry for the Night Terrors, who are unable to leave and stuck in the smallest chamber. He then got an idea. "You know what? You guys wait here. We'll be back."

Fishlegs and made his way back into the previous chamber to get Meatlug.

* * *

Meanwhile, on another island that was populated by Monstrous Nightmare, Snotlout and the twins were out collecting Monstrous Nightmare gel.

The twins had located a Monstrous Nightmare and were in the process of acquiring its gel. Ruffnut was sitting on a branch as she watched her brother holding out a fish on one hand and hiding a bucket behind his back in the other.

"Hey there, big guy," said Tuffnut as he swung the fish. "Don't mind me. I'm just a friendly old Viking not looking to harvest your gel or anything remotely close to that." He then shackled and accidentally revealed the bucket behind his back. "I mean, how crazy would that be?"

He then noticed he was holding up the bucket in plain sight and hid behind his back a second later. Tuffnut slowly walked over towards the Monstrous Nightmare swinging the fish in front of him.

"This ain't gonna turn out right," said Ruffnut, who could only predict how this was going to end.

The Monstrous Nightmare roared and charged at Tuffnut, who screamed and ran for his life. Unfortunately, the dragon was able to catch up with him and brought its jaw down on top of his helmet and lifted him up into the air.

"Help! No, no, no!" Tuffnut yelled as the Monstrous Nightmare shook him around. "Ruffnut!"

"Hang on!" Ruffnut yelled jumping off the branch.

However, instead of rescuing her brother, she picked up the bucket and began to catch the gel that was being flown off the Monstrous Nightmare as it shook her brother.

"Ruffnut!" Tuffnut yelled.

"Good work, Tuff!" Ruffnut yelled now with the bucket half full.

"Thank you!" Tuffnut screamed.

"Got it!" Ruffnut yelled now holding a full bucket of Monstrous Nightmare gel.

Unfortunately, at that moment, the Monstrous Nightmare had stopped shaking Tuffnut around and glared down at Ruffnut.

Ruffnut screamed and ran for it, but the Monstrous Nightmare tossed Tuffnut at her. The two of them collided and toppled to the ground, spilling the bucket of Monstrous Nightmare gel.

"I guess he digs is gel," said Tuffnut.

"Wouldn't you?" Ruffnut asked.

"Extremely flammable mucus coming out of every pore? Yeah, I can dig it."

His eyes widened when he saw the Monstrous Nightmare advancing towards them, looking quite angry.

He screamed, but then explosion blocked the Monstrous Nightmare path and next second Barf and Belch came flying down with Snotlout and Hookfang close behind. Barf and Belch landed and growled at the Monstrous Nightmare.

The twins got up and glared at their Hideous Zippleback.

"You guys have been cutting it close lately," said Ruffnut crossing her arms.

"Yeah. No more hanging around Hookfang for you," Tuffnut agreed.

"Speaking of Hookfang," said Ruffnut as the two of them turn to Snotlout, "why don't you give us some of his gel, Snotlout?"

Snotlout was leaning against Hookfang looking quite smug. "Because Hookfang's gel is my gel."

Hookfang responded with a growl.

"Our gel, sorry," he corrected. He then looked back at the twins. "And our gel is… well is… You know what I'm saying." He then traced a finger over Hookfang's body and show them a tiny drop of gel. "Look, when we going to battle, one of it is going to be armed with a helmet with gel and one of us isn't.

"Unless, of course, you'd like to purchase some of mine. That could be properly arranged for a reasonable yet hefty price."

The twins looked at one another and then back to the Monstrous Nightmare. They then decided that they would rather be eaten by a Monstrous Nightmare than purchase gel from Snotlout. So, Tuffnut grabbed the bucket and they charged the Monstrous Nightmare screaming.

Snotlout smirked, knowing that they would come around eventually and decided to enjoy the show. He then scooped up some of Hookfang's gel and dropped it in a jar.

* * *

Meanwhile, Fishlegs was getting the supplies he needed to help the Night Terrors.

"Okay," he said looking down at the materials. "Lumbar, check. Nails, check. Axe?"

"What you need your axe for?" a voice asked behind him.

Fishlegs turned around and saw Hiccup entering his heart holding out his axe with Toothless by his side.

"What you need your axe for?" Hiccup asked.

"Well, if you must know, I'm working on a personal project," said Fishlegs.

"A personal project?" said Hiccup curiously as he tested the sharpness of the axe. "What kind of personal project?"

"All that I can tell you that it's, well…"

"Personal?"

"Exactly."

Hiccup handed Fishlegs' his axe and looked at him apologetically. "Listen, Fishlegs, about earlier—"

"It's fine, Hiccup. It's fine. It's all good," Fishlegs assured. "All good in the archipela-hood." He then laughed as he made his way to Meatlug. "Come on, girl." Then as he flew off he began to sing a singalong. "Fishlegs is such a good human being."

Hiccup frowned, you could tell that Fishlegs was up to something, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He still felt guilty about scolding him earlier and really wanted to make it up to him.

* * *

Fishlegs soon returned to the Night Terror caverns. He was hammering away on an attic door so that it would block the sunlight that ended into the cavern while standing on Meatlug.

"Ah… there we go," he said with one last swing of his hammer.

Meatlug then landed back onto the ground and Fishlegs jumped off of her. He then grabbed a rope that connected to the attic door above them.

"That's what we call an attic door," he said looking at the Night Terrors. "That will keep out the sunlight so you guys won't be bothered by it. It operated by a simple pulley system."

He then began to hammer a spike on a boulder and at once Darkvarg shrieked with pain.

"Oh, sorry, Darkvarg," said Fishlegs apologetically. "Your hearing must be very sensitive." He then banged on the spike much more quietly. "Voila!"

He then turned to Meatlug. "Meatlug, care to demonstrate?"

Meatlug then bit on the rope and pulled opening the attic door. At once the Night Terrors shrieked and backed away from the sun's rays.

"No, no, no, no! It's okay! It's okay!" Fishlegs yelled over the shrieks. "Look, Meatlug."

Meatlug then bit on the rope and pulled it back down and at once the attic door slammed shut.

"See? Easy-peasy?" Fishlegs smiled. "With this installed, this cavern becomes fully functional. We can put in better feeding stations, and even—Whoa!"

Suddenly the Night Terrors lifted Fishlegs off his feet and carried him away.

"Woohoo! What are you doing?" Fishlegs yelled. "Be careful. I'm a big boy. Hold on, Whoa!"

The Night Terrors had just carried him to the other chamber and pushed him into the throne. It took several seconds to realise what they wanted.

"Would you look at that, Meatlug?" Fishlegs stared as his dragon.

Meatlug just snorted as she entered into the chamber.

"Now this is how you treat a leader."

* * *

It was night now at the Edge, and Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar were standing in the dome. Hiccup was pacing around worriedly, he was very concerned about Fishlegs.

"Hiccup, I'm sure he's fine," Astrid assured. "You know Fishlegs. He's probably taking out somewhere and some new foliage."

"Yeah, but he usually geeks out with me and Ragnar," Hiccup pointed out.

"I have to say this is unlike Fishlegs," said Ragnar crossing his arms. "No matter how much kicking out he does, he always returns to the Edge before sundown."

Hiccup nodded. "It's not like him." He then looked at the two of them. "Do you think I was too hard on him earlier?"

Before they could answer, Snotlout and the twins returned.

Once they landed, Snotlout pulled out several jars of gel from his satchel. "Here you go, Hiccup. My portion of Monstrous Nightmare gel."

"Okay," said Tuffnut opening their jar.

He looked inside it, but sadly there was only one drop of gel inside it. He then looked to Hiccup as Snotlout gave the jars to him.

"Uh… we'd like to make a good faith of offer for Hookfang's gel," he said.

"I told you the price, is non-negotiable," Snotlout reminded.

"Yeah, but if we buy in bulk, should we get a better deal?" Ruffnut asked.

"Oh, yeah," said Snotlout sarcastically. "In some alternate fantasy world, why not? But this is the real world!"

"Fine!" said Tuffnut in annoyance. "We'll take the gel." He then whispered, "Put it on Ruff's tab."

"I heard that," said Ruffnut crossing her arms.

"This should cover part of what we owe," said Tuffnut as he and his sister began scratching themselves enthusiastically. It was clear that they must have landed in a pile of poison ivy. "We'll get back out there as soon as the scabs heal. Or we pick them off and eat them."

* * *

Meanwhile Fishlegs was relaxing within the Night Terror caverns. His head was pressed against Meatlug's belly and he looked up at the night sky from the attic door, which was wide open now.

"Now this is living! Oh…" Fishlegs sighed. "It's so peaceful."

He then got up and stretched his arms. "Well, it's getting late, or early. We should get back, girl. I think it's time to show everyone what it's like to be worshipped by an entire species of dragons."

He then noticed that he was surrounded by the Night Terrors and he make the most adorable face at them. "Oh, that's so cute, Meatlug. They want us to stay."

Meatlug snorted, indicating that she sensed something wrong.

"I understand your allegiance," said Fishlegs calmly. "Really, I do. But we'll be back tomorrow. Promise."

Unfortunately, the Night Terrors did not like that arrangement. They screeched at him and approached him in a threatening way.

"Uh, easy, guys," said Fishlegs calmly. "I told you. I'll be back in the morning."

He then tripped and the Night Terrors climbed on top of him. It became apparently clear that they did not want him to leave.

"Meatlug, hug!" Fishlegs cried.

Meatlug flat her wings and Night Terrors flew away from her as she made her way to Fishlegs. "Get out of here, girl," Fishlegs cried.

Meatlug grabbed him and then took off, it took some effort but he was able to mount her. She first tried to make their escape through the cavern entrance, but more Night Terrors appear blocking their path. She then flew up to the only available escape route, the open attic door.

"Go, go, go, go!" Fishlegs cried as the Night Terrors followed. "Up, Meatlug, up!"

Unfortunately, one of the Night Terrors grab the rope and the attic door began to close. Then a Night Terror knocked off of Meatlug just as she flew out of the attic door.

"Meatlug!" Fishlegs cried just as the attic door closed.

* * *

Back on the Edge, Hiccup was sleeping this hurt, but then a mighty crash well both him and Toothless. Hiccup quickly got up and went downstairs to find Meatlug stuck in his doorway.

"What! Meatlug? What is it, girl?" he asked as he ran towards her.

She made a few worried growls and snorts, but he got the gist of what she was trying to say. "Is it Fishlegs? Is he in trouble? Where is he? Show us, girl."

* * *

After he removed Meatlug from his doorway, he rounded up the other Dragon Riders and they soon followed Meatlug into a cavern. Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar led the way holding a lamp in their hands.

"Easy, Meatlug," said Hiccup as she took off.

"I've never seen her move so fast. She's way cooler than I thought," said Snotlout.

"Clearly Fishlegs is in some kind of trouble," said Ragnar.

"Are we sure Fishlegs is even down here?" Astrid asked.

Hiccup notice something that confirmed just that. "Yes, we are," he said.

Meatlug was standing next to a set of ancient runes engraved on the wall and lean against the wall was a sword which was engraved with ancient runes. Hiccup recognised it as the sword Fishlegs had been holding when he scolded him.

Hiccup picked up the sword and examined it. "He had this in his hand last time I saw him," he said.

Ragnar raised the lamp towards the ancient runes. "He must have discovered these along with that sword, I've never seen runes like these. From what I make out seems to be even older than Norse, it might very well be even older than us Vikings."

"Is that possible?" Astrid asked.

"I don't know, but I'll little Fishlegs assembly discovered an archaeological find," said Ragnar.

Hiccup then cursed himself. "Why didn't I just stop and pay attention?"

He then placed the sword in Toothless saddle and they made their way further down the tunnel.

* * *

Fishlegs meanwhile, was sitting on the throne against his will, he and the Night Terrors were sleeping peacefully. He then opened one eye in order to make sure the Night Terrors were fully asleep.

Once he was sure, he set off the throne, but then one of the Night Terrors awoke and shrieked. Almost instantly they awoke and Fishlegs quickly sat back on the throne.

"Listen, guys," he said diplomatically. "This is a little ridiculous, don't you think? I mean, I'm touched that you think so highly of me. It's just… well, this is kidnapping, which, as far as I know, is against Viking law."

He then remembered that he was talking to a pack of dragons.

"But, of course, why would a flock of dragons care about Viking law?"

Then they heard a rustling in the distance and at once the Night Terrors flew down the tunnel. Believe that his captors have left, Fishlegs removed himself from the throne.

He then saw that not all the Night Terrors had left, Darkvarg remained with him. Unlike the others, he seemed to be more carefree judging by how happy he looked and the whacking of his tail.

"Darkvarg!" Fishlegs chuckled innocently. "Hey, there. Me and you, we're friends, right? We have a connection." He then slowly backed away from Darkvarg. "Fishlegs and Darkvarg. Darkvarg and Fishlegs."

He then looked over Darkvarg and pointed and cried, "Oh, my Thor, what's that?"

Darkvarg turned, but found nothing. When he turned back to Fishlegs, he found that the Viking was running down the tunnel where the Night Terrors had vanished.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup and the others were still looking for Fishlegs. Meatlug then led them to a steep gradient.

"What is it, girl?" Hiccup asked.

That's when they heard a distant screeching noise and Meatlug flew back over towards them. Hiccup lifted his lantern wondering what could cause such a noise.

He soon got his answer when an angry flock of Night Terrors appeared flying straight towards them.

"And what is that?" Snotlout yelled.

Hiccup lowered his head to avoid getting hit by the Night Terrors.

"I'll tell you what they are," said Tuffnut. "They're a gaggle of Smidvargs."

"A bevy of Smidvargs," said Ruffnut.

"Some would say bonanza, a symphony," he ducked when a Night Terror flew over his head, "a cacophony of Smidvargs!"

Their dragons then rushed to their rescue. Barf and Belch them release their gas and spark attack blowing away a Night Terror.

"Need a little help here!" Ragnar yelled as three Night Terrors soared towards him.

Skull landed behind him and roared, his roar was so powerful that the Night Terrors were blown away.

"Stormfly!" Astrid cried as she ran from a Night Terror that was swooping down towards.

Stormfly then placed herself between the Night Terror and Astrid, staring it off. Meatlug batted one with batted tail bludgeon and Toothless blasted another one with a plasma blast that was attacking Hiccup.

"Thanks, bud," said Hiccup to Toothless.

He then looked towards the others. "Stay with your dragons! Do not try battle these guys—" He heard Snotlout screaming, "on your own."

Two Night Terrors had grabbed Snotlout's legs and were suspending him in mid-air.

"They're not like Smidvarg. They're wild and aggressive," said Hiccup.

"Maybe you should've said at first? Help me!" Snotlout yelled.

Hookfang then slammed into the ceiling which caused the tunnel to shake and rocks began to fall scaring the Night Terrors. The two that had grabbed Snotlout released him and he landed face first on the ground.

"Ouch," he groaned.

"Snotlout, are you okay?" Hiccup asked as he, Astrid and Ragnar ran towards him.

"Uh-huh," he groaned giving the thumbs up.

Barf and Belch launched their gas and spark combination that pushed the Terrible Terrors back. Unfortunately they blasted the ceiling which made the tunnel unstable.

"We need to get out of here," said Astrid.

"Back the way we came," said Hiccup.

They ran as fast they could down the tunnel, but then there were cut off by a cave-in, Stormfly, Skull, Hookfang, Barf and Belch with the only ones to escape leaving the rest of them with the Night Terrors.

"They'll find a way out," Hiccup assured.

"I'm not worried about them," said Snotlout pointing upwards.

Hiccup looked up and saw Night Terrors are merging from a tunnel in the ceiling. Hiccup couldn't see how they can get themselves out of this, they had no weapons and only Toothless and Meatlug for protection. Toothless kept on firing plasma blast defend of, but there were too many for him.

"Hiccup, there's too many of them," said Astrid.

"And we're completely defenceless," said Ragnar.

"And it's glorious," said Tuffnut looking at the Night Terrors that were flying overhead.

Things got worse when Toothless ran out a plasma blast.

"He's out," said Hiccup.

Then suddenly they heard a clang in noise which disturb the Night Terrors greatly. They winced in pain and covered their ears as best they could. Then to their surprise Fishlegs emerge from the steep gradient slamming two axes together.

"Fishlegs!" Hiccup yelled.

"Hiccup!" Fishlegs yelled.

Fishlegs ran up to them hugging Hiccup, Astrid, Ragnar and finally Meatlug. He then looked at them apologetically. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys where I was going. It's just that…" He then noticed a Night Terror flying towards Snotlout, who had his back turned. He quickly picked up his axes. "Oh, we can talk about this later."

Fishlegs then slammed the axes together creating a massive clank that chased the Night Terror away. It also had a dazing effect on Snotlout and he kept on repeating the process again and again.

"Wow. That is cool," said Tuffnut. "Keep doing it."

"Tuff's right. Keep doing it," said Hiccup. He then saw the dazed Snotlout. "Just not in Snotlout's face."

Snotlout then toppled over.

"Well, that pretty much cuts the fun factor in half," said Tuffnut.

"These guys are really persistent," said Tuffnut.

"They're just protecting me," said Fishlegs.

"We can use the axes to keep them at bay while we find another way out," said Hiccup.

"Follow me, guys," said Fishlegs with a determined look. "I'll get it out of here."

Fishlegs began banging the axes together and they certainly had an effect on the Night Terrors, who were cringing in pain. One by one the Riders, Toothless and Meatlug followed him, except for Snotlout who was still in a daze.

Hiccup was forced to grab his arm after he walked straight into a wall. "Come on!" he said pulling the dazed Viking towards him.

They made their way down the steep gradient and found the Night Terrors nesting chamber. The Night Terrors flew away from the sound Fishlegs was creating by banging his axes.

"Hurry! Grab what you can!" said Fishlegs as they ran past a few crates. "I know how to get out of here."

"Great!" said Hiccup as he drew the rune sword from Toothless' satchel. "Which way?"

"That way," said Fishlegs pointing at the tunnel the opposite side of the chamber, which unfortunately was full of Night Terrors.

"Great," Ragnar muttered.

Fishlegs then shouted and charged banging his axes together scaring the Night Terrors away. Hiccup grabbed a shield and joined in. Tuffnut grabbed a couple of spears, Astrid two battle-axes, Ragnar a pair of swords, Ruffnut a spear and shield and to Snotlout's dismay at door handle and the jug. Soon all the Riders were banging their objects together scaring the Night Terrors away as they made their way towards the chamber.

Toothless and Meatlug held by roaring and spewing lava all over the place. They soon entered into the chamber where they found the closed attic door.

Unfortunately, the banging was becoming less effective on the Night Terrors, which they proved by snatching Fishlegs' axes.

"They're getting used to the sounds," he said turning to Hiccup. "We've gotta get that hook, Hiccup."

"How?" Hiccup yelled.

Fishlegs then noticed Darkvarg flying overhead. "Darkvarg. Yes! Can you help us out, boy?"

Darkvarg screeched happily and charged at the Night Terrors that were in front of them. The Night Terrors were shocked by this and were scattered giving Fishlegs a clear run to the rope.

"He cleared a path for us. Hiccup, the sword!" Fishlegs yelled and then ran towards the rope.

Hiccup then toss the sword into the air and Fishlegs jumped into the air. He caught the sword as it flew in mid-air and with a powerful roar he then brought it down, slicing the rope.

The attic door flung open revealing sunlight, indicating it was the dawn now. The Night Terrors quickly backed away from the light. Fishlegs then saw Snotlout having trouble fending off two Night Terrors within the shadows.

He then reflected the sun's rays upon the sword blinding the Night Terrors and saving Snotlout.

"Meatlug! Twins!" Fishlegs yelled.

Meatlug flew over towards the twins, who are having difficulty fending off the Night Terrors. She then grabbed them and took off into the air, much to their surprise.

Hiccup and Astrid mounted Toothless, who began to jump off the cavern walls and grabbed Ragnar and Snotlout before heading towards the opening in the ceiling.

This left Fishlegs defend of the Night Terrors by himself by using the sun's rays with the sword. He then jumped onto Meatlug's back just as she flew past, with the twins now and aback as well.

He then looked to Darkvarg, who was looking down at him. "Darkvarg, thank you."

Darkvarg shrieked happily and Fishlegs flew up to the wholeness ceiling closing the attic door behind him.

* * *

Later that day, Fishlegs was that his hut polishing the sword he found in the cavern. He and Ragnar will have to try and decipher the room is a bit later, because he saw Hiccup and Toothless approaching him.

"How's it going?" Hiccup asked.

"Me and Ragnar trying to make sense of this sword," said Fishlegs.

The two of them looked at each other slightly uneasy and then said at the exact same time, "listen, I want to—"

"Me first, Hiccup," said Fishlegs. He took a deep breath. "As hard it was for me to hear what you said yesterday… you were right. If I had been stronger with Snotlout and the twins… we wouldn't have put the group in jeopardy by losing the Nightmare gel."

Hiccup shook his head. "Fishlegs…"

"I don't know how you do it, Hiccup," said Fishlegs in disbelief. "You lead by example, not by fear, or by bossing people around. I have a long way to go before I learn how to do that."

Hiccup sighed. "Fishlegs, listen to me. I can barely control those guys on my best days."

Then suddenly there was a huge explosion emanating from the twins hut.

Fishlegs blinked. "Was that—"

"Our new supply of Monstrous Nightmare gel, which proves my point," Hiccup finished. "Honestly, I hope Ragnar finishes that new storage systems soon."

He then turned and looked at Fishlegs. "Anyway, I should not have come down on you, okay? I was wrong. You show true leadership in those caves. With the Night Terrors, and then with us. Fishlegs, I would never hesitate to put you in charge."

"Okay, now that we're done with that, can I ask you something serious?" Fishlegs asked.

"Sure."

"Can we meet up with Ragnar and take a minute to geek out over the Albino Night Terrors and this sword?" Fishlegs asked holding the sword out. "I mean, come on!"

Hiccup laughed. "I thought you'd never ask."

He and Fishlegs then made their way towards Ragnar's hut so they can begin geeing out.


	30. Turn and Burn

It was a nice peaceful day on the Edge and Hiccup and Ragnar at the forge with their dragons. They were making some adjustments to Hiccup's Dragon Fly Two. Toothless just yawn while Skull slept.

"So? What do you think, bud?" Hiccup asked presenting Toothless with the Dragon Fly Two.

Toothless just grunted and looked away.

"You got no love for the old Dragon Fly Two?" said Hiccup.

"Well, in his defence he does spend most of the time flying down to catch you whenever it fails," Ragnar pointed out.

"Oh, come on," said Hiccup looking above his dragon and his best friend. "You two love these wings. They let me fly beside Toothless, they put us in precarious situations that Toothless always have to save me from."

"Proving my point," said Ragnar crossing his arms.

"Whose side are you on?" said Hiccup.

"At the moment, my own," Ragnar smiled.

"It's terrific!" said Hiccup defensively. He then he made his way back to the forge. "All right, I think this is probably gonna need some welding. Hey, bud, can you fire the forge?"

"I got it!" a voice yelled.

Hiccup and Ragnar jumped at the sound of it and looked up to see Snotlout and Hookfang on the roof of the forge.

"Snotlout!" Hiccup yelled furiously. "How many times have I told you not to sneak up on us like that?"

"Uh, well, if you count now, I would say—I don't care," Snotlout laughed. "Let me like the forge for you." Hookfang snorted. "'Us'. Let 'us' light the forge for you. Geez, don't be so needy."

"Yeah, I think we're okay," said Hiccup.

"Especially after what happened last time," Ragnar muttered under his breath.

"Hiccup, Ragnar, aren't you always complaining that I never do anything around here?" Snotlout questioned. "Well, here I am. Snotlout 'the Volunteer' Jorgenson. Ready to do Thor's work."

Hiccup faceplamed himself. "And that's what I'm afraid of."

"You and me both, you and me both," Ragnar groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Watch and learn, guys. Watch and learn," said Snotlout as he position Hookfang towards the chimney. "Hookfang, hit it."

"No, no, no, no!" Hiccup and Ragnar yelled at the same time.

"Snotlout, you have to build it gradually!" Hiccup yelled.

Too late, Hookfang centrefire blast down the chimney and at once the forge was set alight. Hiccup and Ragnar glared up at Snotlout

"What?" Snotlout asked innocently as Hookfang short fire at the fire spreading it even further.

Snotlout flew away from the burning forge and Toothless and Skull, who had woken up, and began to found the fires with their wings. Then suddenly water poured down on top of the forge putting the fires out and they looked up to find the twins riding on Barf and Belch holding a huge tub.

The twins looked at Snotlout and shook their heads. Then they flew off with uttering a word. Hiccup and Ragnar then turned to Snotlout, who dismounted Hookfang.

"They've changed," he muttered.

"No, Snotlout, they haven't changed," said Hiccup, trying to keep his anger at bay. "It's just that this is over the line. Even for them."

"Yeah, because now we have to fix at the forge again," said Ragnar crossing his arms. "I'm surprised there are any trees left in the forest."

"Relax, guys," said Snotlout placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "Don't get your tunics in a bunch. Everything's fine.

"Oh yeah, it's fine? It's fine?" said Hiccup questionably looking at the burning forge. "Does this look 'fine' to you?"

"I guess I'm just an optimist, Hiccup," said Snotlout as he approached the forge and tapped a piece of the burning wood.

"More like oblivious," Ragnar muttered under his breath.

"I'm what you call a 'hut half un-burned' kind of guy," said Snotlout as he leaned his hand against the wood.

Then suddenly the wooden wall broke apart and he toppled over.

"Oh, for the love of gods," Hiccup moaned rubbing his temple.

"I think we need to start planning some sort of fire prevention system," said Ragnar crossing his arms.

Snotlout got his feet and glared at the burnt wood in his hand.

"Down, Skullcrusher!" said a voice.

They turned and found Stoick and Skullcrusher flying down towards them and surprisingly behind him was Alvin, Ragnar's birth father, and he was riding a Whispering Death which he called Groundsplitter. The two adults then landed right in front of them.

"Dad!" Hiccup cried.

"Alvin?" Ragnar blinked.

"We need to talk right away," said Stoick.

"This should be good," Alvin grumbled.

"Yeah, sure thing," said Hiccup. "Let me just—"

"Not you, him," said Stoick looking at Snotlout.

Snotlout blinked and placed a finger against himself.

* * *

Stoick and Alvin began explaining that they came because of Snotlout's father, Spitelout, and how he was driving the chief crazy.

Stoick was now pacing up and down. "I mean, your father has always been… well…"

"Annoying?" Snotlout offered.

"Well, that's one way for it. Insufferable is another. I mean, nothing is ever easy with that man. Always second-guessing me. Constantly trying to show me up. He wants nearly burnt down the village even though I told him to mind those torches in the gale winds. Can you imagine?"

"Huh. No, I can't imagine that. Even a little bit," said Hiccup with sarcasm as he eyed Snotlout.

"Boggles the mind," said Ragnar also looking at Snotlout.

"What?" Snotlout blinked.

"Ever since he joined Astrid's auxiliary Dragon Riders, he's become intolerable on a whole different level."

"I'm amazed he hasn't become an outcast himself," Alvin grumbled.

"Don't think I haven't consider it," said Stoick.

Snotlout scoffed. "Tell me about it, Chief."

"The man certainly has ideas on improving everything," Stoick continued. "Most of which are considerably above his place in the tribe or station in life."

"Way above."

"Most recently, he's been pushing a plan for secret off-Berk cache of emergency food and supplies."

"That actually not a bad idea," said Hiccup.

Stoick growled at him. "You're taking his side now, are you?"

"Uh… no, no. Uh, I just—"

"Word of advice, boy," said Alvin, who looked as if he was enjoying the show. "The best day out of it when your father is ranting."

"It wouldn't be a bad idea if he didn't persist on telling it to me four times a day," Stoick admitted. "I mean, how could he be so unaware and pig-headed?"

"Uh, welcome to my world," said Snotlout.

They all looked at him with an emotionless looks.

Ragnar then turned to his father. "That is and explain why you're here?"

"You'd think I miss a chance for seen Stoick shout down someone else's ear?" Alvin asked.

"Good point.

Stoick shook his head. "Anyway, I finally told that old pain in my buttocks to go ahead and start searching. He's taken a number of reconnaissance trips as of late. Then, he went on his most recent expedition."

"And…" Hiccup pushed.

"He hasn't returned."

"Relax, chief. He's a Jorgenson. He can take himself," said Snotlout dismissively.

Stoick and Alvin looked at each other and then looked down at Snotlout. Stoick then said, "It's been a month, son."

"A month?" Snotlout yelled. "You didn't say was a month. That's my dad out there!"

"Okay, Dad, do you have any idea where Spitelout might have gone?" Hiccup asked.

"No, he was too secretive," said Stoick.

"Which is unusual for him, he's usually a subtle as a dragon in a boar party," said Alvin.

"I did found this," said Stoick pointing out a piece of parchment. They looked it and it had some strains markings on it, but they were on readable. "Can you help me decipher it?"

"Now, clearly it's some sort of coded map," said Hiccup.

"I've seen this before," said Snotlout. "But it's not code. It is my dad's bad handwriting and terrible grammar. Why would you dangle a participle like that? And the penmanship."

Stoick was starting to get annoyed. "Just tell us where to look and—"

"I'm going with you. I can't stay here my dad and trouble," said Snotlout firmly. "What kind of son would I be? Besides, I rub it in his face for once. What a muttonhead."

They watch as he went inside the forge to mount Hookfang.

Hiccup then looked at his father. "Right. Uh, I better tag along for back-up."

"As will I," said Ragnar.

They then mount their dragons and took off into the air.

* * *

Hours later they were sailing across the sea and now the sun was covered by a gloomy overcast. Snotlout was leading them since he was the only one who could understand his father's handwriting.

"Snotlout, I'm sure your dad is fine. And we will find him," Hiccup assured.

"I know he's fine, Hiccup," said Snotlout. "Is my dad and he's a Jorgenson."

However, that didn't stop him from laughing nervously and whimper slightly.

Then they saw an island coming into view.

"Snotlout!" Hiccup yelled.

They flew down to the island and when they got closer they could see smoke coming from it. Then they saw storehouse in the middle of a clearing and Toothless snorted.

"Yeah, I see it, bud," said Hiccup. He then looked at his father. "Uh. I thought Spitelout was only supposed to be scouting.

"He was," said Stoick narrowing his eyes.

Hiccup nodded in understanding. "Right."

"Um, hello? It's called 'initiative'," said Snotlout.

"It's called 'insubordination'," Stoick corrected.

"Tomayto, tomato," Snotlout shrugged dismissively.

They landed on the ground in front of the storehouse, it looked quite normal except for large chunk of metal shaved as a red 'S'.

"Spitelout!" Stoick yelled.

"Dad!" Snotlout yelled.

They soon dismounted and search the area, Hiccup and Ragnar went up to the storehouse and opened the door. The place was fully stock of weapons, enough weapons to armour an army of Vikings.

They looked back at the others and simply shrugged.

Then they had a noise in the distance and Stoick and Alvin signalled the boys to look around the storehouse.

Hiccup, Ragnar, Snotlout and their dragons ran around the storehouse and there they found a yak next to a catapult grazing. Hiccup and Ragnar was slightly confused and then noticed Snotlout frowning.

"What is it?" Hiccup asked.

"And having Asia Fondue," said Snotlout. "Something seems oddly familiar."

Hiccup and Ragnar looked at each other then back to Snotlout. Hiccup and then said, "Snotlout, are you trying to say 'déjà vu'?"

"Yeah, that's what I said," said Snotlout.

"Not exactly," Ragnar muttered under his breath.

Hiccup and Ragnar then walked up to the yak still wondering what it was doing around here.

"Of course," said Snotlout as he finally remembered. "It's a Jorgenson Yakmaster! Nice work, Dad!"

"Okay. Uh, care to fill us in…" Hiccup asked.

"Some of us have no idea what that is," said Ragnar.

Snotlout and their dragons approached them. "The Jorgenson Yakmaster is a specifically designed…"

Then Snotlout tripped on a rope and at once the Riders and their dragons found themselves trapped in a net. Net had to be quite strong who was able to hold Skull, who was the biggest and heaviest of the dragons among them. The yak was suspended in mid-air, from its tail, and still eating.

"Dragon trap," Snotlout finished.

The three boys then struggled as they tried to free themselves.

"Would you stop that? That's not your arm. That's my arm," said Hiccup.

"And that's my leg," said Ragnar.

"Son, are you all right?" Stoick called as he and Alvin ran up to them.

"They are trapped you know, Stoick," Alvin pointed out.

Stoick narrowed his eyes of the outcast. "I see that." He then turned and looked at the three boys. "Are you all right?"

"No!" Snotlout cried.

"We could be a little better," said Ragnar.

"We're fine, Dad!" Hiccup called.

"Get us out of here!" Snotlout yelled.

Then suddenly they heard a creek and next thing they realise the plans the yak was eating snapped and they shot upwards as the yak was sent flying into the air. It landed far off in the distance, but surprisingly it survived the impact.

Snotlout kept on trying to free himself, but ended up making things worse.

"Oh, this is so much worse," Hiccup grumbled.

"If you wouldn't mind letting us down," said Ragnar.

"Let us think," said Stoick.

"Hey, so, why does your dad have a dragon trap anyway?" Hiccup frowned.

His question was soon answered when they heard a roar in the distance.

"Oh, my Thor. Dad?" Hiccup yelled.

Snotlout began to panic, which wasn't helping at all.

"Would you calm down," Ragnar snapped.

Stoick and Alvin turned and saw the dragon overhead. It had a wide, flat body and a long tail. It had four wings, like a Thunderdrum, but the bigger pair being lower on its back. It had a spiky face with chameleon-like eyes, as well as several big, sharp spikes along their backs and tails, where smoke was exiting from it.

"Odin's ghost!" Stoick stared.

"What is that?" Alvin asked.

"We're gonna die. We're all gonna die," Snotlout whimpered. Hiccup and Ragnar groaned as Snotlout tried once again to free himself. "We're all gonna die!"

"Not if we have anything to say about it," said Stoick.

Then he and Alvin mounted their dragons and took off into the sky just as the dragon shot fireballs from its tail. The fireball slammed into them, but they were able to regain control and began chasing after it.

Skullcrusher captain firing his own fireballs while Groundsplitter shot several spikes towards it. They struck the dragon making it lose control and it flew off.

"Chew on that, you fire-snortin' reptile!" Stoick yelled. Skullcrusher and Groundsplitter roared indignantly. Stoick then patted his dragon on the back. "No offence, boy."

"He didn't mean you either," said Alvin patting Groundsplitter.

The boys were still trying to free themselves from the net and Stoick and Alvin soon landed in front of them. They looked up and saw the dragon flying overhead, it was quite apparent that they had scared it off.

"Persistent isn't he," said Alvin.

"Unfortunately," Stoick admitted.

Stoick then drew his axe and turned to face the boys.

"What are you doing? What is he doing?" Snotlout asked fearfully.

"Stay still," said Stoick as he aimed carefully at the net. "This is tricky."

"Do it, Dad. Take the shot!" said Hiccup.

"No, don't take the shot," Snotlout cried. "Didn't you hear what he just said? He said 'tricky'."

"Just keep your head down and shut up," said Ragnar.

"I don't know what's worse, that fire-breathing menace or his dragon."

Hiccup then saw the dragon flying back towards them. "Dad! Look out!" Hiccup cried.

"He's coming back around," said Ragnar.

Stoick and Alvin turned and saw the dragon heading towards them.

"You've got to leave us," said Hiccup.

"Nonsense. I'm not going anywhere," said Stoick firmly.

"Same here," said Alvin.

The dragon then hovered above the two Vikings chiefs and shot a couple fireballs from the end of its tail. Groundsplitter then shot a ring of fire at the fireballs blowing them up in mid-air.

Then suddenly Spitelout appeared riding his Deadly Nadder. "Yes!" he cried excitedly. "Come and get me, you hideous beast!"

The dragon turned and flew straight towards Spitelout.

"Dad? Dad!" Snotlout cried.

The Dragon kept on firing fireballs at Spitelout, but he was able to dodge them and they began flying over the forest.

"I've seen that dragon before," said Hiccup. "I just can't remember where."

"I recognise it as well, think about we sort somewhere in the Book of Dragons," Ragnar frowned.

"Who cares?" Snotlout yelled. "Whatever it is, it's chasing my dad."

"Go, Skullcrsuher!" Stoick roared.

"Let's ride, Groundsplitter!" Alvin commanded.

The two chief then took off after the dragon and Spitelout leaving the boys and their dragons in the net.

"And now our dads are chasing it," said Hiccup.

"Would have been nice if they she freed us first," said Ragnar.

The dragon was still chasing Spitelout, shooting fireballs at him, but he simply laughed mockingly as he dodged them. Stoick and Alvin try to keep up, but they were just too nimble. Eventually, however, they were able to catch them up.

"No, Stoick, Alvin! Leave us be!" Spitelout yelled. "You don't understand."

"Skullcrusher, fire!" Stoick ordered.

"Blast it, Groundsplitter!" Alvin commanded.

The two dragons blasted the dragon and that's when they discovered that the dragon was able to turn its eyes three hundred and sixty degrees, so now it was staring straight at them. The two chiefs were stunned by this fact.

"Whoa! Can't say I saw that coming," said Stoick.

"It's literally got eyes in the back of its head," said Alvin.

Next second the two of them were blasted when the dragon fired fireballs from the end of its tail. They crash landed into the forest, rather painfully.

The dragon then looked forwards and search for Spitelout, who had vanished. Seeing that its prey had disappeared it flew off into the distance.

The two chiefs held each other up on me the way to the dragons, who were both growling irritably.

"I hear ya, boy," said Stoick. "Me too."

"We'll get him back, that's a promise," Alvin grumbled.

They looked up and saw Spitelout flying overhead.

"Stoick! Alvin! That thing won't stay gone for long," he said.

Stoick and Alvin mounted their dragons and followed Spitelout back to the storehouse, where the boys were still trapped.

* * *

Moments later they landed in front of the boys.

"Whoa. Some beast, eh?" said Spitelout as they dismounted their dragons. "Been tangling with it for the last—"

"That's all you've got to say, Spitelout? 'Some beast'?" Stoick roared. "You almost got singed alive!"

"I try to warn you about the tail on the eyes, Stoick," said Spitelout defensively. "But as usual, you pay no attention, and did what he wished."

"I did what I wished?" Stoick roared furiously.

"I'm certainly glad that he is not an outcast," Alvin grumbled bridging his nose.

"Singetail!" Hiccup cried. Everyone turned and looked at him. "What? I remember the name of the dragon."

"That would have been helpful five minutes ago, son," said Stoick. He then turned to Spitelout. "But at least it would have actually been helpful."

"You know, I am wracking my brain, Stoick, but I don't recall asking you to come here," said Spitelout.

"When you disappeared from month, I took it as an invite," Stoick snapped.

"Oh, don't pretend to care about me. You never have and you never will."

Stoick growled and looked as if he was ready to snap Spitelout's head off.

"Anytime you wanna quit arguing, so we could get out of this finger before—" said Snotlout, before Stoick cut the rope above them with his axe.

The boys and their dragons on the ground with a massive thud.

"Uh, that was a little close, Chief," said Snotlout as he looked over his body for injuries. "Do you see any blood?"

"Doesn't matter, son," said Spitelout as he glared at Stoick. "Stoick is allowed to take whatever ridiculous chances he likes. If the rest of us who have to stay in line."

"Good point, Dad," Snotlout nodded. He then noticed Hiccup glaring at him. "What? You're gonna try and tell me Stoick's not a total control freak?"

"He's the chief," Hiccup reminded. "And he wouldn't have to be a 'control freak' if others weren't so out of control. Your father's like some kind of reckless renegade."

"Reckless renegade? Reckless renegade? You know what?" Snotlout snapped. He then slowly came to a stop. "I like that."

"Well, you would."

As the four them were arguing Alvin and Ragnar were watching the confrontation as if it was some sort of game.

Ragnar looked up at his father. "Was it like this for you before…" He paused slightly trying to find the right words, but unable to find them. "You know."

"Pretty much," Alvin nodded.

"Come, boy-o. I'll show you around the place," said Spitelout. "At least one of you will appreciate my work."

"Yeah, what a jerk," said Snotlout as he ran after his father.

Stoick just narrowed his eyes and growled furiously.

"When I found this place, boy-o, I knew it was perfect," said Spitelout as they made their way to the storehouse. "I was about to head back to Berk when I thought… 'All that's gonna happen is Stoick is gonna insist on seeing it. And then he's going to want to see my plan to construct it. And then he's going to want to change those plans. Again. And again. And again. And again. And again.' By the time all that transpired I could build the darn thing myself. So, I did."

"Ha! That's right, you did," said Snotlout smiling. "Well, I think it's amazing, Dad."

Stoick had had enough and walked up to Spitelout furiously. "First off, I wouldn't have picked an island with a fire-happy dragon to build a structure out of wood. Another ill-conceived Jorgenson special."

Spitelout tossed his axe over his head and glared at Stoick. "I checked the island, over and over for anything that might get in the way of the construction. That Singetail only arrived after it was finished! Came out of nowhere. Starting setting fires all over the island."

"Uh-huh," said Stoick sceptically.

"Hey, as far as I'm concerned, it's got the Jorgenson stamp of approval," said Snotlout pointing at the large 'S' in front of the storehouse. "I mean it even got a 'S' on it for 'Spitelout'. Or for… 'Snotlout'."

Spitelout rolled his eyes. "Uh, storehouse, boy-o. The 'S' is for 'storehouse'."

Snotlout looked slightly embarrassed. "Ha! I knew that."

Hiccup then approached Spitelout. "You said the Singetail has been setting fire all over the island?"

"Aye," Spitelout nodded.

"It's obviously trying to mark its territory," said Hiccup.

"The storehouse was here first!" Spitelout roared.

"You should go explain that to the Singetail, I'm sure he'll be very understanding."

"Save your breath because we're not staying," said Stoick firmly.

"You would never abandon something you'd build with your own two hands, Stoick," Spitelout spat. "Bit of a double standard, don't you think?"

"Yeah, when was the last time you Haddocks give us Jorgensons any respect?" Snotlout added.

"Respect is earned, son," said Stoick. "As Alvin earned it was saving me and my son three years ago."

"It's nice to feel appreciated," said Alvin smugly.

"Not helping," said Ragnar looking at the glares coming from both Stoick and the two Jorgensons.

"Okay. Okay. Uh, everyone has their opinions," said Hiccup calmly. "Not saying which ones are correct. Obviously. Spitelout felt this location was a good one."

"It is a good one!" Spitelout snapped.

"Yeah. It is a good one," Snotlout added.

"And… and he says he was on the island first so we should give him the benefit of the doubt," said Hiccup.

"'Benefit of the doubt'?" Spitelout glared. "Either you believe me or you don't."

"You called my dad a liar?" said Snotlout.

"Yes," said Hiccup and then quickly try to collect himself. "I mean, no. I mean, look. There are six of us and six dragons. I think if that we work together we can run the dragon off and save the storehouse."

He stopped when he heard a whooshing sound and next second ape barrel was knocked over by fireball. They looked up and saw that the Singetail had returned and Toothless, Hookfang and Skull tried blasting it, but it proved too agile.

They watch as it came back for another round and ran for it, but they were stopped when it fired fireballs in front of them and several actually hit the storehouse.

"We have to get into the air! He'll pick us off down here," said Hiccup. "Next time he passes by, get to your dragons."

"I'm not waiting for that beast to destroy what's ours!" Spitelout said firmly.

Then he and his son mounted their dragons and took off into the air.

"Okay," said Hiccup.

"Are you really surprised?" Ragnar asked.

Stoick and Alvin walked up to them and looked at Hiccup. "And what on Thor's green Earth makes you think they'll listen to you?" Stoick asked.

"The two of them are too hard-headed and stubborn to actually follow proper orders," said Alvin.

They then mounted their dragons and followed after the two Jorgensons.

* * *

Up in the air, the two Jorgensons were battling against the Singetail, but were having very little effect. It was far too agile for them and it was a wood issued fire from its front and rear.

They tried blasting it, but it was as ineffective as anything else and then it fired at them. They were able to dodge the blast and rather that very moment Hiccup and the others arrived. It quickly spun around and shot several fireballs from its tail, nearly hitting them if they hadn't been so nimble.

It then spun around and blasted Stoick, Alvin and Spitelout of their dragons and they began falling towards the island below.

"Dad!" Hiccup yelled as the three boys flew down to rescue their fathers.

They managed to rescue the three adults and landed on the ground.

"That they had eyes at the back of its head!" Snotlout announced once they were safely on the ground.

"And it can attack with both its mouth and tail," Hiccup added.

"You've got to admit this dragon is quite the adversarial," said Ragnar.

Soon Stoick, Alvin and Spitelout's dragons landed and they remounted.

"We can take him! Come on, boy-o!" said Spitelout.

"No, Spitelout!" Hiccup yelled. "Look, he's an unconventional dragon. Which means we have to fight him unconventionally. It's too strong to take on from the front or behind. The only place it might be vulnerable is below it. The belly of the beast."

"Okay, I'll draw it out," said Spitelout. He then looked at Snotlout. "Boy-o, you get there and take the shot."

"What?" Snotlout blinked. He then realised what his father was planning and nodded. "Yeah. I'll take the shot."

"Guys, Toothless is the fastest and has the most accurate blast. We should take the shot," said Hiccup.

"I agree, they've got the best chance among us," said Ragnar.

"I… don't like it. I know this dragon. It should be us," Spitelout grumbled.

"No. Hiccup and Ragnar are right," said Stoick firmly. "The five of us draw it out and Toothless takes the shot. End of story."

"Even I agree with the plan," said Alvin, grudgingly.

Reluctantly, Spitelout agreed with a plan and everyone took off into the air.

As they flew over the island they saw it was now set ablaze.

"See what I mean?" said Spitleout. "The thing sets fires everywhere it goes."

"I've seen this sort of thing on Outcast Island," said Alvin.

"Definitely marking its territory," Stoick agreed.

"But if the Singetail were marking its territory, the fires will be more concentrated," Hiccup frowned.

"It does look a lot more random than anything we've seen," Ragnar agreed.

"Something's wrong."

Unfortunately, Hiccup didn't are anytime to ponder on this since the Singetail was coming into view.

"There!" Spitelout yelled and rushed straight towards the dragon.

The others, except for Hiccup, followed him. Hiccup dive down into the forest to get below the Singetail to wait for the perfect opportunity to strike. The five riders began blasting the Dragon with their dragon fire, but it wasn't giving up without a fight and kept on firing fireballs at them.

"Keep firing!" Stoick yelled. "Don't let up!"

Hiccup flew around them and watch them wearing the Singetail down and they flew down as low as they could go and sword up straight towards the dragon.

"Now, bud!" Hiccup ordered.

Toothless prepare defy a plasma blast, but then they discovered something quite miraculous. The Singetail was able to shoot fire from its underbelly as well, through special gills it had underneath.

"Toothless!" Hiccup yelled as he pulled Toothless back.

They lost control for a brief moment, but Toothless was able to stay aloft. Hiccup looked over his body to make sure that he wasn't struck by the flames, but it was perfectly fine.

They watched as the Singetail flew off, though they knew that it would be back again.

Annoyed, Stoick led them back to the storehouse they landed just in front of it. He then dismounted Skullcrusher and made his way over to Spitelout, narrowing his eyes.

"What were you doing up there?" Stoick demanded.

"What are you going on about?" Spitelout demanded as he dismounted.

"You said you knew this dragon. Yet you conveniently forgot to tell us about it underbelly."

"Oh, you think I knew about that and would set you up?"

"I never know how far you Jorgensons will go."

"Dad," said Hiccup. Stoick raised a hand at the silence him.

"Well, there it is, then," said Spitelout.

"I've had enough of this dragon and this place," said Stoick firmly. "We leave at first light." He then walked off. "Contrary to other thinking, our lives are not worth an empty building."

"Go, then. The four of you. We are staying."

"What?" Snotlout stared at his father. "Dad?"

Spitelout crossed his arms and put on a firmed look. "Jorgensons don't go where they're not trusted or wanted. We'll stay here, protect what ours."

"Fine, if that's the way you want it," said Stoick.

"It's the way it has to be."

The three boys watch as their fathers moved away from one another. Spitelout headed back towards the storehouse and Stoick and Alvin mounted their dragons. Reluctantly, the three boys went to join their fathers.

"Hey, Dad? Giving we should reconsider?" Hiccup asked looking up at Stoick.

"Yeah, we can't just leave them," said Ragnar.

"Nonsense," said Stoick. "Tired of his pig-headedness. Gets us nowhere, and puts us in danger."

"Stoick's right, boys," said Alvin. "They won't listen to reason and we're tired of trying to persuade them otherwise."

Hiccup looked at the Jorgensons. "Snotlout, Spitelout, this is ridiculous," Hiccup cried.

"You're gonna get yourself killed," said Ragnar.

However the two Jorgensons didn't move a muscle.

"Right," said Hiccup and he and Ragnar mounted their dragons.

They then took off and left them to fend for themselves.

* * *

It was evening now and the four Vikings were riding in silence. Hiccup then flew up to his father, hoping to persuade him to go back.

"It's him, right?" Stoick asked, as if he was reading Hiccup's mind. "Taking unnecessary chances time and time again."

"Well, but does have a familiar ring to it," Hiccup admitted.

"All-too-familiar," Ragnar muttered.

"Well, maybe this will teach him a lesson," said Stoick. "He has to learn, you know? At like a child all you want. But you're a grown man. And grown men must deal with real consequences of their actions."

"He's right," said Alvin painfully. "I've learned that lesson all too well."

Hiccup, however, kept on looking at his father and Stoick got a feeling that he wanted to say something.

"What is it, son? Speak your mind," he said.

"Look, Snotlout is pretty much the same way as Spitelout," said Hiccup.

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

"And it certainly seems he's constantly doing the opposite of what I want him to do."

"Disobeying every single order."

"Trying to 'one up' and show off."

"Couldn't have put it better myself."

"The thing is, in this particular case, who are they trying to show off to?"

Stoick frowned, it was true there was no one around on that island to show off for.

"Well, what I'm trying to say is, what if the all their craziness and disobedience had nothing to do with them and everything to do with us?" Hiccup suggested and notices father frowning again. "Just… just think about it. Snotlout's incident with the forge, that can be directly tied to his desire to prove himself to me in his own twisted way. And Spitelout—"

"What? Puts us all at risk over something so insane as a storehouse that could have been built anywhere at any time?" Stoick question sceptically.

"No, Dad, don't you get it? Spitelout built the storehouse to prove himself to you."

Stoick looked back at Alvin and he just simply shrugged as did Ragnar. He thought for a moment and then roared in frustration.

He then suddenly turned around and looked at the three of them. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

They pulled him back towards the island, where they could see more smoke emanating directly where the storehouse was.

* * *

At the storehouse, the Singetail had returned. Snotlout and his dad won the dragons on top of the storehouse ready for fight.

It was then that Snotlout saw the yak that was used for the trap, he looked from the dragon to the yak. He groaned in frustration.

The Singetail then fired several fireballs straight at the storehouse and sell them always hit the yak. The Singetail saw the yak below it and flew down straight towards it, but before I could get anywhere near it Snotlout and Hookfang grabbed it.

"Gotcha," said Snotlout.

The yak did even look phased by this, it in even acknowledge the attack and simply kept on chewing the grass in its mouth. Snotlout sighed and placed the yak down.

"Now don't move! Stupid yak," said Snotlout, before flying off back to his father.

He soon landed back on top of the storehouse and Spitelout looked at him. "When did you go?"

Before Snotlout could answer, they saw the Singetail soaring down closer towards them. "Wait for it! Wait for it… Now!"

The two of them then blasted the Singetail with their dragon fire causing it to retreat.

"Yeah! That's it, Dad!" Snotlout cheered. "We got him on the run…"

Then suddenly there was an explosion him and they saw the Singetail flying overhead shooting down fireballs with its tail upon the storehouse. It was then that they realised that this wasn't the same Singetail, it was a second one.

"Watch out, there's two of 'em!" Snotlout yelled.

"I see that! Keep firing!" Spitelout ordered.

They kept on blasting the two Singetails, but there were just simply too much for them. They kept on shooting down at them and finally the storehouse was set ablaze.

"We're losing ground," Snotlout cried.

The two Singetails then fired more fireballs at them and this time they barely dodged in time. It was then that they saw through the smoke Hiccup and the others returning.

"Is that… Dad, look! Behind you!" Snotlout cried.

Hiccup, Ragnar and their fathers began blasting at the Singetails causing them to fly off. Spitelout just stared at them as they landed on the storehouse.

Stoick looked at him. "What? You wanna save what yours are not?"

The sixth and then took off and flew straight at the Singetails.

"Where did the second one come from?" Hiccup asked.

"I don't know. Maybe it's was drawn to the fires?" Snotlout suggested.

"Yes! That's it, Snotlout," Hiccup cried. He then looked down at the forest which is now ablaze. "It wasn't marking its territory with the fires. It was calling for back-up!"

"Well, the six of us can take down to Singetails," said Stoick firmly.

"What about three?" Snotlout asked pointing as a third Singetail appeared.

Hiccup looked around and saw for heading their way. "Or four?"

Ragnar then saw two more heading straight towards them. "How about six?"

They tried to fend of the Singetails, but there was just too many of them.

"Dad!" Hiccup cried.

"We have to retreat!" Alvin yelled.

"No! We stay! We hold! We fight!" said Stoick firmly.

Spitelout then flew towards him. "There's too many of them, Stoick."

"We can do this, Spitelout!"

Spitelout looked into the sky and saw how their boys were getting overwhelmed by the Singetails. "No, we can't. And we won't." They looked down at the burning storehouse. "It's okay, chief. We will find another island."

"And we'll build another storehouse," said Stoick.

"Together."

"It would seem as if the two of you can agree on something," said Alvin with amusement.

"Skullcrusher!" Stoick yelled and they began to fly away from the island.

Snotlout gave a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank Thor! Now, let's blow this yaksicle stand!"

"Couldn't agree more," said Ragnar.

"Right behind you!" said Hiccup.

Then follow their fathers.

Then Snotlout heard a mooing and looked down to find the yak still grazing, despite the forest around it on fire. He grumbled and flew back down and grabbed the yak.

They all looked at him as he returned with the yak in Hookfang's claws.

"What? I had to go back for the Yakkity," said Snotlout defensively. The yak mooed. "Hey! What a reseller talking back?"

"Wait!" said Stoick coming to a halt.

"What is it, Dad?" Hiccup asked.

Stoick then flew back towards the island they all looked at each other confused, they had no idea why he would return. The answer soon came clear when Stoick emerged out of the smoke holding the metal 'S' in Skullcrusher's claws.

"Can't rebuild a storehouse without the 'S', right?" Stoick smiled.

"Even though it stands for 'Spitelout'," Spitelout muttered under his breath and then laughed.

They all laughed and flew away from the burning island behind them.


	31. Buffalord Soldier

It was early in the morning and Astrid was riding around on Stormfly, doing some early morning scouting before breakfast.

"Alpha quadrant checks out," said Astrid as she pulled out a map. She then takes the area she was in. "Nothing but water and…" She stopped when she saw something in the distance and Stormfly snorted. "Yep, I see it too, girl."

Astrid put the map away and grabbed her spyglass and placed it against her eye. She could make the faint outlines of the ship.

"Let's get a closer look," said Astrid putting the spyglass away.

They flew towards the ship, it was located in dense mist. The shape and looked as if it had seen better days and there was no sign of life, but to be on the safe side Astrid pulled out her axe.

She gave a hand signal to Stormfly to follow and to prepare for the worst. Stormfly's spikes stood on end as they made their way to the lower decks. However, there was no sign of life.

"Abandoned. Let's get out of here," said Astrid making away to Stormfly.

She stopped when she heard a man screaming below decks. With a firm grip on her axe slowly made her way below deck.

"Hello?" she called down.

Stormfly sniffed the air and the spikes on her tail stood on end.

They made their way through the lower decks, but still saw no sign of life. "Hello? Is someone there?"

She then smelt something horrible and disgusting. "Ugh! What is that smell?" she said, as she gasped for breath. "Stormfly, torch."

Stormfly shots fired a torch and set it alight. Astrid then grabbed it and they went even further into the lower decks.

She gasped in horror when they turned the corner.

"No!"

Then suddenly a man's hand grabbed her arm, it was green and rotten looking and she felt the nails ducking into a skin. She screamed, drop the torch and ran as fast as she could to the ship's deck.

Once they were outside Stormfly looked at her concernedly.

"It's okay, girl," Astrid assured. "It's just a scratch."

She mounted on Stormfly and flew as far away from the ship as possible.

* * *

Meanwhile at the Edge, Hiccup and Ragnar were doing some work at the clubhouse. Toothless was about to weld the two pieces of metal that Hiccup placed on the table, but he stopped him.

"Ah, one second, bud," said Hiccup. He then placed a special pair of goggles over his eyes, the lenses were actually laced with amber of all things. He then looked back at Toothless. "Okay, Toothless. Spark it up."

Toothless and shot a concentrated burst of fire and began to weld the two rods together. While Ragnar was forced to cover his eyes, Hiccup was completely fine thanks to the goggles.

They then heard footsteps and saw Fishlegs entering the clubhouse covering his eyes as well.

"Interesting material," he said looking at the goggles. "Seems organic in nature."

"Deathsong amber, hammered thin," said Hiccup proudly and Toothless stop welding. "This is strong enough to stare straight into the eyes of a Flightmare."

"Fascinating," said Fishlegs walking up to them. "May I?"

"Please. I insist," said Hiccup handing over the goggles to him.

"Just be careful with them," said Ragnar. "It was very dangerous for me to acquire the amber in the first place. I don't like to make any more trips I have to too Melody Island."

Fishlegs placed them on gasped and Toothless fired another short burst, making him gasp again.

They then heard another pillar footsteps and turned to find Astrid wandering into the clubhouse, clutching her arm.

"Astrid, are you okay?" Hiccup asked.

Astrid didn't answer, which worried Hiccup deeply.

"What's wrong?" Hiccup asked. "Did you see something on patrol?"

Astrid nodded.

"Hunters? Trapped dragons? Viggo?" Fishlegs asked.

Then suddenly he felt an arm on his shoulder and turned to find Tuffnut standing there looking quite excited. He noticed that behind him was his sister and Snotlout.

"Oh! I love this game," Tuffnut cried excitedly. "Okay, now it's my turn, everyone quiet. Astrid, is what you found bigger than a yak box?"

Astrid shook her head and walked to the opposite side of the room. "I found a fishing boat."

"I'm supposed to guess before you tell me. Does anyone know how to play?" said Tuffnut said indignantly. "But just for the record, a boat is bigger than a yak box. So, I'll just score this one win for the old T-nut. Scratch one-off in the Tuffnut column."

Astrid ignored him. "It was just drifting out there. We went to take a closer look. But what we found inside it was…"

"Was what?" Snotlout fearfully.

"Bodies. Skin was all pale and green. We got out of there as fast as we could."

"Survivors?" Ragnar asked.

"One."

"Then we need to go back out there and help them," said Hiccup, he then turned to Toothless. "Toothless."

"Hiccup, it's too late," said Astrid.

Ragnar and Fishlegs looked at one another.

"I recognise those symptoms," he said fearfully.

"So do I," Fishlegs whimpered. He then looked to Hiccup. "Um, Hiccup, 'pale green skin'? I hate to be the harbinger of doom, but—"

Hiccup quickly extended his hands. "I know what the two of you are thinking, Fishlegs, but—"

"The Scourge of Odin," said Ragnar and Fishlegs together.

Hiccup looked at the others slightly nervously. "Oh! Let's just not for around words around too loosely, because—"

"Wait. Back it up," said Snotlout, with a fearful face. "Did they say 'Scourge of Odin'?"

"Yes, but there's no need to panic," said Hiccup calmly.

"Right. No need to panic. The Scourge of Odin. Just the plague that tore through the archipelago centuries ago, wiping out entire Viking villages! Yeah, why would we worry about that?"

Snotlout gasped, covered his mouth, and began running around panicking. "Quick, Hookfang! I need a mask for my mouth."

"Well, that was a long time coming," Tuffnut smirked.

"Very funny," Snotluot glared. "I only feel short of breath."

"We must burn our clothes!" Ruffnut announced.

"No, no, no, no. No need to panic," said Tuffnut. "I've got the answer. Wait for it." He then pulled out a loaf of mouldy bread. "Bing! Oh, yeah."

"Mouldy bread? Like that gonna cure the Scourge?"

"That it will, sis. Once I had a really bad cold. So, I decided eat some mouldy bread. Don't ask me why, because I don't know. But, boom! Instantly cured."

Ruffnut shook her head.

"Okay, you scoff now, but one day, size will recognise my genius. They called old crazy Uncle Henrik 'crazy'."

"Here's crazy, Tuffnut. He married his own beard."

"Mm-hm. Yes. Okay. Bad example. Let's go with your clothes-burning plan. We'll keep them on you, just to be sure. Barf! Belch!"

Barf and Belch were about to move towards the twins, but Hiccup stop them. "Let's not jump to conclusions and set ourselves on fire, mouldy bread or hyperventilate."

Snotlout was indeed hyperventilating, breathing quite hard inside a boot.

"Snotlout, you can't catch the Scourge of Odin by breathing," said Ragnar shaking his head.

Snotlout then tossed the boot aside. "I knew that."

"There hasn't been a single case of the Scourge for centuries," said Hiccup rationally. He then made his way over to Astrid, who was still covering her arm as if she was hiding something. "Plus, Astrid got out of there right away." Hiccup frowned at the way Astrid was standing and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. Really," Astrid assured and brushed his hand off.

Satisfied Hiccup walked off, but Astrid was anything but satisfied.

* * *

Later that night, Hiccup was sleeping in his hut, but he and Toothless awoke when they heard something downstairs.

"What? What? What?" Hiccup cried getting up.

Toothless looked at him any place a finger on his lips. The two of them then looked over the edge and found Stormfly running around downstairs.

"Stormfly?" Hiccup blinked.

She then ran out of the door, and realising that something was wrong with Astrid, Hiccup mounted Toothless and followed her to Astrid hut.

When he got there, he found Astrid sitting up in bed looking a bit pale.

"Astrid," he said worriedly.

Astrid looked up. "Hiccup? What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Stormfly seemed a little worried, so I…"

Astrid then coughed and revealed the scratch on her right forearm. He had a strong hunch he knew where she got that scratch and prayed to Odin that he was wrong.

* * *

Later that morning, Ragnar was examining Astrid taking notes down in his notebook, the worried look on his face did not bode well. Hiccup, feeling very tensed, paced up and down, which annoyed Astrid greatly.

"Hiccup, will you start pacing?" she asked.

Ragnar bent down to look at the scratch on her forearm and his face turned automatically grim. He then guided Hiccup away from Astrid.

"What is it?" he asked.

"You saw that scratch, right?" Ragnar asked.

"She said it's nothing," said Hiccup.

"And you brought me here, because you knew it's not nothing," said Ragnar. "You know as well as I that Astrid says that stop us worrying. All the signs are there."

Hiccup was afraid he'd say that and looked back at Astrid, who did not look so good. He then guided Ragnar further away from her.

"All right, let's assume for a second that you're right," said Hiccup. "What's the cure?"

"I've got no idea," said Ragnar honestly. "The only thing I know is that the Scourge moves swiftly, overtaking its victim in less than three moons."

"One moon has already passed," said Hiccup horrifyingly.

"I know," said Ragnar placing his hands on his hips. "I sent Snotlout back to Berk to get Gothi's notes. With any luck, they'll tell us something more."

Speaking of whom, Snotlout and Hookfang landed outside Astrid's hut. Hiccup ran outside and Snotlout gave him the notes.

Snotlout looked at Astrid. "Hey, Astrid, how you feeling?" he asked.

"I feel fine. I just wish everyone would stop," she then coughed, "worrying."

"Ragnar, look!" Hiccup cried out with relief. "Gothi's notes there's a cure for the Scourge of Odin. A green solution made from the saliva of a Buffalord dragon."

Ragnar looked at him, but it was in the face of joy. "That might be a lot harder than you think."

"What? What is it?" Hiccup frowned.

Ragnar just rubbed the back of his neck as if he was very reluctant to answer, but Astrid did it for him. "There aren't any Buffalords. They were all hunted to extinction during the Scourge's last outbreak."

"We don't know if they're gone for sure," said Hiccup firmly. "We need to get out there and find one."

"Hiccup, be reasonable, we don't even know where to start. There's no mention of the Buffalord anywhere. It was as if they were wiped from history," said Ragnar.

Astrid then got up, shakily. "Come on, I told you guys, I'm…"

She then toppled over.

"Astrid!" Hiccup cried and caught her.

"I'm fine," said Astrid looking up at him, but then she coughed fiercely.

* * *

By midday, Ragnar and Fishlegs were in the clubhouse, looking over every bit of notes they had on dragons, from the Book of Dragons, to Bork's papers and all the way to the sketches they made from the Dragon Eye. Snotlout and the twins will also with them as they have surging through the pace for any reference the Buffalord.

The only looked up when Hiccup returned from Astrid's hut.

"How is she?" Snotlout asked.

"Resting," said Hiccup placing his hands on the table. He then looked to Ragnar and Fishlegs. "What have you two found?"

"I've searched through the Book of Dragon and Bork papers, but they only mention of its extension and nothing about whether used to live," said Ragnar.

"I spent the last few hours combing my Dragon Eye research and found some old notes," said Fishlegs. "I didn't think much of them at first, but…"

Fishlegs then handed one of the papers to Hiccup, who studied it. "The Buffalord! But nothing on its location. There's really not much about it here at all."

"It's big, has ram-like horns and lives on plains," said Fishlegs. "That's something."

"Fishlegs, there's hundreds of islands out there and most them have grassy plains on them we're going to need something more than that," said Ragnar.

"I'll keep looking," said Fishlegs.

"I hate to say it, but I think the only way were going to find this dragon, is with the Dragon Eye," said Ragnar."

Those words hit Hiccup hard, because he knew they were true. If he had not lost the Dragon Eye to Viggo, maybe they could have saved Astrid's life.

Tuffnut then looked over some old drawings. "What's this stuff?" he asked.

"That's nothing," said Fishlegs dismissively. "Just some Dragon Eye tracings. No useful information. Just archaic dots and slashes."

Hiccup then notice the twins looking as if they found something. "What? Wait, you guys see something?" he asked walking over.

"Yeah. These make a map," said Tuffnut.

"Duh! How do you guys not see that?" Ruffnut asked.

They then placed the drawings on the table and rearrange them and together they form some sort of image.

"See? These squiggles are water. That big noses an island. Those slashes are seastacks," said Tuffnut as he pointed out each of the markings. "And that there would be…"

"The Buffalord," said Hiccup, his spirit raising.

"How did you do that?" Snotlout stared.

"We're experts at interpretation abstract images," said Ruffnut. "Watch and learn."

She then pulled out some pieces of paper, one of them just had a straight line.

"A boat," said Tuffnut. Ruffnut nodded and showed a picture with three lines. "A pineapple." She then showed him an oval. "Mum."

Snotlout looked at Ragnar and Fishlegs, who just simply shrugged.

Hiccup, however was more interested in the drawings and he realised something. "Actually, this looks familiar."

He pulled out a map and place the pieces of paper on top of it, he began moving them around until they formed some sort of landmark.

"We found it, Hiccup! We found it!" Fishlegs cheered.

Hiccup slammed a hand on the map. "We found the location. Now, let's hope to Odin they still exist."

* * *

Instantly they got on their dragons and flew towards the island on the map. Eventually they found it, it was a small island and it had a lot of grassy plains on it and they landed.

"Now, these dragons were supposedly hunted to extinction," Hiccup reminded. "So if there are any left, they will have developed a wariness towards humans."

"Which means we have to move quickly," said Fishlegs.

"And remember, we have less than two moons to find this dragon and bring the cure back to the Edge," said Hiccup.

* * *

Hours later, Hiccup and Toothless were flying over the island, but there was no trace of any dragon on it. They were both getting tired and Toothless yawned.

"I feel ya, bud. But we have to keep pushing forwards," said Hiccup. "Tell you what, let's grab a drink of water from that stream and we'll get back into the air."

They landed near the stream and Toothless at once began to drink from it as Hiccup filled his jar and drank from it as well. Toothless then looked up and jumped over the lake.

"Toothless?" Hiccup blinked.

He followed Toothless and found him sniffing a large pile of dragon poo, but unlike the other piles he seen this one had vegetation sticking out of it.

"What is that?" Hiccup stared.

* * *

Later that night he gathered the other Riders and they began to examine the poo. Fishlegs, in particular, was examining it with great interest.

"Large size. Unusual coloration," said Fishlegs. He then reached into it and grabbed a piece so he could sniff it. "Vegetation diet. Not the remains of any dragon unfamiliar with. And I know my dragon droppings."

"It could be the Buffalord," said Ragnar. "It might explain why it lives on grassy plains, though I have to admit I've never seen a dragon that was a vegetarian."

He then held it out to Hiccup and Ragnar, who quickly moved away from it. "It's fresh, guys. Last couple of hours. This dragon is still somewhere on this island."

"And, might I add, a very distinctive bouquet," said Tuffnut. "Sort of herbal. It's quite nice."

He then picked a piece out and sniffed it just like Fishlegs.

"Ew," said Snotlout in disgust. He then saw Fishlegs sniffing it as well. "Double ew."

"Well, if it's here, I think I might know how to find it," said Hiccup as he grabbed his saddle. "This dragon-tracking equipment. Now, it's not field tested, but it's worth a shot."

"In the dark?" Snotlout said questionably.

Hiccup then reached into the saddle and poured Flightmare algae down onto the ground, which lit up the ground. That's when they saw a large footprint on the ground, a dragon footprint.

"Flightmare algae, of course!" said Fishlegs excitedly.

"Now, hopefully a dragon this large doesn't move too fast," said Hiccup.

Hiccup then led the way as he is sprinkled Flightmare algae onto the ground with billing more tracks. They kept on walking until they reached the very edge of the island and they stopped at a large hillock.

"Now what?" Snotlout asked when they stopped.

"It must have taken to the air here," said Hiccup and reaching into his saddle again. This time he pulled out a strange sort of spyglass, but it had a handle and a much larger glass.

"It's like a spyglass," Fishlegs gasped.

"But for looking at things close-up," said Hiccup placing the grass to his eye and said his eye enlarged.

"Oh, fascinating," said Fishlegs in awe.

"I called a magnifying glass," said Ragnar.

Hiccup went down on his knees and cashed the magnifying glass on the ground trying to discover any clue that might lead them to the Buffalord.

"This way," he said.

"How do you know that?" Snotlout asked.

Hiccup then pulled something off the ground. "Dragon scale," he said smiling. "Let's move!"

They made their way over the hillock just as the sun began to rise, but when they reached the top they were blinded by the sun and were unable to see anything.

"Nothing!" said Snotlout, who was shielding his eyes. "How could there still be nothing?"

"No, not nothing," said Hiccup, who had placed on his forging goggles. He removed them and handed them over to Snotlout. "Look closer."

Snotlout placed them on and then he saw a large dragon in the distance, grazing. "A Buffalord. Alive!" Snotlout was so excited that he removed the goggles, forgetting the sun was directly in his eyes. "Ow!"

They made their way down the hillslope slowly approached the Buffalord. Now they got a better look they could see that it had golden brown scales and that it's head was similar to a tortoise's, with horns growing to the side and forward, like a yak, and a single horn growing atop the skull. It had very large wings, and four small legs that are positioned close to the middle of its body. It's body was quite bloated it had to be a good thirty feet tall.

Hiccup slowly made his way towards it and looked at the others. "You guys distract it, and I'll get it saliva," he said.

"Be careful, Hiccup. We know nothing about this dragon," Fishlegs reminded.

"I suggest that you take it slow and try not to startle it," Ragnar advised.

"Agreed," Hiccup nodded. "But we need to make this quick. We're running out of time."

Fortunately, the Buffalord was more interested in grazing than any of them, which was good considering that one look from it and Fishlegs, Snotlout and the twins ran away when it opened its mouth and yawned.

"Retreat!" Snotlout yelled.

Hiccup, who is leaning against it side, looked at Ragnar, who simply shrugged. Ragnar kept his distance, but made sure that the Buffalord attention was on him and not Hiccup, who was making his way slowly towards its mouth.

"Okay," he said extending a cup. "Easy." Then a drop of it saliva landed in the cup. "Finally." He looked at the others held the cup up high. "We got it!"

They all cheered.

"That was easy," said Snotlout.

"Little too easy," said Ragnar.

Hiccup quickly mounted on Toothless. "Now, let's go," he said. But when he looked down at the cup his eyes widened. "What that…" The cup was empty. "It dried up!"

"I knew it was too easy," said Ragnar.

Fishlegs sighed. "What do we do now?"

Hiccup thought for a second. "We rope him and taken back to Dragon's Edge. It shouldn't be too hard, right?"

* * *

An hour later they roped the Buffalord, who didn't even take any notice of them.

"It remarkably docile for dragon of its size. Almost yak-like," said Fishlegs curiously.

"No wonder it was so easily hunted," said Snotlout. "You gotta toughen up there, Buff."

"Aww, he's kind of cute," Ruffnut smiled.

"Hiccup, can we keep them?" Tuffnut asked eagerly as Hiccup and Ragnar walked past them holding the rope firmly in their hands. "I promise I'll walk him and feed him and stuff. We only know he poop doesn't smell. And he doesn't even act like it. Not like Ruffnut, who acts like her poop doesn't smell."

"We need to get him back to Astrid," said Hiccup firmly.

They tied the rope onto Toothless' tail and Hiccup mounted. Seconds later they took off and almost immediately they lost the slack, it became apparent that the Buffalord didn't want to leave its home.

"Come on, big guy. Come on!" Hiccup yelled panicking.

Eventually the Buffalord took off and they all soared off into the air. At first everything was peaceful, but once they were good few yards away from the island the Buffalord began to act up. Almost immediately, it inflated and spiked shot out everywhere, and we look like a puffer fish.

"Guys? I think something is up with the Buff," Snotlout called.

It grew and who was twice its normal size, snapping the rope and causing the other Dragon Riders to be pushed back. Hiccup turned to face the Buffalord, which began to fire a large stream of fire from its mouth.

"No!" Hiccup yelled. "We need to stay with it. We have to get back to the Edge."

"I knew I shouldn't have told him to toughen up. Me and my big mouth," Snotlout muttered.

"Trust me, we feel the same," said Ragnar.

It then shot the spikes from its body and Fishlegs and the twins nearly got impaled by them. It then turned around and started chasing Ragnar and Snotlout, shooting fire from its mouth. It then quickly landed back onto the island and it returned to its normal size and acted as if nothing had happened.

"Okay. What was that about?" Snotlout asked.

"He appears to be fine, so long as he's on his island," said Fishlegs.

"We try to move him, he'll act crazy again and I doubt even Skull would be able to tow him," said Ragnar grimly.

"Great. So, now what?" Snotlout asked.

Hiccup could only see one option. "If we can't take the Buffalord to Astrid—"

"Bring Astrid to the Buffalord," Snotlout finished. "I'm on it."

Snotlout then took off heading back to the Edge, flying as fast as he could.

* * *

It was near sunset when Snotlout returned with Stormfly, who was carrying Astrid on her back. Astrid was lying down, even from the ground they could see that she was in a bad way.

When they landed, Astrid slid off Stormfly's back and Hiccup caught her bridal style. She looked terrible, she was now a pale green she could barely speak a word.

"Shh!" Hiccup whispered calmly. "Just rest. We're gonna beat this. I promise you, Astrid. You just need to keep fighting, and hold on."

He then laid her down next to a rock and looked at her, he had never felt this more desperate in his life or this scared. "You need to stay with us. I can't imagine a world without you in it."

He then got up and looked at the other Riders. "All right, we need to move quickly."

Hiccup made his way to the Buffalord and carefully took another sample of saliva from it. He quickly made his way over to Astrid and presented her with the cup.

"Here. Here you go," he said as he poured the saliva down her throat.

However, there was no effect. In fact she looked even worse than she had been.

"Nothing's happening," Hiccup panicked.

"It might take some time for the antidote to work," Ragnar offered.

Astrid then coughed, rather fiercely and began to shiver.

"No, something is wrong," said Hiccup.

Stormfly looked at her rider, clearly as worried as Hiccup.

Ragnar looked through Gothi's notes again. "It says the green solution will cure the Scourge," he said, he too panicking. "'Green solution'. 'Cure'. That's all it says."

"But the Buffalord's saliva is clear," Hiccup frowned. "What does it mean, 'green solution'?"

Ragnar looked back at Gothi's notes, desperately looking for a clue to this riddle.

Snotlout turned and saw the twins eating grass. "How can you guys eat at a time like this?"

"Hey, people deal with stress differently, okay?" said Ruffnut defensively.

"And we're eating what the Buffalord eats, because, hey, who doesn't want to sweet-smelling droppings?" Tuffnut asked.

"It's a victimless crime," said Ruffnut.

Ragnar turned and looked at them and his eyes widened. The saliva that was exiting from the twins mouths was green. "Wait a minute… I've got it."

Hiccup turned and saw what Ragnar was getting at. "The herbs. It must be what the Buffalord eats, mixed with it saliva that creates the antidote."

"Which would stand to reason why it won't leave this place," said Fishlegs. "It can't be away from the herbs it eats."

"So, we just needed to eat the herbs to create the green solution." He looked back at Astrid his face full of worry and clutched her hand. "Hang in there, Astrid. Just a little longer. Please. For me."

Snotlout began to lead the Buffalord towards a patch of herbs. "Come on, Big Buff," he said as the Buffalord followed. "You worked up a healthy appetite trying to kill us earlier. So eat. Eat!"

Buffalord did just that and took a huge bite out of the herbs. Hiccup slowly made his way towards the Buffalord with the cup in his hand.

"Come on. Keep going. Eat it up," he said.

In no time at all the Buffalord's saliva turned green.

"Yes!" Fishlegs cheered.

Hiccup was about to take a sample, but then out of nowhere a net fired. Hiccup rolled out of the way just in time, but the net trapped the Buffalord. They turned and found Viggo and Ryker leading their Hunters towards them.

"Viggo!" Hiccup snarled.

The hunters quickly surrounded the Buffalord and Viggo smiled at them. "Hello, Hiccup. Thank you so much for this gift," he said. "I do apologise that you won't be able to use it to save your little friend."

Hiccup, Ragnar and Snotlout quickly mounted their dragons, preparing for a fight.

"But how?" said Fishlegs. "There's no trace of this island anywhere. How did he find it?"

"Who cares?" said Snotlout. "We've been dying for a little action."

"And if he gets that dragon, we will be able to cure Astrid," said Ragnar.

Then both he and Snotlout took the air and a hunter aimed his crossbow at them.

"Let's make this count, bud," said Hiccup and he too flew into the air.

Then a hunter appeared with a cart, no doubt so they could transport the Buffalord off the island. The three of them then charged down straight at the Hunters.

"Dragon Riders. Incoming," said Ryker.

The three dragons and reach their breath attacks on the Hunters, but it was more of a warning shot than anything else.

"Show them no mercy," Viggo ordered. "But safeguard our prize."

The twins then took into the air as well leaving Fishlegs to tend to Astrid. The hunters began to fire their bolts at the riders, but they proved too agile. Snotlout managed to nearly take out one of the Hunters, but he rolled away just of the fire blast struck him.

"Hiccup, I can't get a clear shot," said Snotlout.

Then one of the Hunters bolts struck Barf and Belch and they landed on the ground. They were about to take down the twins, but Hiccup by the plasma blast of the Hunter. Ragnar then landed on the ground, in order to shield the twins from any more arrows.

"Pull up, Riders. We can't risk hurting the Buffalord," said Hiccup. "We need it."

The Hunters surrounded the Buffalord making it impossible them to get a clear shot.

"Viggo, release that dragon. You have no idea what you're doing," said Hiccup.

"Oh, I beg to differ, my dear Hiccup," said Viggo smirking. "I'm keenly aware of my actions. This dragon is exceedingly unique." He then placed a hand on the Buffalord. "It will elicit and considerable bounty on the open market."

He then looked up straight at Hiccup. "You should have left well enough alone, Hiccup. My fishing boat was no place for you or any of your Riders."

"You're fishing boat?" Hiccup gasped.

Viggo just smiled and looked at his Hunters. "Move him."

The Hunters began to lift the Buffalord onto the cart and they began to move it away. He then looked up at Hiccup, still with a smirk on his face. "It's simple, really. Supply and demand. I knew where to get the supply, if I could only generate the demand."

Ragnar's eyes widened. "You spread your own men with the Scourge, to test it and deceive it could spread onto new hosts which is why you purposely placed the boat in a location you knew we would find it. We then find the Buffalord for you, figure out how to make the cure and then you could spread the Scourge to Viking villages and sell the antidote for a fortune."

Viggo looked at him and clapped as he smiled. "Well done, my dear Ragnar. You're certainly a intelligent young man," he said.

Fishlegs looked at him and then to Astrid. "You're a monster!" he roared.

"Fishlegs, I'm shocked," said Viggo looking at the husky Dragon Rider. "I'd never had thought you were above name-calling. 'Monster'? No. 'Savvy businessmen'? Indeed."

"And what are the dragon was extinct?" Hiccup asked, his hatred to Viggo growing even more.

Viggo shrugged. "I do not dwell on the 'what ifs,' my boy. Leave you barren."

"What are we waiting for?" Snotlout asked. "Let's take the psycho out already!"

"Toothless…" said Hiccup.

"Ryker," said Viggo.

Ryker then drew his sword and placed it near the Buffalord and raised it.

"No!" Hiccup yelled.

"I would think twice about your actions, Hiccup," Viggo advised.

"And your profits?"

"Like I said, business is business. This? Oh, it's a loss I'm willing to incur. Question is, are you?"

Hiccup looked down at Astrid, who was getting even worse. As much as he hated it, he had no choice.

"Okay, Viggo," said Hiccup in defeat. "Okay, you win. Take him. Take the dragon. But leave us with what we came here for, the Scourge antidote. Buffalord saliva. I'm not leaving here without it. That's a lot I'm not willing to take."

"No. Hiccup. Don't give him… Not for me," said Astrid weakly.

Hiccup looked back at Viggo with a determined look. "Do we have a deal? Or are we both leaving empty-handed? Your call."

Viggo stood there, clearly deciding. He looks into Hiccup's eyes and clearly he estimated that he was desperate enough to attack and risk harm to the Buffalord. He then raised his hand signalling Ryker to back off, which he did.

Hiccup landed and made his way over to the Buffalord and took a sample of the dragon saliva.

Viggo walked up to him, smirking. "I truly missed our time together, Hiccup. My brother leaves something to be desired in the repartee department."

Ryker growled at his brother.

Viggo saw that Hiccup's face was emotionless. "My boy, don't look so morose. It takes all the fun out of it." Hiccup got the amount he needed and walked off, not even looking at Viggo. "All's well that ends well. Hmm?"

Hiccup quickly made his way over to Astrid and forced the saliva down her throat. "I know. I know. Just drink."

"Hiccup, I think… I think…" she said smiling at him.

"It's working," said Hiccup to the others, with relief in his voice.

Astrid soon return to her normal colour and got to her feet, a little shaky and she would have toppled over if Hiccup hadn't caught her. The Riders smiled as she made her way over to Stormfly and gave her a hug.

"I'm afraid our time must end, Hiccup," said Viggo's voice. They all turned and saw him and his Hunters disappearing over the hillock with the Buffalord in tow. "We will continue our contest in due time."

"He won't get far," said Tuffnut as him, his sister and Snotlout prepared to give chase. "Let's go after him."

"Yeah," Snotlout agreed. "I'm sick of that smug—"

Hiccup walk up to them and held out his hand. "No," he said. "Stand down. We agreed to let him leave the island with that dragon. And that's exactly what we're going to do."

* * *

Viggo was standing on the deck of his ship as his men placed the Buffalord in a cell. Ryker soon joined him on the bridge.

"The beast has been secured in the transport ship," said Ryker.

"Excellent," Viggo smiled. He then frowned looking at the island, he had expected Hiccup his rider to chase him down. "A bit disappointing. Then again, he is a man of his word. Something to admire about that."

Then suddenly they heard a massive thud coming below deck.

In the cells, the Buffalord began to expand knocking the cell door right of its hinges and smashing right through the cells walls. It then began to spew fire everywhere causing a massive explosion.

Viggo looked down from the bridge and saw the Buffalord smashing its way to the deck setting everything on fire.

"What's it doing?" Ryker yelled.

It took only seconds for Viggo to realise that Hiccup knew about this, he had purposely allow them to take the dragon knowing it would be riled at the moment they leave the island. This of course meant that it was completely useless to them, making it impossible for them to create the antidote for the Scourge.

"Hiccup," he snarled as he looked back on the island. He then turned to his men. "Release it! Release the beast!"

The Buffalord took to the air making his way back towards the island. However, there was still a chain attached to its leg and it had so much power that it caused the ship to spin around and actually lifted out of the water.

Ryker quickly jumped and sliced through the chain with his sword, freeing both the Buffalord and the ship. Unfortunately, the damage had already been done on the ship began to sink.

* * *

The Buffalord soon return to the island where the riders were waiting for it and the moment it landed on the grassy plain it returned to its normal size and became completely docile again.

"What's stopping Viggo from spreading the Scourge?" Snotlout asked.

"Simple, the saliva dries up fast that is why he had to take of the island and the first place. Also the Scourge takes its victim in three moons, making it impossible for him to sell the victims to this island," Ragnar explained with a slight smile on his face. "It will be going out to the dragon again, is completely useless to him."

"Well, that leaves us just one thing to do," said Hiccup.

They then took off into the sky leaving the peaceful Buffalord to its meal.

* * *

Later that night, they sat the fishing boat, now with its occupants now dead, out to sea. Astrid was holding a piece of parchment as they began a traditional Viking funeral.

"There do I see my father, my mother, and my brothers and my sisters," she read. "They bid me take my place among in the halls of Valhalla… where the brave shall live forever."

The Riders were all holding bows and had a fire arrow already. They then fired and set the entire ship ablaze, giving the men on board that ship a final farewell.

Then the Riders, except for Hiccup and Astrid left the blazing ship. Astrid looked at Hiccup, and could see that he was deeply troubled.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked.

"This might be just the beginning," said Hiccup.

"Of what?"

"Something Viggo said about knowing where the 'supply' was. You don't think he could have unlocked the Dragon Eye, do you?"

"How? He doesn't have a Snow Wraith key."

"But he found the Buffalord on his own. And we need to find out how."

Astrid then smiled at him. "Hiccup, I just wanted to say thanks. I really owe you."

Hiccup just smiled and shook his head dismissively. "It's no big deal. You'd have done the same for me."

Astrid then turn slightly pink. "I can't imagine a world without you in it, either."

Hiccup just smiled and watched as she flew off and after a few seconds he chased after her leaving the fishing boat to burn away under the night sky.


	32. A Grim Retreat

!It was a nice peaceful day on the Edge, but sadly the Riders had no time to enjoy it. Hiccup had insisted that they worked on fortifying the Edge by enhancing the reinforcements with Gronckle Iron.

Fishlegs, Snotlout and the twins were making the Gronckle Iron, while Astrid and Ragnar welded it to the foundations. Hiccup at the job delivering the finishing pieces of Gronckle Iron to Astrid and Ragnar.

"All right, Meatlug, there we go," said Fishlegs as Meatlug spewed some lava into a mould. "Good girl. Hey, you know what I just realised? This is a new record for Gronckle Iron production." He then dropped his prongs and gave Meatlug a hug. "Who's a good iron-making machine? Yes, you are."

"Whatever," said Snotlout as he held a sheet of Gronckle Iron to Hookfang, who was softening it with his fire so that could easily be moulded to the shape they wanted. "If it weren't for Hookfang, that would just be a glob of useless barfed-up metal."

"Well, if it weren't for Barf and Belch…" said Tuffnut as he and his sister placed one of the finished sheets in front of Barf and Belch, who began pounding it with their heads.

"We rest our case," said Ruffnut.

"Uh-huh." Tuffnut nodded.

They kept this production for hours and eventually the dragons began to tire from all the hard work making progress even slower. Eventually, Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar flew over to find out what was the hold-up.

"Uh, Hiccup?" said Fishlegs looking at their leader. He then looked to Meatlug, who was spewing up lava slowly. "I think Meatlug might be ready for a break. She's starting to lose her gag reflex."

"Guess the perfect little machine isn't so perfect, after all," Snotlout smirked.

"Have you checked your dragon? The giant oven doesn't look too perky, either," Fishlegs pointed out.

Fishlegs was right, Hookfang was so tired that he toppled over. Unfortunately, this course made him shoot out a burst of fire at Barf and Belch, who caused a small explosion that sent the spark frightening both Stormfly and Skull. Stormfly retaliated by firing several spikes at the twins and pinning them upside-down to tree, while Skull roared so loudly that it nearly burst their eardrums.

Even Toothless was getting agitated as he snarled at the other dragons.

"Really? You too, bud?" said Hiccup as he watched Toothless roaring at Stormfly, Skull and Hookfang. "All right, that's it! Dragons, to your corners!"

The dragons did what they toured and backed off from one another, but it was clear that they were overworked.

"Hey, Hiccup," said Tuffnut. "Do you know that upside-down you at we have a metal arm and said of a metal leg?"

"What is going on around here?" Hiccup asked in disbelief.

"Hiccup, we've been working really hard on these reinforcement walls," said Astrid tiredly. "Everyone is just tired. Look at the dragons."

"She's right, if they keep this up they'll collapse, they need a rest," said Ragnar.

"You know, Hookfang and I could use a vacay," said Snotlout.

"Vacation?" Tuffnut asked looking up, or down depending on your perspective. "Count us in. We'll grab our straw helmets and a chilling tale of Viking murder to read on some enchanted beach, laughing as the waves crash against us."

"Guys, I get you're all tired, but remember why we're doing this," said Hiccup.

"Oh, because you told us to," said Snotlout.

"No, because Viggo is out there. And when he finally realises he can't use the Dragon Eye without the key, he's gonna come looking for it," said Hiccup holding out the Snow Wraith's tooth. "We can't leave the Edge unguarded again."

"So, yay or nay on the vacay?" Ruffnut asked.

"Oh, gods," Hiccup groaned.

* * *

Later that evening, Hiccup was doing some more work on his map and then he noticed Astrid, Ragnar and Fishlegs entering his hut.

"Working on your map, huh?" Astrid asked.

"You've really put some effort into that," said Ragnar.

"Need any help?" Fishlegs asked.

Hiccup didn't even look at them. "No, thanks, I'm just kind of—"

"You sure? 'Cause, you know, Ragnar and Fishlegs are really great at writing maps."

"Really great," said Fishlegs.

"Really, really great," said Ragnar.

Hiccup looked up and saw that the three of them were sharing the same face that told a person but they wanted something.

"Okay, fine, out with it, you three," said Hiccup. "You didn't come all the way up here because you love cartography."

The three Vikings looked at one another and then give Hiccup a business-like look.

"We object," said Astrid.

"We think everyone could use a break," said Fishlegs as they bent down.

"And as the healer here, I have the last say to our health, especially the dragons," said Ragnar firmly. "They getting really agitated from being overworked."

"Guys, I thought we went over this," said Hiccup.

"Just hear us out," said Astrid.

"We suggest a compromise," said Ragnar.

"As you know, we've been making Gronckle Iron. A lot of it," said Fishlegs. "In doing so, we've exhausted the supply of sandstone on the Edge. And as you know, no sandstone, no Gronckle Iron."

"Which means we will not be able to defend the Edge," Ragnar added.

"There's a nearby island that has such a huge supply of it," said Astrid. "It's also deserted, quiet and would be a great place to relax, and take a little break from real work."

Hiccup looked at the three of them and could see that there was no way of dissuading them. "I don't really have a choice on this one, do I?" he said. "Where is this island, exactly?"

Astrid then placed a finger on one the islands on his map.

* * *

The next morning, they began to pack and had asked Stoick and Gobber to guard the island while they were away.

"All right. Viggo would most likely wait for low tide and tried to penetrate the lower wall, then come up through the arena," said Hiccup.

"Which is why you've secured it from the outside," Stoick finished. He then placed his hand upon his son's shoulders. "Hiccup, Gobber and I have defended Berk from much worse than a bunch of namby-pamby Dragon Hunters."

"I know, Dad, of course."

They then stopped and turned as the twins landed and just stared at their attire. They were wearing the most absurd helmets made of straw that was ever devised and had flower necklaces around their neck.

"Someone die?" Gobber asked, looking quite creeped out. "Yeh two look like yeh're goin' to a Viking funeral."

"This is our vacation attire," said Tuffnut as they jumped off the dragon's heads.

"Uh, this is not a vacation," Hiccup reminded.

"Call it what you will. But we plan to kick off our shoes and let the worries of the day melt away," said Ruffnut.

Hiccup sighed.

Snotlout then landed and stared at the twin's attire. "Did someone die? Was it Fishlegs?" he asked hopefully.

"No, it's not Fishlegs," said Fishlegs as he landed next to him. "I'm right here and ready to go."

"Go where?" Snotlout frowned. "No one ever tells me anything." He then noticed Stoick. "Hey, chief. What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to look after your base until you all return," said Stoick.

"Return from where?"

"You remember that vacation we were talking about?" Tuffnut asked.

"Yes!" said Snotlout hopefully.

"Well, it's not that," said Tuffnut, he then placed a hand near his lips and began winking at Snotlout telling him they were just doing the opposite of that. "We're not going to a deserted island paradise to have any fun whatsoever. Instead, we're going to work, slave away in the sandstone mines."

"What?" Snotlout yelled, clearly not understanding that Tuffnut talking about the opposite.

"All right, saddle up. We need to get there before dark," said Hiccup as he mounted Toothless.

Tuffnut had asked Gobber to look after Chicken while they were gone and was giving him a few instructions. "Remember, Chicken eat six times a day. Small portions. She's trying to trim down. Then she gets 'special time' before bed. You can read her, tell stories, massage her. But if you're reading stories, nothing too scary though." He then whispered. "Horrible nightmares where she scratches and clause in the air." He then returned to his normal voice. "Stay about three feet away when she's sleeping.

"I got it, Tuffnut," said Gobber, who didn't think looking after single Chicken would be a challenge. "I'll look after her as if she was one of my own."

"All right, everyone. Let's do this," said Hiccup.

Once they all mounted the dragons they took off into the air and headed straight towards the island paradise.

* * *

It was about midday when they reached the island and it was a beautiful one. They landed near a large lagoon full clear freshwater and the sun was just right, hardly a cloud in the sky.

"This place is insane!" Snotlout yelled. "Look at that lagoon!" He then looked at the others. "Last one in his rotten 2000-year-old egg."

He then tossed his helmet aside and jumped right into the lagoon.

"Uh, all right, fine, just a quick swim, then it's back to work," said Hiccup.

However, nobody paid any attention and Hiccup watches the other riders in the dragons jumped into the lagoon.

"Cannonball!" Fishlegs yelled as he and Meatlug jumped into the lagoon, much to Snotlout and the twin's dismay.

"Oh, no!" Snotlout cried.

They then landed in the water knocking both Snotlout and the twins deep into the water. A bit of it at landed on top of Toothless' head, who then started to look at the water with a suspicious look.

"What's the matter, bud? Don't be like a swim?" Hiccup asked. Toothless responded with a growl. "Ah, okay. You just keep watch, then."

Hiccup soon join the others and jumped into the lagoon. They soon began to relax, tossing water and each other, floating eye's surface and having the most relaxing day they had in months.

An hour later, they were still relaxing, except for Hiccup, who was determined to go back straight to work.

"Okay, guys," said Hiccup. "Got that out of our system. Now it's time for the other kind of fun. Working."

"Dude, lighten up," said Snotlout. "R-E-L-A-X. Relax."

"Take a load off, H," said Tuffnut.

"Those rocks aren't going anywhere. Unless you move them," said Ruffnut.

Hiccup groaned and looked at Astrid and Ragnar, who showed no signs of wanting to leave on their faces as they walked up to him.

"Oh, not you guys, too. You're killing me," Hiccup groaned.

"Hiccup, we're all behind you one hundred percent," said Astrid.

"We know when to take things seriously," said Ragnar.

Unfortunately at that moment Snotlout just shoved Fishlegs into the lagoon. Hiccup looked at the two of them sceptically.

"Oh, that's nice."

"But you can't expect them to be you," said Astrid. "They're your soldiers. And good soldiers will work until their hands of raw and until their backs are almost breaking."

"You don't want them to mutiny against you, if you keep on pressing them to work hard eventually be worn out and collapse," said Ragnar.

Astrid nodded. "There does come a point when they need time to regroup, to forget about being soldiers and just be people."

Hiccup sighed, conceding to their points. "You're right. I've been pushing really hard." He then looked at the other Riders, who are enjoying themselves. They deserve this."

* * *

Later that night, they made camp in the clearing and were preparing to turn in. Then suddenly the twin showed up carrying several plates.

"Dinner is served," said Tuffnut in a posh voice.

Instantly a terrible smell entered their noses, making their eyes water.

"What is that smell?" Fishlegs asked waving his hand in front of his face.

The other shared his reaction as they retracted from the smaller that was exiting from the twins dishes.

"What is this?" said Astrid pointing at what could only be described as a lump of slime.

"Oh, glad you asked, milday," said Tuffnut. "That would be some salt-encrusted sea bass with a salty seaweed gravy. Mixed in with salt and all finished with a little pinch of salt on top."

"So basically you're giving a salt for dinner," said Ragnar.

"Indeed we are, good sir," said Ruffnut as she and her brother sat down.

The Riders on the dragons nearly held from a single width of the stinky fish.

"Oh, weird," said Fishlegs, who watched as Meatlug spewed some lava. "The dragon usually love fish no matter how bad it tastes."

"Hookfang won't even touch it, and I see any piles of yak dung," said Snotlout. "I mean piles of-fresh-out-of-the—"

"Okay, we get it, Snotlout," said Astrid shuddering at the thought.

"Well, I chalk it up to underdeveloped pallets," said Tuffnut. "Both human and dragon."

The two of them head-butted one another and then began to eat their own creation. Almost instantly, they regretted even putting a single cram of it in their mouths. They were practically watering in the eyes, but they wanted to prove the others that it was indeed edible and kept on eating.

Once they were finished they looked as if they were going to be sick.

"I need to lay down," said Tuffnut.

"Me too," said Ruffnut.

The two of them then collapsed to the ground.

Fishlegs pulled his blanket over his body and looked at Meatlug, who was scratching herself quite ferociously.

"It's okay, girl," he said calmly. "It's sleep time. Its deep sleepy time."

He then raid himself against Meatlug and soon he and the other Dragon Riders fell asleep as did their dragons.

* * *

Hours later, Fishlegs awoke after suffering from a nightmare that involved him falling to his death when a Screaming Death at Meatlug.

He woke up suddenly and notice that Meatlug was not next to him.

"Meatlug? Meaty? Where are you?" Fishlegs asked getting up. There was no answer. "Oh, no. It's not safe out there for a Gronckle alone in the wild."

Fishlegs and began to wonder deep into the forest looking for Meatlug. He walked past a bush, not noticing the chewed up saddle behind it.

As he got deeper, you found that the island was not as peaceful as he would have liked. He was now feeling even more stressed and frightened than ever before.

"Quiet and serene, my butt," he quivered. "Meatlug? Here, girl. It's Daddy."

Then something drew dash right past him spinning him around any quickly put up a fighting stance, but saw nothing.

"And I'm really scared, so it'd be great if you can come out and…" He then found Meatlug hovering in mid-air. "Is she sleepwalking?"

His question soon answered when Meatlug slowly spun around. "Oh, thank Thor. I'm here to take you…" He stopped when he saw her eyes were fidgety, lava was dripping down her legs like she had rabies and she looked quite hungry, "home?"

Meatlug landed on the ground snarling spitting lava everywhere.

"All right! All right!" Fishlegs cried as he slowly backed away from her. "I knew she was too tired. But I pushed her." He then began to slap himself. "Bad Fishlegs. Bad!"

He then looked to Meatlug, hoping that he could, down. "Okay, listen, girl. I promise, no more work until you've…"

Meatlug then charted him and he screamed. He quickly ran as fast as his little legs could carry him and docked every time Meatlug fired a lava blasted him.

"You know, this is really Hiccup's fault, if you think about it," said Fishlegs. "Shouldn't you be mad at him?" Meatlug clearly didn't see it that way, because she just fired another lava blast at him. "Help! Somebody! Anybody!"

Meatlug kept on chasing him down through the forest, but eventually lost him when she reached a hollow tree trunk. She kept on sniffing and snarling and eventually flew over the tree trunk and into the forest.

After a few seconds she left, Fishlegs climbed his way out of the tree trunk. He then quickly made his way back to camp in order to warm the others about his encounter with Meatlug, but when he got there he saw the other dragons acting up in the same way as Meatlug.

"Everyone, wake up!" Fishlegs cried.

"Zip it, Fish Face," said Snotlout tiredly. "The sun's not even out."

Fishlegs groaned as Snotlout fell back to sleep and then looked at the dragons, who looked extremely vicious now and worst of all Meatlug had now joined them. "Oh, Thor!"

Hiccup then awoke and saw the situation. "What's going on with the dragons?"

"I have no idea," said Fishlegs. "All I know is that Meatlug was sleepwalking and when I found her she was in a real bad mood and chase me through the forest and try to kill me."

At once the Riders got to their feet when they saw the dragons dripping liquid fire from their mouths.

"I don't think they're playing," said Hiccup.

"Have never seen anything like this," said Ragnar.

"Stormfly, no!" Astrid cried.

Stormfly then fired a stream of fire at them, but fortunately they were able to hide behind some rocks before it hit.

"This is all your fault," Ruffnut glared at her brother.

"My fault?" Tuffnut stared.

"Yeah. That stupid salty fish. They hate us 'cause they went to bed hungry and now they're all cranky."

"That salt was properly pinched."

"Your brain is properly pinched."

The two of them then jumped at one another and began wrestling on the ground.

"No, it's not the finish," said Hiccup. "Look at their saddles." They all turned and saw the saddles laying on the ground as if they've been chewed apart. "They've been chewed off."

"It's a revolt," said Fishlegs. "They're riding up against us!"

"Why would they do that?" Astrid asked.

Snotlout glared at Hiccup. "I don't know. Why would they?"

"You think this is my fault?" Hiccup stared in bewilderment.

Then Hookfang fired a fire blast over their heads.

"How about we discuss whose fault it is what we're safe," Ragnar suggested.

The dragons then made their way towards them, but Toothless placed himself between them and the riders. It was clear that he was the only dragon that was not revolting and he fired a plasma blast at them, in order to scare them off.

However, they outnumbered him and slowly began to surround them.

"Okay, everyone split up," said Hiccup looking at the Riders. "If we're together, we're vulnerable."

"Got it!" Tuffnut yelled as they ran towards the forest.

Astrid and Ragnar stopped when he saw that Hiccup wasn't coming with.

"Hiccup, come on!" Astrid yelled.

"It seems as though Toothless is okay," said Hiccup looking down at his dragon. He then mounted him. "We'll hold them off and do you guys are clear. We'll find you."

"Good luck," said Ragnar and both he and Astrid ran into the forest.

Meatlug then tried to blast them with a lava blast, but they were able to dodge it and Toothless fired a plasma blast at her, which she dodged. They soon found themselves surrounded by Stormfly, Skull, Hookfang and Meatlug.

"We better get out of here too, bud," said Hiccup.

They then took off and fired a plasma blast down at them. Meatlug began to fire lava blast at them, but they were nimble enough to dodge them and they soon landed on a rock formation.

Then Stormfly fired several spikes at them. They were able to dodge them, but they lost their balance and fell into the lagoon. The dragons looked down at the water, waiting for them to come up so they could blast them. However, when they didn't come up they flew off to hunt down the other Riders.

Seconds later, both Hiccup and Toothless emerged out of the lagoon.

"We better find the others before the dragons do," said Hiccup.

He then quickly mounted Toothless and they flew off into the air, hoping against hope that they were able to track down the other Riders before the dragons do.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Edge, Gobber was hunting down for Chicken, who had wandered off when he wasn't looking.

"Chicken! Chicken!" he cried. "Here, chicky, chicky. It's 'special time'." He began looking under the crates and benches that were lying around in the arena. "I've got a nice story to tell you about a sheep family and the igloo made of wool."

He then saw Skullcrusher sleeping peacefully nearby.

"Oh, hello, Skullcrusher," said Gobber. "Ya haven't seen Chicken, have you?"

Skullcrusher replied with a burp and several chicken bones fell out of his mouth. Gobber stead of the bones then to Skullcrusher in horror as the Rumblehorn licked his lips.

"Please, come yeh didn'," Gobber begged. Skullcrusher then rolled over and Gobber placed a hand on his head in panic. "Ya did. Ya ate Chicken. Stoick is going to lose his—"

"Gobber, are you bothering my dragon while he's eating?" Stoick asked as he made his way to Gobber.

Gobber quickly picked up the chicken bones. "Uh, yes, well, about that, chief," he said nervously.

"Leave him be. He might try to take a bite out of you if he's extra hungry," he chuckled.

Gobber quickly hit the bones behind his back and smiled nervously. He then slowly made his way past Stoick. "Would one that, would he?"

"No. We wouldn't."

Gobber then quickly made his way out of the arena, failing to notice that he dropped one of the chicken bones which Stoick noticed.

Stoick picked it up and shook his head. "Oh, Gobber. Come on. You the boy's pet?" he groaned. "And of course, I have to break the news to the lad." He then got an idea as he but the hand through his beard. "Or do I?"

* * *

Meanwhile, back on the island, Hiccup and Toothless were searching for any trace of the other Riders.

"Nothing," he said. "They must have really split up. See you can pick any sounds, bud."

Toothless roared into the air and at once quickly back away when he sensed both Stormfly and Hookfang flying overhead.

"Okay, those weren't the sounds we were looking for," said Hiccup when he noticed the two dragons.

He then saw Hookfang landing on a ridge and took off seconds later with Stormfly close on his tail.

"I haven't seen them act like this since we trained them," Hiccup frowned. "They're hunting is like wild dragons."

Then suddenly they heard a rustling sound behind them. "And apparently, they're still pretty good at it."

Toothless prepare defy a plasma blast at the Bush.

"Hold your fire!" Ragnar yelled as both he and Ruffnut are merged out of the bush.

"Don't shoot!" Ruffnut cried.

"Rag! Ruff! You okay?" Hiccup asked as Toothless swelled the blast.

"Apart from being hunted by a loyal dragons, were completely fine," said Ragnar.

"Yeah, we're anything but okay," said Ruffnut. "We're cracking under the pressure."

"Guys, you're fine," said Hiccup. "Have you seen any of the others?"

"You said split up!" Ruffnut cried.

"We haven't found anyone else ever than you," said Ragnar.

"Okay, then—" Hiccup stopped when they heard the sound of snarling and flapping of wings. "Get down!"

Quickly they heard underneath the tree and watched as Skull and Meatlug flew overhead.

"We need to find the rest of the Riders. Fast," Hiccup whispered.

Ragnar and Ruffnut quickly mounted on Toothless they ran through the forest in the search for the others.

* * *

Fishlegs and Tuffnut were wandering deep in the forest quietly. That's when they noticed Meatlug flying overhead.

"Meatlug! There's my Meatlug!" Fishlegs cried.

Meatlug turned towards the sound, but saw nothing except for a bit of movement in the trees. Assuming it was some sort of wild animal she flew off into the distance.

Tuffnut had shoved Fishlegs into a bush with his hand over his mouth.

"What you doing?" Fishlegs stared at Tuffnut when he removed his hand.

"What are you doing?" said Tuffnut in disbelief. "Trying to get as a one-way ticket to Valhalla?"

"My dragon is still inside there, Tuffnut. I can reason with her."

"Did you see the look in her eyes? That was the look of a killer. I know this because I see it in my own reflection. Pure killer." He then snarled at Fishlegs probably would have made him scream if he hadn't quickly placed a finger over his lips. "Shhh!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Astrid and Snotlout were hiding in the bushes as their dragons flew overhead.

"I never should've trusted that dragon," said Snotlout. "The way he looked at me sometimes, I know he's thinking me as a dinner, or a light lunch, at least. I should have picked a less ferocious dragon, like a Nadder."

"Snotlout, if you don't shut up your piehole, I'm gonna leap into the open and played with them to eat us both," Astrid snapped.

Then they heard the flapping of wings overhead. "Shh! I hear something," Snotlout whispered.

They looked up and saw Skull, Meatlug and Hookfang searching for them. Seconds later the three of them flew off.

"They're actually hunting us. How did it come to this?" said Astrid.

"Let's just hope Hiccup and Toothless get them before they get us," said Snotlout.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the Edge, Gobber hobbled into the clubhouse with a chicken in his arms.

"All right, yeh're goin' to have to get used to Tuffnut's strange affection for ya," said Gobber placing the chicken down on the table. "He's going to squeeze yeh and hold yeh and talk to yeh and tell yeh ridiculous stories. But trust me, it's better than what my chickens have in store for them."

He then grabbed the check-in and made his way out of the clubhouse. "Now, let's go an' find some paint, so we can get yeh looking exactly right."

Seconds after Gobber left, Stoick entered, holding his own chicken in his arms. He placed the chicken onto the table and looked down at it.

"Here we go," he said. "Hopefully, Tuffnut will believe this is his chicken. What am I saying? I'm the chief. I'll order him to believe it."

The chicken just clucked at him. "Hey, I'm not proud of it, but that's the plan, so stick to it."

* * *

It was morning on the island, and Hiccup, Ragnar and Ruffnut had yet to find anyone. Then suddenly they saw Fishlegs and Tuffnut running towards them.

"Hiccup! Run!" Tuffnut cried.

"Why? What's the matter?" Hiccup asked, though he had a pretty good idea.

"Hookfang. He landed in the woods and he's coming this way!" Fishlegs cried.

Then suddenly they saw fire shooting out from the bushes.

"Oh, he certainly is!" said Hiccup.

They quickly turned hoping to run in the opposite direction, but then Astrid and Snotlout ran out in front of them.

"Run!" Snotlout yelled.

"Barf and Belch are right behind us!" Astrid yelled.

"We played right into their hands," said Hiccup realising they were surrounded.

"Technically, dragons don't have hands, so that expression doesn't—Maybe 'we fell right into their talents'?" said Tuffnut.

"The point is, we're about to be…" Hiccup stopped when Hookfang and Barf and Belch jumped out of the bushes snarling at them, "surrounded."

They quickly turned to the left, hoping they could escape that way. Unfortunately, Meatlug soon appeared.

"Other way!" Hiccup yelled, heading to the right.

But that route was blocked by Stormfly and Skull.

The dragons slowly moved forwards forcing them to back up against one another, they were completely surrounded and there was no opening for them to escape through.

"Hiccup, how long are we gonna wait until we make our next move?" Astrid asked.

"What next move? I'm out of next moves," said Hiccup.

"Not what we wanted to hear," said Ragnar.

Then suddenly Toothless roared and began firing random plasma blasts. This caused the dragons to dispel creating an opening for them.

"That way!" Hiccup yelled pointing to where Hookfang stood a moment ago.

They quickly ran through the smoke, not knowing where they were heading, but knowing that their dragons would be on their tail.

Hiccup then notice a cave in the distance. "There! A cave," he yelled pointing.

They ran into the cave and Toothless fired a plasma blast at the ceiling causing a small cave-in, trapping them inside, but keeping the dragons out. After he dismounted Toothless, the Night Fury began to scratch himself furiously.

"Hiccup, that's not gonna hold for long," said Fishlegs quivering. "We need to find another way out of here."

Hiccup then saw Snotlout glaring at him with his arms crossed. It was abundantly clear that he had something on his mind and wish to say it.

"Just say it. I know what you're thinking," said Hiccup.

"All I'm saying is we wouldn't be in this position if your tyrannical behaviour, due to your obsessive need to one-up Viggo, had not driven our poor dragons to the brink of insanity," said Snotout furiously. "There, I said it."

Tuffnut just stared at him. "Wow. That was both dynamically impressive and logically sound," he said open-mouthed.

"Thank you, Tuffy," Snotlout nodded.

"You all think this was my fault?" said Hiccup staring at all of them.

All of them just stood silent, even Astrid and Ragnar were unable to look at him in the eye.

"Okay, well, how about this?" said Hiccup placing his hand on his hips. "If the dragons have been driven to the brink of madness, as you say, why is Toothless completely unaffected?"

"Great argument. That would be just as logically sound," said Tuffnut, who then looked over Hiccup's shoulder and pointed, "if it weren't for one small thing."

Hiccup slowly turned around and saw that Toothless had the same mad look in his eye and was dripping liquid fire from his mouth. He gone crazy just like the other dragons.

"Oh, great," Hiccup moaned.

Toothless slowly made his way towards them with a hungry and fierce look in his eyes. The Riders slowly backed away as Hiccup tried to calm his dragon.

"Look at me. It me, it's Hiccup," said Hiccup calmly. "Toothless, whatever's going on we can get through this. Just talk to me." Toothless roared and kept on pressing his advance. "Toothless, just relax."

"I'm not going out this way," said Tuffnut.

Tuffnut then tossed his helmet at Toothless and when that didn't work eat some sort of dust straight at the Night Fury. The moment that it actually touched him, Toothless all wild up as if he was in pain.

"Whoa, what in the name of Thor was that?" said Hiccup staring at Tuffnut in amazement.

"That, my friend, was salt. Just a pinch," said Tuffnut.

"Salt?" they all stared in bewilderment.

"Hey, I didn't any of you stepping up, so I went with what I had. And what I had was salt."

"And you fed us that stuff?" said Snotlout in bewilderment.

Then suddenly they heard a high-pitched sound that was emanating from Toothless. It was so loud that they had to cover their ears.

"Hiccup, it's coming from Toothless," said Fishlegs.

They all stared at the Night Fury and then something small fell off him. The look on the ground and saw what could only be described as winged worms with tiny legs and sharp teeth.

"Did you see that? Tuffnut stared. "It jumped out of Toothless' skin. That was awesome. Quick! Put it on me!"

"Of course," said Fishlegs examining the little worms. "A Grimora. That's why the dragons were hunting us."

"A Grim-what-a?" Snotlout frowned.

"Grimora. It's a rare parasite that attach themselves to dragons and release a toxin that causes them to turn wild," Fishlegs explained as the Grimoras scuttled away. "But Grimora usually only live in fresh water."

"The lagoon," said Astrid suddenly. "Our dragons must have picked them out when we went swimming."

"They chewed off their saddles to get the Grimoras off of them. Not because they were rebelling," said Hiccup. He then smirked at the others. "See? And you thought I was working them too hard."

The Riders narrowed their eyes at him and even Toothless was giving him a funny look. "Okay, you're right, I was working them too hard. Point taken," Hiccup admitted.

"Okay, so all we need to do is find the rest of our dragons and throw salt on them," said Ruffnut.

"You know, that could work," said Fishlegs.

"Sorry, gonna have to disagree with you there, Fishy," said Tuffnut. "Out of salt. Used the last on T and then, you know, the salt-crusted sea bass, which, I might add, no one liked. Everybody likes salt now, but when it was on the sea bass… Nuh-uh."

"You do realise the difference between throwing it on our dragons and eating it, right?" said Ragnar.

Tuffnut blinked at him and simply shrugged.

"Anyway, we're gonna have to leave them to the next best salt location," said Hiccup.

"Lead them? They're trying to eat us. Did you forget that?" said Snotlout.

"No, just to let them catch you," said Hiccup.

"Somehow that doesn't reassure me," said Ragnar.

Hiccup then mounted Toothless and they face the cave-in. "Okay, bud. Plasma blast!"

Toothless fired a plasma blast at the cave-in freeing them. Then before the smoke settle they ran for it, but when they go outside they found the dragons were nowhere to be seen.

Snotlout sighed with relief. "Thank Thor, they're gone."

They then heard a war behind them and turned to find Hookfang on the cliff side a blaze. Then soon the other dragons joined him and all of them snarled at their Riders.

"Remember the plan!" Hiccup yelled. "You'll be fine as long as you remember…" He starts when he saw the Riders running for their lies with their dragons chasing them down, "the plan."

* * *

Fishlegs was running as fast as he could with a pair of boulders in his hand. He was running straight towards the shoreline. Meatlug was running close behind him, she was literally inches away from him.

"Please, don't eat me. I love you," Fishlegs begged as Meatlug kept on trying to take a bite out of them. "Oh, Thor!"

* * *

Elsewhere Astrid was also heading to the shoreline being chased by Stormfly. She eventually managed to reach the sea and jumped into the water.

"Keep coming, Stormfly!" said Astrid.

However, Stormfly, inches away from the water and simply paste up and down trying to find a way to get to her.

"Come on in," said Astrid. She then try throwing water at her. "Bath time. You love bath time."

Stormfly didn't seem to remember that she loved bath time.

* * *

Meanwhile, Fishlegs had reached the shore and was running as fast as his little legs could carry him. He eventually stopped and faced Meatlug, who snarled at him.

"Pyrite. It's your favourite, girl!" he said. Meatlug just snarled and Fishlegs was forced tossed the pyrite into the sea. "Go get it!"

Meatlug then jumped into the sea and Fishlegs gestured their waiting, hoping it worked. Then he saw the Grimoras shooting out of the water and Meatlug jumped back onto the shore and tackled Fishlegs to the ground and began licking his face off.

"It worked," said Fishlegs with relief. "It actually worked!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Astrid was having trouble getting Stormfly into the sea.

"Come on, Stormfly. You love the water," said Astrid. Still Stormfly refuse to put a single talent into the water. "All right. I hate to do this girl but you're not giving me much of a choice."

Astrid then tried to stay in her blind spot and then rolled and scratched Stormfly beneath her chin. Instantly, Stormfly toppled over and fell fast asleep. The sea brushed against her scales and almost immediately the Grimoras flew off her.

Stormfly regained consciousness and looked at Astrid happily.

"There's my girl," said Astrid giving her a hug. "Don't worry. We won't tell anyone about your soft spot. We'll just keep that between you and me."

* * *

Ragnar was running towards the edge of a cliff with Skull following close behind him.

"Come on, boy, come and get me," said Ragnar.

Skull then try to make a grab for him, but he simply sidestepped and grabbed hold of his head. Then using all his strength, Ragnar forced Skull down off the cliff and into the sea.

Seconds passed and the Grimoras shot out of the water and was followed closely by Skull with Ragnar on top of his head.

"That's my, boy," said Ragnar rubbing Skull's side affectionately. "Let's just hope we never have to do that again."

* * *

Snotlout was hiding from Hookfang in the forest quivering.

"Come on, remember all those great times we had burning places down together? You really want to throw all that away?" said Snotlout.

He then heard a snarled directly behind him and turned slowly to find Hookfang behind him. Next second Hookfang fired a fire blast and nearly toasted him, if he hadn't jumped up to his feet in time.

"Doesn't that mean anything to you?" he yelled as he ran towards the cliff.

He jumped and dived towards the sea and Hookfang followed him. Hookfang did manage to travel between his jaws, but luckily they had just landed in the ocean and the Grimoras remove themselves from the dragon scales.

He released Snotlout and they flew out of the sea.

"Yes, 5000 pounds of war dragon power back in action!" Snotlout cheered as they flew around.

* * *

The twins were also running from their lives, each of them had a pair of buckets which they filled with seawater. Chasing after them were both Barf and Belch.

"Stop spilling the water, will ya?" Tuffnut yelled.

"Stop yelling at me, will ya!" Ruffnut shouted back.

"I'm sorry! I yell when I'm terrified! You know that!"

"I do know that, but it doesn't make it okay!"

They soon entered the forest and immediately the twins zigzagged, in order to confuse Barf and Belch. This worked and soon the two-headed dragon knocked their heads into one another.

"Now!" Tuffnut yelled.

The two of them then tossed the bucket of seawater over their heads and the Grimoras remove themselves from their scales.

"See you later, you leeches," said Tuffnut as they watched the Grimoras hide under a rock.

Hiccup then arrived landing on the rock where the Grimoras were hiding.

"Good job, guys," said Hiccup.

Toothless looked down at the rocks and sniffed and almost immediately the Grimoras lept out and attached themselves to Toothless. He tried to jump away from the rock, but it was far too late for that.

"No, no, no, no!" Hiccup cried. "We gotta get you in the water." Toothless began jumping around trying to throw Hiccup off of him. "Stay with me."

Toothless then soared upwards into the sky and then they died in the forest hitting against the tree branches.

"No, Toothless, the water!" Hiccup yelled.

They soon crashed to the ground, but Hiccup got back up and forced Hiccup off of him. Hiccup rolled around on the ground and skidded to his feet at the very edge of the cliff that lead down into the ocean.

He then looked at Toothless, who was now dripping liquid fire from his mouth. "No, Toothless!"

Hiccup quickly ran behind a tree just as Toothless fired a plasma blast. He then tackled Toothless and the two of them rolled off the cliff's edge and they fell into the ocean.

From the shoreline Astrid and the other saw everything, including the explosion that had to be one of Toothless plasma blasts. They all gasped, fearing the worst and they still of the ocean hoping for any sign that they were okay.

"Come on. Come on," Astrid begged.

Seconds passed and then they saw Grimoras flying out of the seawater and a second later both Hiccup and Toothless emerged out of the sea. They all cheered with relief as Hiccup and Toothless performed a loop to loop.

Hiccup soon landed and the moment he dismounted Toothless, he gave the Night Fury a hug. "Welcome back, bud."

The other Riders approached them and laughed.

* * *

Later that morning they return to the Edge, completely exhausted from their vacation.

"Hookfang and I decided, no more vacation for us," said Snotlout.

"Yeah, I need a vacation from my vacation," Ragnar laughed.

"I think a better plan would be when we need a break, we'll just a little closer to home," said Astrid.

"I'm all for that," said Fishlegs.

"Actually, the best plan would be for me to lighten up a little on my Viggo obsession," said Hiccup.

"And how ironical behaviour. Don't forget that," Snotlout added.

They all laughed.

Tuffnut then saw Gobber entering the stables with a chicken under his arm.

"Hey, Gobber, you decide to get one of your own?" he said pointing to the chicken in his arms. "Can't blame ya."

"No, this is yours. This is 'The Chicken,' himself," Gobber holding out the chicken.

"Uh, no, it's not," Tuffnut frowned.

"He's right," said Stoick showing Gobber away and presenting his chicken. "The real Chicken is right here, isn't he? Just read a story and everything."

"That's great, Chief, but nope," said Tuffnut. "Not my chicken, either. Different chicken."

Stoick groaned. "Tuffnut, by order of the Chief of Berk, this is your chicken!" he yelled.

Tuffnut just stared at him dumbfounded and then looked down as another chicken appeared.

"Hey, Chicken!" he said excitedly. "Come here." Chicken then jumped into his arms. "Yes, that's it. You have a good time playing with Uncle Gobber?"

Chicken just clucked.

"Of course, you did. Come on, my one and only Chicken, I'll tell you a new story. It's got dragons and little slimy leechy things that turn into killers. It's hard to believe it all happened, but it's a true story. You're gonna love it."

Stoick and Gobber looked from Tuffnut to Chicken and then to the chickens in their hands. Once Tuffnut was out of earshot they drop their chicken then looked at one another.

"Can't believe you tried to fake a chicken," said Gobber shaking his head at Stoick. "You're the chief, for crying out loud."

"Me?" said Stoick indignantly. "Yours did even look like a chicken, it looked like a rooster."

"I'm good at weapons. I'm not good at chickens."


	33. To Heather or Not to Heather

It was a nice peaceful day on the Edge, which was disturbed when a Terrible Terror headed straight towards the Edge, with a piece of parchment attached to it leg. Following close behind it was Snotlout and the twins.

"Come on, guys," said Snotlout. "I you telling me three Dragon Riders on two huge dragons can't catch one little Terrible Terror?"

"Hey! Did you happen to notice how smart this thing is?" said Tuffnut.

"It's way smarter then Tuffnut," said Ruffnut.

"Yeah! Way smarter," Tuffnut agreed, without realising what he had agreed on.

"Yeah," Ruffnut agreed smirking.

The Terrible Terror then soared down towards the Edge.

"There! There! It's heading for Ragnar's hut," said Snotlout.

The twins jumped off Barf and Belch and skidded down the dome. Snotlout on the other hand was not so graceful and landed with thud on the ground.

Hiccup, Astrid and Fishlegs watched the whole thing transpiring as they ran past them.

"Nice to see those three training on their own," said Hiccup proudly.

"Yeah, I do know they had it in them," Fishlegs agreed.

"Not really like them, though, is it?" Astrid frowned.

The three Vikings looked at one another for a few seconds and then chased after Snotlout and the twins.

The Terrible Terror flew towards Ragnar's hut, where Ragnar had just open the door. He allowed the Terrible Terror to enter, but he didn't have enough time to prevent Snotlout and the twins from barging into his hut.

"Not so fast, secret squirrel," said Tuffnut jumping on top of Ragnar.

By the time Hiccup, Astrid and Fishlegs arrived they were saw a three-on-one wrestling match. They watch for a few seconds and then the Terrible Terror flew past them, with the parchment no longer on its leg.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hey!" Hiccup yelled. "What is going on with you three? And why are you all on top of Ragnar?"

Snotlout was biting down on Ragnar's arm guard, Ruffnut was pinning Ragnar's left onto the ground and Tuffnut was holding onto one of his legs.

"It's fine," said Ragnar. "Really."

"Ha! The Ragmeister has been getting quite the bevy of Terror mails, lately," said Tuffnut holding out the parchment.

Hiccup, Astrid and Fishlegs looked at one another and Snotlout and the twins remove themselves from Ragnar.

"And since we haven't been sending them…" Snotlout continued.

"That beg the question, who is our sly little friend, here, communicating on the…" Tuffnut pause when he tried to come up with a good word, "sly?"

"Uh-huh," said Ruffnut as Ragnar picked himself up.

"And because he won't give up the name…" said Snotlout.

"We decided to take matters into our own hands," said Ruffnut crossing her arms.

"Okay, fine," said Ragnar waving his hands about. "If you must know—"

"Oh, we must! We must!" said Tuffnut.

"Yes, yes. We must!" Ruffnut agreed.

"Guys, Ragnar doesn't have to tell you and that he wants to," said Hiccup. "It is personal, private business."

"Thank you, Hiccup," Ragnar smiled. He then saw the looks that everyone was giving him and sighed in defeat, he knew there was no point in denying anything. "If you must know I've been corresponding with a certain someone who has been returning my Terrible Terror mails in kind. You happy?"

Everyone stared at him.

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" said Astrid curiously.

"Ragy's got a girlfriend," Snotlout chanted as he and Tuffnut danced. "Ragy's got a girlfriend."

"Yeah! It's fun to make fun of people! Yeah!" said Tuffnut high-fiving Snotlout.

"Can't you guys just show a bit of sensitivity just once," said Fishlegs.

"Is that a serious question?" said Tuffnut.

"Who is she, Ragnar?" Astrid smiled.

"Who says it's a she?" said Snotlout laughing.

"Rag, come on, you can tell me who it is. I mean I've told you all my little secrets," said Hiccup shoving his head towards Astrid.

"Sorry, Hiccup. But while dragons drive her name out of my lips," said Ragnar firmly.

"It's Heather isn't it?" said Hiccup.

Ragnar blinked for moment. "Yes it is."

Everyone's mouths fell right open.

"Whoa," said Ruffnut.

"I have to admit, I did see that one coming," said Fishlegs.

"So, wait, you're telling me that my future wife, the future Mrs Lout, who just disappeared after the whole Viggo fiasco, you knew where to find and you told exactly no one?" said Snotlout.

"Yep, pretty much," said Ragnar.

"Look, guys, Heather is out there on her own. She never stayed in one place. We knew we'd hear from her eventually," said Hiccup.

"Yeah, but she and I have this connection. She should have written to me," said Snotlout.

"Ragnar, how many of these correspondence are we talking about?" Astrid asked smiling.

Ragnar didn't say a word and instead opened the chest that was full of letters. Everyone just stared of the contents.

"Whoa. Wow," said Tuffnut.

Almost immediately they all reached in and grabbed a letter and began reading them.

"Fine. Go ahead. Read 'em all," said Ragnar walking off in a huff.

* * *

It was night when I finished reading the letters from Heather and they were deeply concerned about what she had written.

"Uh, wow," said Ruffnut staring at the letter she was reading. "Those are some depressing Terror mails. I mean I need a mace to the head just to cheer me up."

"On it!" Tuffnut yelled and swung his mace down on top of Ruffnut.

Fortunately Ruffnut caught the mace before it landed on her head and glared at her brother. "Metaphorically speaking!"

"These letters don't sound like. She seems worried and confused," Astrid frowned.

"Think about everything she's been through," said Fishlegs looking up from his letter. "The only family she ever knew, gone. Then being out there, alone, by herself."

"And lest not forget, or forget… finding out her brother is one Dagur the Deranged," Tuffnut added.

"I know, I've been where she's been and it's not an easy experience to live through," said Ragnar.

"Yeah. I can't say I'd feel any different in her shoes," Hiccup nodded.

"Shoe," Snotlout corrected. "Because you…" Hiccup just narrowed his eyes at him as he began hopping around on one foot and pointing to his left leg. "Never mind."

"Listen, Heather's wrist her life to fight with us. She's helped to save countless dragons," said Ragnar. "She's the closest thing to actually being one of us. It just seems like we should do something to help."

Hiccup rubbed his chin. "Well, hey, what about making her one of us?" he suggested. "Ask her to be a Dragon Rider."

"Oh, Hiccup, I think asking Heather to join the Riders would be amazing," said Fishlegs excitedly. "Besides, the Nadder migration will be coming through here again and Windshear could be a huge help."

"I agree, the last thing she needs is to be alone sorting her problems out," Ragnar nodded.

"Well, I think it's a terrible idea," said Tuffnut. "An awful, dreadful, unfathomable idea."

"Very funny," said Astrid. "We're trying to have a serious conversation here."

"So am I. Look, you don't just get to be a Dragon Rider. I'm surprised you didn't know that. We've spent the last five years finding the nastiest, smelliest, most disgusting and often insane dragons out there. How many times have we almost gone and killed doing it?"

"There was a Screaming Death, the Whispering Death, the Red Death, all the other Deaths," said Ruffnut counting them off her fingers. "And then there was—"

"We get it, Ruff," said Astrid tiredly.

"So why does she get to waltz in here, all of a sudden, like she's one of us?" Tuffnut demanded. "Doesn't seem fair to me."

"And besides, who said she'd even want to be a Dragon Rider?" Ruffnut added. "You know, it's not for everyone. I, myself, have had moments of doubt."

Hiccup pondered for a moment. "You know, Tuff's right. About all of it."

Tuffnut nodded proudly, but then he stared at Hiccup in complete bewilderment. "What?"

"Well, let's invited to the Edge. Just for a couple of days," Hiccup suggested. "To hang out, see how she's doing. Maybe she helped us redirect those Nadders. But nothing permanent happens without us all agreeing." He looked at the others as he stroked Toothless' chin. "Some good?"

They all nodded.

The next day, the Riders prepare themselves for Heather's arrival. Ragnar then came running out of his hut with a look of pure excitement on his face.

"She's here!" Ragnar yelled. "I saw her for my lab! Heather is here!"

* * *

From Snotlout's hut, Astrid and Snotlout watched as Ragnar ran off to meet Heather.

"Sorry, Snotlout," she said with fake sympathy. "Looks like the future Mrs. Lout might endow been the future Mrs. Rag."

"She's here!" Ragnar's voice yelled.

"Please! Raggy?" said Snotlout dismissively. Astrid just shrugged. "So you're saying, she would choose bookworm, healer-nerd over a real Viking? Why would you even think that?"

"She told me, last time she was here," said Astrid smirking and she began to walk away. "Mention Ragnar by name."

"Shut up, Astrid," Snotlout grumbled.

* * *

Heather soon landed at the stables where she was met by Hiccup and the twins. Toothless quickly ran up to greet Windsheer, but she wasn't as enthusiastic as she snarled at the Night Fury.

Heather grabbed several satchels from her saddle and made her way over to Hiccup.

"Hi, you," said Hiccup. "We thought you could use a couple of days to rest up."

"Thanks, Hiccup. I really appreciate this," said Heather gratefully.

Then Ragnar ran up to them.

"Ragnar!" Heather smiled. "Thank you so much for the letters."

Ragnar just smiled as he rubbed the back of his head. "Anytime."

"Hey! We should sing the Dragon's Edge welcome song," Tuffnut suggested.

"Tuff, we don't have a Dragon's Edge welcome song," said Hiccup.

"Sure we do. It's very catchy. I perform it in several keys and there's a sort of dance that I do along with it."

"Yeah," said Astrid sceptically as she arrived. "I think Heather would rather set her gear down and get settled."

"Astrid!" said Heather as the two girls had one another. Once they broke apart heather looked at Tuffnut. "I'd love to hear your song later, Tuff."

"Good. Oh, Heather, you're gonna love it," said Tuffnut. "And now I have time to warm up."

He then began to babble inconsistently.

"Good idea," said Heather as she and Astrid left.

* * *

Astrid took Heather to her hut, where she had prepared a bed for her and organise a place for her stuff.

"You know, you could've come back with us in the first place," said Astrid handing Heather her twin bladed axe. "You just disappeared. We didn't know what happened to you."

"And I feel terrible about that," said Heather apologetically. "But I knew you guys would just try to get me to stay. Sometimes you need to be by yourself to figure things out."

"Your letters to Ragnar seem like you are struggling with a lot."

Heather stared at her. "You read those?"

"We were all worried about you," Astrid quickly. "We wanted to know what was going on."

"It was weird," said Heather uneasily. "All that time with Dagur, we were playing a part. I didn't have a minute to think about the fact that he is actually my brother."

"Maybe you should think about it then," Astrid suggested.

"I have to, Astrid. What if I have the Berserker insanity inside me?" said Heather fearfully. "What if, deep down, I'm just like him?"

"Heather, Ragnar went through the same thing when he discovered Alvin was his father," said Astrid placing a hand on her shoulder. "It wasn't easy for him either, but he did soon accept it. Besides, you are nothing like Dagur. Look, if you were, we would have dropped you in a volcano a long time ago."

Heather chuckled. "So, let's talk about something less depressing," she then tossed Astrid her axe. "How about Hiccup?"

"What about him?"

"Astrid, life is too short. You need to express your feelings. Stop wasting time. You two are perfect."

"And I could say the same to you about a certain pen pal," Astrid smirked tossing back her axe to her. "You do have practically worn out our flocks of Terrible Terrors."

"No idea what you're talking about," said Heather innocently.

The two girls laughed.

* * *

Later that night, the Riders made their way to the clubhouse for dinner. When they got there they will welcomed by a tasty smell.

"Oh, my Thor, what is that smell?" said Snotlout sniffing the air.

"Dinner," said Heather, who is facing a few plates on the table. "I was hungry. I figured you guys were, too."

Almost instantly all the Riders took a chop that was lying on a plate. Tuffnut was about to take a bite out of his stake, but then saw Chicken at his feet clucking.

"Uh… this isn't chicken, right?" Tuffnut asked Heather. "'Cause I don't do chicken. Everyone knows that."

"Those are yak chops," said Heather. "The other, other white meat."

"Great. I'd never do chick—"Tuffnut stopped when he looked down at Chicken. "I don't eat—"

Chicken then one off clucking, as if she made her point.

"I'm in. Who's hogging the gravy?" Tuffnut asked.

Hiccup turned and saw wild Nadders flying overhead.

"Uh, gang, sorry to tell you, but we've got more Nadders incoming," said Hiccup.

"Oh, come on. Now?" Snotlout groaned.

"Nadders?" Heather frowned.

"The yearly Nadder migration takes them through the worst of Dragon Hunter territory," Astrid explained. "We've been herding them away and diverting them to a different route."

"It takes them longer to get to the migratory home, but it leaves the actually arrive safely," said Fishlegs.

Hiccup then looked to Heather. "Heather, you and Windshear could come with us," he suggested. "We can sure use the help."

Meatlug made her way inside the clubhouse, but Windshear just snarled at her.

"Windshear is still tired from the long trip," said Heather apologetically. "We'll only slow you guys down."

"Maybe Skull and I should stay behind and keep Heather company," Ragnar suggested.

"Hey, I keep Heather company," said Snotlout. "Everyone says that I'm a great company-keeper."

"Who has ever said that?" Astrid enquired with a raised eyebrow.

"You don't know everybody. Shut up, Astrid," Snotlout snapped.

Despite his protests Snotlout soon join the other riders as they flew towards the Deadly Nadders. At this left Heather and Ragnar alone in the clubhouse. The two of them looked at one another slightly uneasily.

"So…" said Ragnar awkwardly, "how about a tour the edge?"

"I would love that," said Heather smiling. "Lead the way."

"And lead the way, I shall," said Ragnar holding out his arm.

Heather praised her arm through his head and they began walking around the Edge. He first showed the zip-line.

"This is a zip-line system," said Ragnar. "It makes it very convenient to get from the top of the Edge down here."

"Should we try it out?" Heather asked.

"All in good time, there still lot to see you know and not a lot of time to see it," said Ragnar.

"Whatever you think," said Heather smiling. "I'm all yours."

They soon reached a clearing near the edge of the Edge.

"Okay, so this is the place I picked out to build your hut," said Ragnar. "I'm not sure of you know this, but Astrid can get a little bossy. You'll probably want your own place."

"I'm not sure we want to build anything permanent quite yet," said Heather placing a hand on his shoulder. "But, if I end up staying, you picked out a nice place for me."

Two of them smiled and their faces began to draw close to one another and the lips were almost touching, but they quickly pulled away when they heard the sound of a dragon roaring.

"Windshear," Heather gasped. "That's Windshear!"

They quickly made their way towards the stables and when they entered they found both Skull and Windshear snarling at one another.

"No! Skull!" Ragnar yelled.

The two of them quickly ran towards the dragon held them back from one another, which was not easy.

"No! Windshear, no!" Heather cried.

It was at that point that the writer soon returned and they saw Ragnar and Heather holding back their dragons from one another.

"Whoa. What's happening here?" Astrid asked. "Why are these two fighting?"

"I don't know," said Ragnar. "Skull hates harming dragons. He gets that from me."

Skull freed himself from Ragnar and began to advance towards Windshear. "Skull, no!"

"Wow. Never thought I'd see our calming Skull turn into a green monster," said Tuffnut as he entered.

"What is that even mean?" Astrid asked.

"Uh, he's jealous," said Tuffnut in an obvious voice. "Is that not obvious to everyone else? Green with envy? Huh?"

"Oh, please," said Snotlout. "That's ridiculous. Why would he be jealous? It's not like you two are—"

"Actually, Tuffnut might have a point," said Fishlegs and they all stared at him. "Well, it's just that you haven't spending much time with Skull since Heather shown up when he feels a bit neglected."

"It could be just Windshear," Heather suggested. "I knew this wasn't such a good idea."

"Uh… what wasn't a good idea?" Hiccup asked as he entered.

"Skull just when after Windshear," said Ragnar.

"And it was awesome. I mean…" Tuffnut then chuckled.

"But, is Skull okay? Can he fly?" Hiccup asked.

"Yeah, he's fine. Why?" Ragnar asked.

"Let me guess. More Nadder?" said Snotlout facepalming himself.

"Heather, we could use you," said Hiccup as he approached. "This is a big for that's coming in."

"I don't think that Windshear can—"

"Windshear will be fine," Hiccup assured. "We'll keep an eye on her."

* * *

The next morning, the Riders and Heather were flying over the ocean chasing down hundreds of Deadly Nadders.

"Okay, guys, tight formation," Hiccup called.

"Hiccup, let me take the lead on this," said Astrid. "They're more likely to follow one of their own."

"Good call, Astrid," Hiccup nodded. "Let's take up our flanking positions and make sure there are no stragglers that break the herd."

They all then flew in different directions around the Deadly Nadder, so that they could follow the route they wanted them to follow.

"Comin' in hot!" Snotlout yelled as he pulled in close towards a Deadly Nadder. Blowin' out snot!"

Ragnar and Heather flew on opposite sides of each other to box the Deadly Nadders in so they would be more willing fly in a straight line. Then all of a sudden one of the Deadly Nadders snarled at Windshear.

"Easy, girl," said Heather calmly. "You're fine."

Then suddenly three Deadly Nadders flew over Hiccup's head.

"Guys! Small backbreaking off. Get them back!" Hiccup yelled.

The twins soared forward just opposite of Windshear, but she took it as a threat. She then fired several metal spikes at the twins which thankfully struck Tuffnut's helmets.

"Heather!" Hiccup yelled.

"Something's wrong with her," Heather called out. She then flew down towards the twins looking at Tuffnut apologetically. "I'm so sorry, Tuff. I don't know what's—"

"I guess that throws your green monster theory out of the window," Snotlout chuckled.

"Hiccup, we're not doing you guide any good here," said Heather looking down at Windshear with a concerned look.

"Heather, it's fine. Sometimes the dragons just got a little skittish," Astrid assured.

"No, I've seen her skittish. That's not what this is," said Heather with a concerned look. "I'll see you guys back at the Edge. I have the figure out what's wrong with my dragon."

They watch as Heather turned back flying back towards the Edge.

Hiccup sighed, this was not going as well as he had hoped. He then looked at the other Riders. "Okay, guys, Nadders first, then we deal with Windshear." He then looked at the twins. "Ruff, Tuff!"

"Please say 'Wall of fire'. Please say 'Wall of fire'," Tuffnut begged.

"Wall of fire!" Hiccup ordered.

The twins cheered enthusiastically and flew in front of the matter is. As they flew past the Deadly Nadders, Barf unleashed his gas and Belch ignited it creating a wall of fire. The three Deadly Nadder quickly turned back around and join the others.

"Good job, gang," said Hiccup. "Now let's get them back on course where they'll be safe."

* * *

Heather and Windshear were at the dome waiting for the others to return. She then noticed Hiccup and Toothless landing in front of her.

"So, uh, how's she doing?" Hiccup asked as he dismounted Toothless.

"Better," said Heather.

Hiccup watched as Windshear greeted Toothless. "She seems better."

"I just wish I knew what happened."

"Look, we've flown hundreds of missions. This was Windshear's first one," said Hiccup. "You should've seems Snotlout when we first started. He couldn't fly ten feet without somehow setting himself on fire."

Then as if he was summoned by Odin himself, Snotlout flew over their heads. "Did I hear my name?" he asked. "Were you guys talking about me? I know you were." He then looked down at Heather. "I'm gonna be in my hut. I've got a great view. Come check it out."

They then watched him flew off and Hookfang suddenly ignited, making Snotlout screaming panic.

Hiccup shook his head and looked back at Heather. "We just need to get Windshear some training. Start with simple flying drills, formations. Get her used to what it's like to work with other dragons."

"I don't know," Heather frowned unsurely. "I think I just need to keep away from other dragons while we're here."

"Well, now, that's gonna be kind of tough if you become a Dragon Rider," Hiccup smiled.

Heather's eyes widened as she turned to face Hiccup. "What? Why would I become—"

"Heather, that's part of why we asked you here. Just let me work with you guys."

Heather didn't look convinced and Hiccup knew instantly that this was going to be a challenge.

* * *

Later that day, the clouds got thicker and dull, but that didn't stop them from flying through them. Hiccup was determined to help Heather and Windshear, he knew how much it would mean to Ragnar if she stayed.

As they flew it started to seem like it was working, Windshear was flying calmly without any agitations.

"You see? Nothing to it," Hiccup smiled. "Let's try a good old-fashioned Wingman formation. Toothless and I are gonna slow down and play the part of Windshear's wingman. We're here for cover, if anything comes up beside you or behind you."

Toothless then pulled back until they were behind Windshear, Hiccup then gave Heather the thumbs up. "Hey!"

Heather laughed.

"Not bad at all," said Hiccup. "All right, your turn. You and Windshear take our wing."

Windshear pulled back, but when she was level with Toothless she began to fidget.

"Pull back harder," said Hiccup.

Heather struggled to pull Windshear back, it was like she was fighting against. "I am. Believe me," she grunted.

Windshear then zoomed into the clouds and seconds later Toothless began to follow.

"Toothless, no!" Hiccup yelled.

The two dragons were now racing each other as if they were competing on who was the fastest. When the two of them were neck and neck and inches from each other, Windshear slammed into Toothless causing Hiccup to be thrown off of him.

"Hiccup!" Heather screamed. "Windshear, down.

Windshear soared downwards towards Hiccup, who was screaming. They managed to catch him and they began looking around for Toothless.

"Toothless! Where's Toothless?" Hiccup asked.

They looked down and saw the Night Fury falling towards the ocean.

"I have to get him," said Hiccup standing up.

Heather stared at him as if he was crazy. "Uh, Hiccup, where are you…" Hiccup then jumped and dived towards Toothless, "going?"

She just stared at him, but then she saw him bring out his wings he glided towards Toothless. Realising he would be to get there in time, he was forced to freefall towards his Dragon and managed to wrap himself around his back. Quickly he placed his leg in the store and opened the tailfin and they quickly pulled out of the dive just before they hit the water.

"Come on, bud," said Hiccup. "You gotta help me out here. Be the bigger dragon."

Toothless just snorted as if saying, "It's her not me".

* * *

Soon they returned to the Edge, just before the rain burst from the clouds. The rain did not bode well, but Hiccup was not giving up on Heather or Windshear.

"Okay, so that didn't go quite as planned, but I promised that tomorrow—"

"There's not gonna be a tomorrow," said Heather.

"Oh. Heather—"

"Clearly, this was a mistake. We just don't fit in here."

Hiccup frowned at her. "What are you talking about? You fit in great." He then took a deep breath. "Besides, do you really want to do that to Ragnar?"

"No, of course not. But it's obvious that Windshear can't work with the other dragons and someone is gonna get hurt. I knew this wouldn't work." She sighed and looked at Windshear. "It's just better if we go."

Hiccup just stood there, he had no idea how to convince her otherwise. It looks sure that Heather was surely going to leave them.

* * *

Once the rain had stopped, Heather was about to set off with Windshear at the stables. Then Ragnar came sprinting out of nowhere.

"You can't leave," he said.

"Ragnar, I wish I had a choice," said Heather apologetically.

"But you do have a choice. You can choose not to go."

"Windshear doesn't belong with other dragons," said Heather hugging Windshear. "And no matter how much I love being on Dragon's Edge, I'm not gonna choose all of you over her."

"But you haven't even given it a chance," said Ragnar. "Hiccup is the best dragon trainer there is. I was there when he first trained Toothless and since then I've seen him do things I never thought were possible. You have to give him a chance. I mean, when Snotlout first started out, you should've seen him. He was on fire. And not in a good way."

Again as if the gods themselves had sent him, Snotlout appeared at the mention of his name on top of Hookfang.

"Did I hear my name?" he asked. "Are you guys talking about me? I know you were." He then looked down at Heather. "I'll be in my hut if you need me. It's got a great view. Come check it out."

He then flew off and again they heard the sound of Snotlout screaming as Hookfang ignited himself.

Heather then turned her eyes upon Ragnar. "I appreciate everything you've done for me. Really, I do. I just can't take the risk."

"Okay. I wasn't gonna say this, but here it goes," said Ragnar taking a deep breath. "I'm getting a little tired of this long distance relationship and while I do enjoy our letters to each other just want to go back to being long-distant Terror mail friends. I want you here."

Heather then took his hand and looked at him in the eyes. "And I feel the same way. Believe me. But Windshear has spent her whole life with me. Protecting me, and watching over me. That's all she knows how to do. I'm sorry, Ragnar."

Ragnar's eyes widened as he got an idea. "You're right. She has. Windshear was just trying to protect you." He then grabbed her arms. "That makes perfect sense."

"I know," said Heather unable to look at him in the eye. "I wish it were different."

"Maybe it doesn't have to be," said Ragnar and he made his way over to Skull. "Okay, boy. Let's get to work."

Heather just looked at him confused. "Ragnar, where—"

"I have an idea," said Ragnar mounting Skull. "I'll never ask you again, but please, just this once, trust me, Heather."

Heather looked at him and then to Windshear, she then looked back at Ragnar and smiled.

* * *

Meanwhile, the other Riders was still busy with the Deadly Nadder migration.

"On it," said Astrid as she flew down to lead the Deadly Nadder's.

"Hey, where's Ragnar?" Snotlout asked, noticing a missing Bonenapper. "Isn't this the second time this week he's missed all the super-fun Nadder herding?"

"He's saying goodbye to Heather," said Astrid.

"This is way harder for him than his on the rest of us," said Hiccup. "So cut him some slack."

"I really wish she didn't have to go," said Fishlegs.

"What can I say I tried to convince her, but she is a stubborn as the rest of us," said Hiccup.

"I'm just saying we could use the help," said Snotlout.

"Yeah. Especially with that dragon ship coming towards us," said Tuffnut.

They turned and saw that indeed a Dragon Hunter ship was heading straight towards them.

"Great," Hiccup moaned.

"They must have figured out what we we're doing with the Nadders, and decided the head is off," said Astrid.

"It's only one ship. We'll take care of them, no problem," Hiccup assured.

"Uh, I hate to keep bringing down the room, or the, you know, outside, but that isn't exactly the case," said Tuffnut pointing down.

They turned again and saw three more Dragon Hunter ships sailing towards them.

"Okay. Guys, let's get above the clouds. We need to regroup," said Hiccup.

They quickly flew upwards into the sky, but then one of the ships launched a chain cannon. The chain wrapped itself around Hookfang's legs began to bring him down towards them.

"Hookfang!" Snotlout yelled. "Come on, Hookie. It's just a little rope."

Hookfang tried to free himself by blasting the chain with his fire, but it had no effect.

"That's not just the rope," said Astrid flying close by. "It looks like it's made of reinforced steel or iron."

"That's what I said!" Snotlout yelled panicking. "Come on, Hookie. It's just a little rope made out of some kind of reinforced steel or iron."

That's when they noticed that Ragnar and Heather were flying towards them. However, they were not riding their normal dragons they have swapped dragons.

Snotlout stared at them. "Wait, is that—"

Hiccup was also staring. "Ragnar riding—"

"Windshear! What are they doing?" Astrid stared.

"Doesn't matter," said Hiccup, though we had to admit he was curious himself. "Right now I'm just thankful they decided to show up."

Ragnar looked to Heather. "Heather, go in closer. I'll stay right behind you on Windshear."

"But what if—"

"She'll be fine," Ragnar assured. "As long as she's near you, she'll protect you, just like you said. It is a matter what dragon you're on."

Heather then flew down towards one of the ships and Skull sent a stream of fire down upon a ship. A Hunter quickly turned the chain cannon onto her, but add up your instinct Windshear soared down towards the ship and fired several metal spikes at the cannon. This caused the Hunter to misfire and the chain soared right past Heather.

Windshear then began slicing the ropes from this mast and then blast the ship causing a massive explosion.

"Ha, ha! Well done, Ragnar!" Hiccup cheered, realising what Ragnar had done. "Switching dragons was the trick. Now even if that other dragons around, Windshear's gonna do what comes naturally."

"Protect Heather," Astrid gasped.

"Exactly."

"What a brilliant idea, I have to write this down," said Fishlegs.

"That's my girl, Windshear," said Heather as she flew past Ragnar and Windshear.

"Okay, let's rescue Snotlout," said Ragnar. "You'll get used to this, Heather."

They then flew down to the ship that had Snotlout trapped and Windshear blasted the ship destroying the cannon. This freed Hookfang and they flew away to safety.

A Hunter grabbed another chain cannon and aimed towards Heather, he fired. However, out of nowhere Windshear grabbed it with her teeth and began to soar upwards taking the cannon along with her.

"Guys, look out!" Hiccup yelled.

Ragnar and Heather turned to find other Hunters had fired a net at them. However, Hiccup came flying down and blasted it with a plasma blast.

"Yeah, baby!" Hiccup cheered. He then flew alongside Heather. "Dragon Riders, let's clear this mess up, once and for all."

The Riders then began to blast the ships left and right until they were set aflame. With every shot they fired the more excited the Riders got and eventually they return to the Deadly Nadder, so they could carry on with their migration and left the burning shift behind.

* * *

Later that evening at the Edge, the Riders were enjoying more of Heather's cooking.

"So," said Ragnar looking at Heather. "Is this a farewell dinner or a welcome to the Dragon Riders dinner?"

"Either way, I cannot go back to eating regular food after…" said Tuffnut looking at his chop, with his mouth still full. He then gulped down his food, "these delicious chops."

"It's not a goodbye dinner, Ragnar," Heather smiled. "I'm staying."

"Glad to hear it," said Ragnar.

"I thank you. And my palate thank you as well," said Tuffnut.

"You know, Ragnar really deserves all the credit," said Heather.

"It was nothing," said Ragnar rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

Snotlout laughed dryly. "Yeah. Stop. Ragnar. What in the name of Thor could he have possibly done that couldn't do?"

"If Ragnar and figured out how to integrate Windshear into our pack—" said Hiccup feeding both Toothless and Windshear some fish.

"Yeah, we be back to eating Ruffnut's cooking," Tuffnut nodded. Ruffnut then flew it shot straight at him, but he caught it and saluted her. "I'll take that." He then began to speak in a unknown language.

"Blah, blah, blah. Whatever," said Snotlout.

"More yak chops, Snotlout?" Heather asked holding out the plate to him.

"Yes, please!" he said taking the plate. "And can I get some more of those green thingies? They're amazing."

"Beans, Snotlout. They're called beans," said Astrid.

"Beans," said Snotlout blissfully.

Then suddenly out of nowhere a Terrible Terror appeared with a roll of parchment in its claws. It then drop the parchment right in front of Hiccup and then flew out the clubhouse door. Everyone turned to Heather, who looked just as perplexed as they were.

"I didn't send it," she said.

Hiccup unrolled the scroll and began to read it and automatically his face turned grim.

"What is it? Are you okay?" Astrid asked worriedly.

"It's from Dagur," he said and looked up at Heather. "He's been looking everywhere for his sister. And he wants our help in finding her."

"Well, that shouldn't take long," said Tuffnut. "She's right there."

"I knew he would come looking for me," said Heather.

"Well, maybe that's not such a bad thing," said Hiccup, who remembered how Dagur saved him from the Hunters a few weeks ago. He then noticed Heather's face. "Or maybe it is. Look, Heather, you're one of us now. A Dragon Rider. If you're not ready to be found, we'll make sure you won't be."

Heather just simply sighed uncertainly. It would appear after solving one problem another one presented itself in front of her and she wasn't quite sure what course to take to solve this particular problem.


	34. Stryke Out

On an unknown island, Vikings were looking down from arena as a Deadly Nadder and a Monstrous Nightmare circled one another preparing to fight. However, the crowd were not very excited by this, they gave the distinct impression that they've seen this all before.

"Boring!" a man cried.

"Aye, move up, son!" a woman yelled.

The Fight Master tried his best to site the crowd up. "This dragon fight is one for the ages, as Steeltrap takes a crushing blow to the head from the upstart, Whip-slash!"

"Yeah, whatever," said a man yawning.

It was at that point that Ryker showed up. "Ah, Mr. Ryker, sir. Always a pleasure to have you join us."

Ryker didn't say anything and simply narrowed his eyes. The Fight Master knew why he had shown and pulled out a bag of calling and presented it to Ryker.

Ryker took it and opened it, but when he looked into it he now his eyes at the Fight Master. "This is not the amount we agreed upon," he said.

"Mr. Ryker, we've done well together in our fighting enterprise," said the Fight Master honestly. "But now, with your champion dragon, the fights are over before they start." He placed a hand on Ryker's shoulder, but quickly removed it when he growled. "No one will pay for a fight that ends in five minutes."

The Fight Master then signalled one of his men to unleash Ryker's champion and so the gates slowly opened. Ryker then turned to the crowd and saw the board looks upon their faces.

"I see your point," Ryker admitted. "But if I were you, I'd find a solution to turn this around."

Ryker then walked off just as the battle started in the comments from the crowd did not bode well for the Fight Master. Ryker then tossed a single gold coin without even looking at him.

"Your cut," he said.

The Fight Master course the coin and glared at Ryker. "I hate that guy," he grumbled.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup was flying with Snotlout to an island he had discovered that contained remnants of Dragon Hunters.

"The Dragon Hunter faces just up ahead," said Snotlout.

"Now remember, approach with caution. They might be expecting us," said Hiccup.

"Hiccup, Hiccup! This is the easiest mission ever," Snotlout assured. "We fly in, blast the Hunters, and be home in time for lunch! Boom!"

"While I appreciate the enthusiasm, I—"

"Come oon, Hookfang!" said Snotlout not listening to Hiccup and took off.

Hiccup sighed, he should have expected this from Snotlout by now. Knowing that he had no other choice, he followed Snotlout towards the Dragon Hunter base he discovered.

They soon approached the island and landed on the rocky surface and sneakily they made their way to the shoreline where cages had been set up made of dragon proof metal. The strangest thing was that there was nobody at the base, there was not even any sign that anyone had been there.

"There's no one here," said Hiccup. "It's completely abandoned."

"This place was crawling with Dragon Hunters this morning," Snotlout frowned. "Something's wrong."

"Did you see anything else? Any dragons?" Hiccup asked.

"Well, no," Snotlout admitted.

Then they noticed that both Toothless and Hookfang were growling at something.

"Maybe there is something wrong," said Hiccup looking back at Snotlout.

They then heard the distant wailing of a dragon in the distance and it seem to have emanated from a nearby cave. The two dragons were snarling at the cave as if they sense something inside it.

"Yeah, really wrong," said Hiccup he then ran towards the cave. "Come on!"

Snotlout then turned to Hookfang and glared as if it was all his fault. "Why'd you tell me to be proactive today?"

Hookfang snorted and reluctantly the two of them followed Hiccup into the cave.

As they entered the cave they saw man-made stairs were carved into the rock and they slowly made their way down towards the bottom.

"You know, I think we've seen way too much of this place already," said Snotlout. "Maybe it's time to head back." He then turned to look at Hookfang. "What do you think, Hookfang?"

The Monstrous Nightmare and had by shoving Snotlout towards the stairs.

Hiccup sighed and looked at him. "Oh, come on, Snotlout. This was your idea."

"Yes, that was before the blood-curdling dragon screams," said Snotlout.

As if on cue they heard the sound of more dragons from the bottom of the cave. Knowing he had no choice in the matter, Snotlout was forced to follow Hiccup down the steps.

When they got down there they found cells similar to the ones on Outcast Island. Snotlout inspected one and suddenly screamed when a Speed Stinger jumped out of the shadows roaring at him.

"So, Hiccup, question, question, question," said Snotlout looking at the one legged Viking. "How are we going to free these vicious and wild dragons without being, I don't know, eat alive?"

"There's gotta be a switch or lever somewhere," said Hiccup looking around. "Once we get them free, we'll just have to wait them out."

The two young Vikings began looking around for any sign of switch or lever. Hiccup approach the cave with a Razorwhip trapped inside. He still could not find anything that might actually open the cell.

"Anything?" he asked looking back at Snotlout.

"Yep," said Snotlout and pulled down a lever.

Suddenly a steel gate fell from the ceiling and before Hiccup and Toothless could react the two of them were trapped alongside the dragons.

"Snotlout!" Hiccup yelled.

"Hang on! I'll get you out of there!" Snotlout yelled, he then pulled the lever up.

However, instead of the steel gate retracting a purple gas emanated from where Hiccup and Toothless were standing.

"What is this stuff?" Snotlout coughed and some of it exited out of the steel gate.

"Okay, but, time to go," said Hiccup covering his mouth.

Toothless fired a plasma blast at the steel gate, but it had no effect. The entire gate was dragon proof. What was worse was that the gas was starting to make Hiccup and Toothless drowsy. Hiccup attended to lift the gate up, but it was far too heavy for him.

Toothless fell to the ground and Hiccup, too, was sighed to be overcome by the gas and fell to his knees.

"That's not good!" said Snotlout as he rushed over to the gate trying desperately to lift it. He too had no success and stared at Hiccup and Toothless. "Hiccup! Toothless!"

"Go, go, go! Get help!" said Hiccup feeling quite dizzy due to the gas.

Snotlout was reluctant to leave, but he had no choice and he and Hookfang ran back at the tunnel.

"Go!" Hiccup yelled, before everything went black.

* * *

Hours later, Snotlout returned with the other Riders, but when the entered the cave they found no trace of Hiccup or Toothless. In fact none of the other dragons were in the cave either.

"What, what? They're gone!" Snotlout yelled panicking. "They were right here, I swear! Back me up, Hookfang."

"There, there, little Snotlout," said Tuffnut place a hand on Snotlout's shoulder. "I'm sure Stoick will forgive you for losing his one and only son."

"Not helping!" Snotlout yelled.

"Hey! Focus!" Astrid yelled. "We have to find them."

Fishlegs wandered over to one of the cells and found a sea slug cell doors. "Sea slugs," he said.

"What does that mean?" Snotlout asked.

"Well, Snotlout, it means that those dragons will lured here with food and been gassed with Dragon Root. What you think it means?" said Fishlegs tossing the sea slug to Hookfang, who then ate it."

"I guess this proves that there is Dragon Hunter activity in these parts," said Ragnar as he examined the cages. "There nothing if not cunning."

"But why bother knocking them out?" Astrid frowned. "The dragons were already captured."

"The keep the dragons pacified to make them easier to transport," said Heather.

"So, Hiccup and Toothless are being taken to Thor knows where?" said Snotlout. "Great! And we've got no way of finding them."

"Do not fret," said Tuffnut quickly placed a hand on Snotlout shoulder. "We'll find the missing Hiccup Haddock and one Toothless Night Fury."

"Yes! That's right, young Snotlout," said Ruffnut. "My brother and I are experts in the delicate and fine art of detection."

"Interrogation."

"And infiltration."

"We are…"

Then the two twin stood back to back with their arms crossed and said of the same time, "Thorston and Thorston, sleuths and extraordinaire."

The best detectives on Berk," said Tuffnut.

"Well, really, the only detectives on Berk," Ruffnut admitted.

"Shh! They don't need to know that," Tuffnut whispered.

Tuffnut then began to crawl around the ground like an animal. He then wandered over to Meatlug and lifted one of her claws. "Nope, nothing here. Except…" He then pinched his nose and turned away in disgust, "the smell."

Heather just watched the twins as the foolishly wandered around.

"Tuff?" she said.

"It's all very suspicious," said Ruffnut.

"If we…"

"Heather, I've got this," said Tuffnut. "The Dragon Hunters have taken Hiccup and Toothless somewhere nefarious."

"Guys…"

"Not now, Heather," said Tuffnut dismissively. "I'm detecting. Now, to find where Hiccup Haddock and Toothless Night Fury have been taken, we need…"

Heather had had enough and place her hand over Tuffnut's mouth. "Someone with inside knowledge of the Dragon Hunter ports," she began.

"Someone with inside knowledge of Dragon Hunter ports!" said Tuffnut in a muffled voice.

Ruffnut then snapped her fingers. "Someone like Heather! Thank you, Thorston."

"You're welcome, Thorston," said Tuffnut after Heather had removed her hand from his mouth.

"Wow, why did you think of that Heather," Ragnar muttered.

Heather sighed. "Follow me."

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup had regained consciousness and found himself in unfamiliar surroundings and that his leg was chained up.

"Toothless!" he gasped.

He turned and found Toothless lying next to him, muzzled and chained. "There you are, bud, he said with relief.

He tried to remove the chain that was wrapped around his leg, but to no avail. He then took in his surroundings. "Where are we?"

He then noticed but they were not alone, in the room was a Gronkcle, Deadly Nadder, Monstrous Nightmare and a Razorwhip. The dragons had one thing in common they were chained up and looked very miserable.

They then heard a noise outside and both he and Toothless rush to what looked like a gate but with wooden boards surrounding it. Through the cracks they could see a Speed Stinger getting swiped by a sort of scorpion-like tail and then he noticed there was a crowd outside.

It took them a while to realise that he was in some sort of arena and that the people watching some sort of dragon fight. He felt sick to his stomach.

"Dragon fights," he said in disgust. "We have to get out of here."

He then heard a door unlocked and saw someone, he assumed, had to be the Fight Master and one of his guards. The Gronkcle and the Deadly Nadder roared at him, but he slammed his spirit to the ground to keep them quiet.

"That's right, you smelly beasts," he said sadistically. "You know who the boss is."

Hiccup glared at him.

The guard then turned to look at him with a confused look. "Who's him?" he asked.

"Him. He was with a Night Fury," said the Fight Master.

"Oh, I've heard about him," said the guard. "He's a friend to dragons."

"Good. Then maybe he'll be useful," said the Fight Master pointing his spear at Hiccup. Toothless growled at him. "I've got a very special event planned his dragon. Don't you worry, my friend. I'll let you watch." He then made his way to the door. "And don't touch that muzzle."

He then slammed the door shut and Hiccup turned to find the owner of the scorpion tail had re-entered its cell and the gate closed behind it.

"Ladies and gentlemen, get ready!" said the Fight Master as he approached the crowd. "Tomorrow night, two new dragons enter the ring in a battle royale! Only one dragon will leave victorious. Will it be the Razorwhip or the Night Fury?"

At the word "Night Fury" the entire crowd looked up and suddenly became excited. Hiccup did like where this was going, his only hope was that the others would be able to find him before something unthinkable happens.

* * *

The next morning, the situation had changed, Hiccup and Toothless were still trapped with the other dragons. Hiccup then noticed that the Deadly Nadder was heavily scarred and it didn't look like from any Dragon Hunters so it had to be when it fought in the arena.

He approached it, hoping to help, but it then snarled at him no doubt thinking that he was a threat. The Monstrous Nightmare burst into flames no doubt thinking the same thing. Toothless snarled at them and Hiccup had held him back.

"Hey, gotta back off, bud," said Hiccup. "They can't help it. They're starving, injured and scared."

He then turned to the Gronckle, who was as badly scarred as the Deadly Nadder and looked terrified. "Okay, how about you?"

Gronckle simply snarled at him and Hiccup sighed.

* * *

Meanwhile the other Dragon Riders were following Heather to an island which was a Dragon Hunter port.

"That's one of the main Dragon Hunter trading ports," said Heather. "These hunters will know where Hiccup and Toothless have been taken."

The hunters saw them instantly and raise their crossbows, but Heather flew in closer loose and Windshear wrapped her tail around one of the Hunters.

"Where is the Night Fury?" Heather demanded looking at the Hunter. The Hunter simply crossed his arms and refused to speak. "Very well."

They then tossed the Hunter into the sea.

Fishlegs flew up to the catapult and looked at the two Hunters that were guarding it.

"Excuse me. Can any of you tell me where the Night Fury has been taken?" he asked politely.

The Hunters responded by aiming their crossbows and find several bolts at him, but they were lucky enough to dodge them.

"Guess not," said Fishlegs.

Meatlug then flew towards the man spewed lava at them, the two Hunters managed to jump clear before it actually hit them.

Snotlout had chased another Hunter into a tree and then landed right in front of him. "Hi! I'm looking for one-legged Viking and a Night Fury," he said. "Tell me where they are!"

The Hunter aimed his crossbow at them. "Hookfang?"

Hookfang fired a fire blast at the Hunter and burnt the crossbow to kindling. The Hunter then looked at him with a determined look on his face.

"I'm not telling you anything," he said firmly.

The twins then landed next to Snotlout and they dismounted and walked over towards the Hunter.

"Leave this to us, Snotmaster," said Tuffnut.

"Thorston and Thorston are on the case," said Ruffnut.

* * *

Minutes later they had the Hunter tied to a chair and in a tent. The twins then attempted, badly, to interrogate the man.

"All right, Dragon Hunter," said Ruffnut. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way."

The Hunter just simply shook his head defiantly.

Ruffnut then clicked her neck and then her fingers. She then grabbed an axe and then slammed on the table. "Tell me where Hiccup and Toothless have been taken! Where?" she demanded.

"Hey! Wait a minute," said Tuffnut. "It's my turn to be bad Viking."

Ruffnut groaned and turned to her brother. "Can we talk about this later? You're kind of ruining my vibe here."

"No. We should talking about this now."

"Tuff, not in front of the suspect."

The two of them just smiled at the Hunter, who just gave them a weird look. They then turned back to one another and began arguing again.

"If not now, then when?" Tuffnut asked.

"Okay, fine. You want to do this here? Right now?" said Ruffnut. "You're always the bad Viking. I'm always the good Viking! So now should have a chance to be bad Viking."

"Hey, you were bad Viking last time."

"No! You threaten a suspect with Macey, and I offered the suspect cookies."

Tuffnut frowned at the memory. "That's not how I remember it."

"Every time, Tuff. You do this every time," said Ruffnut now getting annoyed. "You take over my interrogation and ruin them!"

The two of them then grabbed a pair bludgeons and were prior to fight one another. Fortunately, before they could strike a single blow Snotlout entered the tent and they quickly headed the bludgeons behind their backs.

"Have you two muttonheads gotten any information out of this guy?" Snotlout asked.

"He was just about to crack, somebody ruined it," said Ruffnut glaring at her brother.

"Oh, please! He was never gonna spill the beans the way you were grilling him," said Tuffnut. "You shouldn't even be grilling beans, anyway. Weird."

Snotlout groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why do we trust you to with anything?" he asked himself.

"I'll get him to talk. Just watch," said Tuffnut.

Tuffnut made his way over to the Hunter and glared down at him. "Where have you taken—" It was at that point that Astrid entered the tent. "Oh, come on!"

"Another Hunter just gave up where Hiccup and Toothless are being held," said Astrid. "Come on, let's go."

She then exited the tent.

Tuffnut stared at her. "What? Are you serious?" he said in bewilderment and then drew his thumb and index finger and inch from each other. "I was this close."

"You were not!" said Ruffnut.

"Yes, I was."

"Were not."

"Yes, I was."

"Were not."

"He was gonna be spillin' and grillin'!"

"Would you do just go?" Snotlout yelled.

"He was gonna grill and spill those beans," said Tuffnut as they left the tent.

Once they were gone, the Hunter began to move his chair backwards, but ended up falling over through the back of the tent.

He eventually managed to free himself and ran to the Hunter that manned the Terrible Terrors.

"We've got a worn Ryker," he said panting. "The Dragon Riders are going to attack the dragon fights!"

He then handed the Hunter a roll of parchment and then he tied it a Terrible Terror's leg. He then released it and it flew off into the distance.

* * *

The Terrible Terror group past the seastacks, but behind one of them were the other Riders who are waiting for it.

"So, the twins didn't get any information out of that guy?" Fishlegs asked.

"What do you think?" Snotlout asked. "Of course they didn't."

"Well, we would have if someone whose name rhymes with 'Gastrid' hadn't interrupted us," said Tuffnut.

"Or if someone had just let me do the interrogation in the first place," said Ruffnut glaring at her brother.

"Ruff, Tuff, be quiet," said Astrid. He then held out her hand out and once the Terrible Terror flew past she said, "Now!"

They then took off chasing down the Terrible Terror. It was only then that the twins realised what Astrid's plan was.

"If my detection senses are correct, I would say that Astrid lied to that Hunter, got in the centre Terrible Terror and we're gonna following it," said Ruffnut. She then looked down at Astrid, who was smiling. "Nice job."

"In the sleuthing business, we call this 'tailing'," said Tuffnut.

"In the idiot business, we call this 'the twins'," said Snotlout.

"And business is booming," said Tuffnut.

They began to chase down the Terrible Terror that was leading them straight towards where Hiccup and Toothless were being held captive.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup was gently making his way to the Gronckle, who was snarling at him as he approached. It then began to lick the cage wall.

Hiccup then removed his leg and began slamming it into the cage wall knocking a piece of stone from the wall.

"Hey, look, a delicious rock," said Hiccup holding out the rock. "Mm. Num-num-num!" The Gronckle then made his way towards him. "Yeah, yeah, good Gronckle. That's it."

Gronckle sniffed the rock and then ate it and it seem to be enjoying its lunch.

Hiccup sighed. "Okay, let's try this," he said holding his hand out. Unfortunately, the Gronckle simply growled at him. "Well, it's a start."

He then heard the jangling of keys and the door flew open and entered the Fight Master and two of his guards. The guards made their way to the Razorwhip and unchained it, they then forced it into a cage.

"Now get the Night Fury," said the Fight Master.

"You stay away from him!" said Hiccup narrowing as the guard me the way towards Toothless.

One of the guard knocked aside with a back fist and they then grabbed Toothless. The guard struggled leading him towards the other cage once he was inside the removed his muzzle. Hiccup got up in an attempt to stop them, but the Fight Master grabbed him.

"You keep them feisty. I like that," said Fight Master smirked.

The two guards then opened the main doors that led into the arena and the Fight Master walked out.

"Ladies and gentlemen, tonight, I bring you for the first time in the ring… a Night Fury!" he roared. The crowd got excited immediately as a guard pulled Toothless cage into the arena. "Battling the most vicious dragon this side of Changewing Island, the Razorwhip!"

The Fight Master gestured to the Razorwhip, who had already been brought out.

The Fight Master then left the arena and hooks wrap themselves around the cages and pulled them up. The two dragons hopped off the carts and began to circle one another. The Razorwhip with its tail at Toothless, but it appeared more the warning than anything else.

However the two of them began to wrestle and rolled along the floor. The Razorwhip had then pinned Toothless to the floor and began snapping at him.

Hiccup could only watch the battle from inside the cage. "Toothless, get out of there!" Hiccup yelled.

Toothless managed to kick off the Razorwhip and then fired a plasma blast at its feet, has a warning. However, the Razorwhip took to the air and fired a blast at Toothless. Underneath the smoke it flew at Toothless and grazed one of his front legs with its sharp tail.

The Razorwhip then flew around the arena and Toothless ran towards one of the arena walls. He timed his jump perfectly, he landed on the wall in used the momentum to jump off it and tackled the Razorwhip and pinned it to the ground. Toothless and opened his mouth preparing to finish things off with a plasma blast.

"No, no! Toothless, no!" Hiccup yelled.

Toothless looked at him in the next second the Razorwhip pushed him off it. It tried to bite Toothless, but he whipped it across the head with his tail. Toothless and brought his tail until his head as if he was taunting the Razorwhip.

He then slowly backed away from the Razorwhip allowing making it to move towards him. Hiccup saw that Toothless was leading the Razorwhip to one of the cages that was above them.

"Yes, that's it, bud!" said Hiccup.

Toothless then came to a plot stop and the Razorwhip pounced, but Toothless jumped over it and fired a plasma blast at the cage above them. The plasma blast cut the rope and the cage landed right on top of the Razorwhip and the crowd cheered, for the battle was over now.

"Thank Thor," Hiccup breathed. "You did it, bud. You did it."

"Night Fury!" the crowd chanted over and over again.

Toothless roared at them, but it only excited them even more.

The Fight Master then looked to his guard. "Tell Ryker I've found the solution to both our problems."

He then laughed.

* * *

Later that night, Toothless was back in the cage with Hiccup by his side and wearing the muzzle. Hiccup had already attended to the cut on his leg using a piece of his shirt.

"You did a great job today, bud," said Hiccup. "I am so proud of you." He reached out for Toothless' leg and he quickly pulled it away looking down at Hiccup. "I'm sorry. I know, I know."

The door then slammed open and the Fight Master walked in.

"To the victor goes the spoils," he said and tossed three fish to them.

Hiccup grabbed one of the fish and hid it and then turned his attention on the Fight Master. "All right, he fought for you, made you a nice fortune. Now you need to let us out of here."

"And why would I do that?" the Fight Master asked looking amused. "When word gets out that I have a Night Fury, Vikings will come all over to see it fight. Night Fury, meet your next opponent, the Tripe Stryke."

Hiccup and Toothless looked outside and saw one of the cage doors opening. Walking out of the cage was a stockily built dragon with armoured plates on its back that resembles an armadillo's and two legs. Much like the Night Fury, it has two ear-like appendages on its head. Its most notable feature had to be its thick, braided tail that can unwind and split into three thinner ones. Each tail is equipped with a stinger much like a scorpion's. It its front legs actually resembled scorpion pincers. It had bright red eyes and it scales were brown and gold.

* * *

Meanwhile, the next day, the twins grabbed the Terrible Terror, which was making its way to a nearby island. The Riders had got a brief look on the island the one thing that stood out was the chained dome similar to the one they had in Berk.

"Gotcha," said Tuffnut and they flew back to the other Riders.

He then handed the note to Astrid and one she read at her face became that of worry. "Dragon fights?" she gasped. "Hiccup and Toothless had been taking to dragon fights down there."

"Forcing dragons to fight each other? That's inhuman," said Fishlegs angrily.

"And people will go nuts when they find out it's a Night Fury that's fighting," Heather added.

"It will only be a matter of time before either Viggo or Ryker get wind of this and you know what they'll do," said Ragnar.

"Why are we even discussing this?" Snotlout asked. "Hiccup and Toothless need us. Ergo, we go. As in, dragon's blazin'."

"We can't do that, Snotlout," said Heather. "You saw that chain dome. There's no way we can get in there."

"So what do we do?" Fishlegs asked.

"We'll use our superior slothing skills," said Tuffnut.

"Uh, I think you mean sleuthing," said Ragnar.

"Uh, no offence, but your sleuthing skills have not got not very far," Fishlegs pointed out.

"Don't worry, Fishlegs. Remember, we're masters of infiltration," Tuffnut assured.

They then watched as the twins died down towards the island.

"Oh, this is gonna go well," Snotlout groaned.

"For once I agree with you Snotlout," said Ragnar.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the arena, Hiccup was holding onto fish to a Monstrous Nightmare annotated happily. Then choked on it, spat it out and shot a fire blast that Hiccup.

"I've seen this before," said Hiccup remembering four years ago when Hookfang went crazy. "Hang on."

He held out the fish again and when the Monstrous Nightmare opened its mouth Hiccup as he tried to find the fault.

"Okay, now, call me old-fashioned, but I prefer not to lose another limb," said Hiccup. He then quickly reached in grabbed a metallic that was located in its mouth and gave it a good tug, removing it.

The Monstrous Nightmare roared at him, but a few seconds later realised the pain was gone.

"That was a problem," said Hiccup looking at his hand and found himself holding a steel hook.

He then dropped it and then held out the fish which the Monstrous Nightmare eat happily. The Monstrous Nightmare then nuzzled his snout at Hiccup affectionately.

"It's okay. It's okay," Hiccup assured.

He then approached the Deadly Nadder, which then snarled at him. "Hey, hey. It's all right. It's okay," Hiccup said calmly as he placed himself in the Deadly Nadder's blind spot. "I'm just gonna find a blind spot and…" He then quickly scratched beneath its chin, calming it. "There you go. How's that feel." The Deadly Nadder snarled happily. "See? I'm not gonna hurt ya."

The arena doors and opened and they turned to find the Fight Master and several guards entering. They were dragging in the Razorwhip from yesterday.

"You make sure you lock that manacled tight," said the Fight Master as the Hunters chained the Razorwhip. "A Razorwhip tail can cut through anything."

Then one of the guards placed a metal brace of dragon proof metal onto the Razorwhip's tail, preventing it from using its spikes.

Hiccup could only watch sadly at the abuse of these dragons.

* * *

Meanwhile the docks, Vikings were pouring in from all over, eager to see the fight of the year. One of these visitors was Ryker, who seem to be happy for the increase of spectators.

"Welcome, welcome. Great fight tonight. Great fight!" said the Fight Master welcoming the new arrivals.

"Well, this is promising," said Ryker eyeing the crowd.

"I have a new challenger for the Triple Stryke," said the Fight Master happily. "I most formidable opponent."

"What kind of dragon?" Ryker asked curiously.

"You shall see," said the Fight Master, not wanting to ruin the surprise.

Meanwhile the twins had landed on the island and were approaching two Hunters casually as if it was perfectly normal.

"Okay, infiltration plan number thirty-four. You got it?" Tuffnut asked.

"Thirty-four. Copy that," Ruffnut nodded as they approached the Hunters.

"Gentlemen, we are Thorston and Thorston," said Tuffnut as both he and his sister placed their backs against one another and cross their arms.

"Sleuths extraordinaire," Ruffnut added.

"We've been tailing a very dangerous suspect who is inside. If you help us, my good man, a hefty reward will be coming your way."

"Hmm. Reward, you say?" said one of the Hunters curiously.

"Oh, yeah. Mad bricks of gold, my Viking," said Tuffnut.

"Oh… yoo-hoo…" said Ruffnut to the Hunters flinging her hair and winking at them.

"What's wrong with you?" One of the Hunters asked.

Tuffnut quickly pulled his sister towards him and away from the Hunters. "What are you doing?"

"Infiltration plan number thirty-four. And it's working," she said wiggling her hips and smiling seductively.

"Ruffnut, that's plan forty-three!" he said.

"Uh, nah. Pretty sure it's thirty-four," she said.

"You and I need to have a discussion about our numbering system," said Tuffnut.

They then turned back to the Hunters.

"Oh, boys!" said Tuffnut in a girly voice and given a seductive smile. "So, what do you say? Will you help us catch our suspect?"

Ruffnut quickly facepalmed herself.

"Fine, you can go through, but I want the bricks first," said the Hunter.

"Sure, they're right over here," said Tuffnut pointing upwards.

The Hunters looked up in their eyes widened, because Barf and Belch the stand on top of a boulder and each of the head was holding a boulder in their mouths. They then drop them on top of the Hunters.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the arena, the fight was getting underway. Ryker was watching with great interest with his arms crossed the Fight Master was psyching the crowd up.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the main event!" the Fight Master cried. "The reigning champion, the Triple Stryke." The crowd gasped as the cage that surrounded the Triple Stryke was hoisted up into the air and its one tail split into three different tails. "Versus, the newcomer, the Night Fury!"

As Toothless' cage was lifted up into the air Ryker's eyes widened. "The Night Fury?" he shouted. He then turned to the Fight Master. "Stop the fight! We need that dragon alive!"

"Do you want a riot on your hands?" the Fight Master asked gesturing to the excited crowd around them. "I'm not stopping for anything. Listen to that crowd."

"Where's the boy?" Ryker asked furiously.

"Oh, you don't need to worry about him," the Fight Master assured.

Ryker then grabbed his throat and lifted him up off his feet. "If the Triple Stryke kills that Night Fury, I kill you," he threatened.

He then dropped in onto the ground and walked away.

"I really hate that guy," the Fight Master said glaring.

The Triple Stryke then jumped off his cart and charge straight towards Toothless, who jumped out of the way as he swung his tail at him. Toothless landed behind him and the two of them roared at each other.

The Triple Stryke then split its tail into three and send the stinger straight at Toothless. Fortunately, Toothless was agile enough to dodge all three and jumped into the air and fired a plasma blast at him.

* * *

Meanwhile, Astrid, Ragnar and Heather had landed and was searching through the Hunters camp for any trace of Hiccup and Toothless. Three hunters blocked their path and the three young Viking drought their weapons and charge straight at them.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the arena, the Triple Stryke had tackled Toothless and the two of them rolling on the ground. Toothless managed to kick the Triple Stryke off of him and slammed him into the arena wall.

However, the Triple Stryke then grabbed Toothless with his tail and they flew up into the air. Ryker glared at the Fight Master, who quivered slightly. The Triple Stryke had wrapped one of its scorpion-like tails around Toothless and were pointing the other two directly at him.

However, before he could strike Toothless struck him with his tail free himself and knocking the Triple Stryke onto the ground. He then fired a plasma blast, but it had very little effect on him and he charged at the Night Fury.

* * *

Meanwhile, Astrid, Ragnar and Heather were charging at the Hunters. Heather jumped kicked at one of them and Ragnar user cross guard to block one of the Hunters attacks and then performed a spin kick. Astrid slammed her axe down onto her Hunter, cutting right through his spear and turned to Stormfly.

"Stormfly!" Astrid yelled.

Stormfly then head-butted the Hunter, sending him flying. However, on top of one of the cages Hunter was aiming a dragon root arrow at her, but Snotlout and Hookfang appeared out of nowhere and slammed into him.

"Snotlout!" Snotlout yelled enthusiastically.

* * *

Meanwhile the arena, Toothless was still battling the Triple Stryke, which are now brought his tails back together as one. He then performed a tail slam straight on top of Toothless, who dodged in time and watched as the Triple Stryke smashed his cart. Toothless then made a U-turn and slammed him against the cage door where Hiccup was imprisoned.

Hiccup was attempting to free himself by getting the Deadly Nadder and Monstrous Nightmare to melt the manacled on the Razorwhip's tail.

"Come on!" he said desperately.

He looked outside and saw the Triple Stryke had thrown Toothless off of him, who had grabbed hold of the safety rail on top of the arena. The Triple Stryke then struck Toothless with its tail he was unable to dodge it this time. Toothless got back up and stood on the cart.

Hiccup could only see one way of Toothless surviving this. "There's only one way Toothless is gonna survive," he said.

Toothless then charged at the Triple Stryke, destroying the cart as he did so. He dodged the Triple Stryke tails and then slammed into him, causing him to crash into the arena wall.

Hiccup was not desperately trying to remove the manacled from the Razorwhip, with very little success. Then he heard fighting outside the door and turned to see a Hunters head slamming against the bars.

A few seconds later, Astrid's head popped out from the bars looking at him with relief. "Hiccup! Yes!" she yelled with relief.

"Astrid!" said Hiccup believed.

Next second Windshear knocked the door off its hinges and both Astrid and Heather ran into the room.

"Thank Thor you're okay!" said Astrid wrapping her arms around him.

"I'm fine," Hiccup assured. "But it's Toothless I'm worried about! We gotta hurry!"

Heather nodded. "Tail slice," she commanded.

Windshear then sliced the Razoewhip's manacled off with her tail and that moment they heard Toothless' growls.

"Oh, no," said Hiccup.

Outside, Toothless was firing up a barrage plasma blast at the Triple Stryke and eventually knocked him onto the ground.

"And now, the final strike!" the Fight Master cheered.

Toothless then jumped towards the Triple Stryke preparing to deal the final blow, but as he looked down upon the Triple Stryke, he soon remembered that he would had been in the same position as him five years ago with Hiccup. Toothless came to abrupt stopped, disappointing the crowd greatly.

Both Ryker and the Fight Master left the crowd, no doubt making their way to the arena.

The Triple Stryke got back onto his feet and looked at Toothless curiously. They then turned as the door behind them opened and Ryker, the Fight Master and a guard appeared with the intention of capturing the two of them.

The two dragons took up a fighting stance preparing to battle them. Ryker was slightly taken aback by this, but he shook his head and pressed forward is. Then they heard noises coming from the cage behind the two dragons and suddenly the door exploded.

"This ends now!" Hiccup's voice cried as he emerged out of the smoke.

Then the Deadly Nadder and Razorwhip charged both the Fight Master and the guard. The guard was quickly disarmed by the Deadly Nadder and ran for it, but the Fight Master found himself tangled up by the Razorwhip's tail and lifted up into the air.

He looked at it terrifyingly and then it dropped him right in front of the Triple Stryke, who roared at him. The Triple Stryke raised his tail, but stopped as Hiccup approached the Fight Master.

"I would get out of here if I were you," Hiccup advised.

The Fight Master took his advice to heart as he got up and ran for the exit. This left Ryker holding his sword with a determined look, but even he had to admit that he can take on all of them and he backed away to towards the exit.

The Triple Stryke then looked at Hiccup and Toothless and watched as Hiccup gave Toothless and affectionate hug.

"It's good to see you, too, bud," said Hiccup as Toothless growled affectionately.

The crowd were not too happy by this, but when their attention was diverted when Snotlout and Hookfang fired a fire blast at them.

"Justice! Get your justice here!" Snotlout yelled. "Get it while it's hot!"

They began running for their lives and ran even more when Ragnar and Fishlegs arrived to cause their own little bit of chaos.

"Dragon fights! I'll give you dragon fighting!" said Fishlegs in disgust.

"Not so fun when you're the ones being chased!" Ragnar yelled.

The three boys landed side-by-side from each other and smiled at one another. They then flew over to the chain dome and began to lift into the air.

"Come on, girl, but your meat to it," said Fishlegs.

Once the cage was lifted the Deadly Nadder and Razorwhip flew off into the air. Hiccup then turned towards the Triple Stryke.

"Go on. Go," said Hiccup encouragingly. However, the Triple Stryke refused to leave. "You're free."

"He's been in captivity for too long, Hiccup," said Fishlegs as he flew down. "He doesn't know how to be free."

Fortunately, Toothless began making certain gestures with his wings in order to encourage the Triple Stryke into the air. Seconds later he took off into the air.

"Yes!" Hiccup cheered. He then looked to the others. "Come on, guys. Let's go home."

They then flew off into the air flying as far away from the island as possible.

"It's good to have you back. I was really worried," said Astrid looking at Hiccup.

"I wasn't worried for a second!" said Snotlout chuckling.

"Sure, you weren't," said Fishlegs sceptically. "Astrid would've killed you if we haven't found Hiccup."

"Same would go for Stoick and I don't know who would be worse out of the two of them," said Ragnar.

Snotlout laughed and glared at the two of them. "Shut up!"

They then turned to look at the Triple Stryke, who seem to be enjoying his freedom as he spun around.

"Look at that magnificent creature," said Tuffnut in awe. "So dangerous, so deadly. I shall call him 'Sleuther'."

Sleuther then flew upside down and soared towards Hiccup and Toothless.

"Hiccup, I think he wants to come back with us," said Fishlegs.

"After what he's been through, can't say I blame him," said Ragnar.

Sleuther then stuck his tongue out and looked down at Toothless, who did the same.

Hiccup laughed. "Sleuther, I think you'll like the Edge."

They all then made their way back home and with a new friend among them.


	35. Tone Death

It was later night and the Dragon Riders were flying towards an island where Dragon Hunters were smuggling dragons off island.

"Okay, gang!" said Hiccup looking at the other Riders. "Stay with your teammate and lock down your specific island. This Dragon Hunter is sneaky."

"He comes in, transfers his cargo, and slips out under the cover of darkness. Very mysterious," said Fishlegs.

"Very boring," said Snotlout. "Can we get to it?"

They then flew towards the island and split off into groups.

* * *

Hiccup was partnered up with Snotlout.

"So, I need you to put in a good word for me, Hiccup," said Snotlout.

Hiccup frowned. "What? With who, Astrid?"

"Please," said Snotlout dismissively. "I'm so over Astrid. You can have."

Hiccup just blinked. "Wow, thanks, I appreciate that," he said in a sarcastic tone.

The sarcasm was lost on Snotlout. "Anytime, I'm a giver. Listen, I know Heather's been dying to approach me but I fear's got her 'scurred'."

It became clear to Hiccup that Snotlout would never understand women or how to approach them. "Yeah, I don't think Heather gets 'scurred', Snotlout. Besides, I'm not sure you're ready for a woman like Heather. She's far too, uh, sincere, honest, brave."

"I think honesty, I fake sincerity, I can fake all those things," said Snotlout.

"Oh, yeah, and by the way, she's smart, too," Hiccup added and flew off.

"I think being smarters," said Snotlout crossing his arms. Hookfang snorted, implying that he didn't believe that Snotlout could fake being smart.

* * *

Astrid, Fishlegs and the twins were soon flying over the island and then Astrid noticed a Dragon Hunter ship and Hunters down on the ground.

Astrid held her and out to signal Fishlegs and the twins to stop. She watched as the Hunters made their way towards the ship. "I think we should move in slowly, preserve the element of…"

However, before she could finish the twins flew down towards the ground.

"Coming in hot!" Tuffnut yelled.

"Woo-ooo-ooo!" Ruffnut cried.

Astrid sighed. "… surprise," she finished.

"Why do we bring the twins on this mission?" Fishlegs asked.

"I asked myself the same question every day," said Astrid rubbing her forehead.

Knowing that they had no chose they flew down towards the twins that had made their way to a cart with a tarpaulin.

"Viola!" Tuffnut cried removing the tarpaulin.

There sat in the middle of the cart was a dragon egg.

"Dragon egg!" Ruffnut cried in excitement.

By which point the Hunters had discovered them and began firing arrows at them. Between screamed as they ran for cover and one of the Hunters grabbed the cart.

"Oh, no, you don't!" said the twins in unison.

Barf and Belch fired a gas and spark attack, but it missed the Hunter.

By this point Astrid and Fishlegs had arrived.

"Guys, we need to protect the egg, not fry it," said Astrid.

"They're getting away!" Fishlegs cried pointing.

Indeed the hunters were in a row boat heading towards their ship. Astrid and Fishlegs try to intercept them, but Hunters fired arrows at them from their ship. They were able to dodge the first wave of arrows.

"Stromfly!" Astrid yelled and Stormfly fired a stream of fire up into the sky creating a flare.

The other Riders saw the flare instantly and flew over towards their position.

"We're never gonna get out of here!" said a Hunter as he saw Hiccup and Snotlout flying towards them from port side.

"It's the egg they want!"

"They want the egg?" said the captain. "Give it to them!"

A Hunter then loaded the egg onto a catapult.

"Get ready to move, guys!" Astrid yelled.

"Fire!" the captain yelled.

They watched as they launched the egg into the air.

"We got it! We got it!" the twins yelled in unison flying towards the egg.

"Back off, Twidiots. It's mine!" Snotlout yelled as he soared over towards the egg.

"Back off, Snotlout!" Ruffnut yelled.

However, the three them all missed the egg and collided in with one another. Fishlegs was able to knock the egg towards Ragnar, who knocked it towards Astrid, who nodded towards Heather.

"Heather!" Astrid yelled.

"Got it," said Heather.

However, she misted and it rolled off Windshear towards the cliffside. It stopped an inch away from the cliff, but it looked dangerously precarious.

"No!" Heather gasped.

The egg then tipped off the edge, but fortunately Hiccup appeared out of nowhere on top of Toothless with the egg in his hands.

"Well, that was fun," said Hiccup. He then looked to the others. "Hey, I've got an idea, how we get this back to the edge, safely."

* * *

The next morning, Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs were in the clubhouse studying the egg trying to figure out what species of dragon it originated from.

"It's definitely not a Changewing," said Hiccup, remembering the difficulties they had last time they bought an egg back home.

"Thank Thot," Fishlegs breathed with relief.

"Yeah, I think what all thankful for that," said Ragnar.

"And it's not the type of any of our dragons," said Hiccup.

"Oh, can you imagine Meatlug with her own egg?" Fishlegs asked wondrously. "It would be so cute."

Hiccup was looking through the Book of Dragons trying to find any clue of the eggs identity. "I don't think it's in here, guys."

"And that worries me greatly," said Ragnar in his arms. "Without us knowing what type of dragon it's going to be we might not be able to take care of it."

"Well, someone certainly has their own ideas on what it is," said Tuffnut as he into the clubhouse.

Chicken then jumped onto the table, looked at the egg and then sat on top of it.

"Look who's feeling motherly," said Tuffnut smiling. "Aren't you, little chicken?" He then stuck his finger out towards Chicken. "Give me a kiss."

Chicken then picked his finger. "OW! Easy, pal, I'm on your side," said Tuffnut rubbing his finger.

Fishlegs chuckled. "If you're gonna hatch that egg, I think you're gonna need a little bit more power than that, Chicken. But it was a nice try."

"Don't listen to him, Chicken. Haters gonna be hate, hatches gotta hatch," said Tuffnut snapping his fingers. "And, buddy, you're a-hatchin'."

Chicken then clucked and Tuffnut cooed.

"We should check the Dragon Eye notes again, just to be sure," said Hiccup turning to Ragnar and Fishlegs.

"Okay, but I didn't see anything in there about eggs or hatching," said Fishlegs.

"I'll check the Bork papers, but are not confident find anything," said Ragnar.

The three made their way outside.

It was at that moment that Tuffnut noticed the egg was beginning to crack.

"Uh, guys," he said.

"Not now, Tuff," said Hiccup, with his head buried in the Book of Dragons.

"Okay," Tuffnut shrugged.

He then bent down and watched as the egg began to crack some more. It was that point that the three dragon experts heard the cracking sound and turned to discover the egg was about to hatch.

"Tuffnut!" Hiccup yelled.

"Knowing the egg is about a hat would have been helpful," said Ragnar.

"Why did you say something?" said Fishlegs.

"Really?" said Tuffnut rolling his eyes.

They all made their way towards the egg and they heard more cracking sounds.

"Can make you wonder what came first, the chicken, or the chicken," said Tuffnut.

Before Ragnar could correct him, the egg exploded knocking them to the ground and Chicken into the air. When the smoke cleared they saw the new baby dragon, it had light orange scales, two tiny horns and four legs. Unfortunately neither of them recognised the species.

"What is that?" Fishlegs asked.

"I've got no idea," Ragnar frowned.

"It's familiar, but I can't place it," said Hiccup.

It was then that the baby dragon began to screech and at once all of them cover their ears.

"Oh, no! No, no! Stop! Stop!" Tuffnut screamed.

"I liked him better when he was inside," said Fishlegs.

"This thing is even louder than baby Thunderdrums!" Ragnar yelled.

* * *

It was late at night and still the baby dragon was screeching its lungs off. The Riders and their dragons could barely take any more than it.

"Can someone please shut that thing up?" Snotlout begged.

"Aww, it's probably needed to mother," said Heather looking at the baby dragon sympathetically. "Poor thing, all by itself."

"That's what I was trying to say, because I'm so sincere," said Snotlout smiling at Heather. "Of course, these fools don't listen, but I listen."

"I got it!" Tuffnut cried.

"What! What is it?" Hiccup asked hopefully.

"Garffiljorg," said Tuffnut.

"What?" Hiccup stared.

"Its name."

"Who cares what we call it?" Ruffnut yelled. "Not like it's listening to us anyway."

"Chicken cares. I mean, it did come out of her."

"Tuffnut, she did actually…" Hiccup began, but stopped when Tuffnut narrowed his eyes at him. "Never mind."

Later that night, they placed Garff in the stables, but he was still crying like there was no tomorrow.

"Oh. How are the dragons gonna sleep, with this little guy in there?" Fishlegs moaned.

"It's them or us, Fishface," said Snotlout. "But, please, feel free to babysit that thing if you want to."

He then made his way outside, passing Heather as they did so.

"Maybe I should stay with it?" Heather offered.

Snotlout quickly turned around and smiled at Heather. "That's exactly what I was thinking. Oh, we're like two yaks in a stall, you and me."

Astrid groaned in disgust.

"Look, if we shut these doors, plug our ears, and sleep under our beds, we just might be able to catch a few winks," said Hiccup. Garff then cried even louder. "Yeah, okay, let's just get out of here before our heads explode."

All the Riders then made their way outside.

"Chicken, come on, it's bedtime," said Tuffnut looking down at her. "Hey! I'll tell you the story about the angry chicken who took on the Buffalord."

However, Chicken instead one over towards Garff.

"She just ain't having it, she wants to stay with Garffiljorg," said Tuffnut.

Chicken made her way over to Garff and began clucking rhythmically and then Garff stopped crying. He was actually squawking in a rhythmic tone as well.

"OH, HE STOOPED CRY—"Hiccup yelled, but quickly stopped and then said in a much quieter voice, "He stopped crying."

"That's because Chicken sang to him," said Tuffnut. "Didn't you hear that?" He then chuckled. "Oh, the pipes, chicken."

Both Chicken and Garff kept on looking at one another and then suddenly out of nowhere Garff spat amber out of his mouth. The amber covered Chicken's body, leaving her completely defenceless and Garff began to lick his lips excitedly.

"Bad dragon!" Tuffnut yelled grabbing Chicken before Garff could sink his teeth into her. He then looked at the others. "Um, does this look familiar to anyone but me? Impenetrable amber cocoon, vicious hungry dragon, terrified Vikings?"

"It's a baby Deathsong, Tuffnut. Believe me, we know," said Fishlegs.

"Oh, that's just perfect," Snotlout moaned.

They then left the stables as Garff continued to cry.

* * *

The next morning, Hiccup attempted to free Chicken from her amber prison. He was using a knife trying to chip away the amber, but the stuff was incredibly thick.

While he was doing that Tuffnut was sobbing hysterically.

"Tuffnut, could you please help me out?" said Hiccup.

"And do what?" Tuffnut sobbed.

"Calm your chicken!" said Hiccup. "It's not doing any of us any good to have the entire Edge freaking out."

Tuffnut made his way over to Chicken to comfort her. "I'm here, Chicken. Don't you worry. Everything is gonna turn out…" Tuffnut then cried and then hugged her. "I can't lie to a chicken!"

"You know, that'd go much easier if you had some Monstrous Nightmare gel," said Snotlout leaning against the doorway. "Plus, you could get yourself some rotisserie chicken while you're at it." He then chuckled and began to rub his stomach. "That sounds good."

Tuffnut then tackled Snotlout in a blind rage. Hiccup watched as Tuffnut lifted Snotlout up in a neck lock.

"You apologised to her now! You hear me?" Tuffnut yelled.

"No!" Snotlout yelled.

"Nobody's rotisserie Chicken," Tuffnut yelled. "Nobody! So you keep Monstrous Nightmare gel away from her!"

"Actually, Tuff, Snotlout may be onto something," said Hiccup getting onto his feet.

"Oh, sure, what's next, roasting Toothless?" said Tuffnut, free Snotlout in depression.

"Just stay with me here," said Hiccup as he made his way over Hookfang.

He then scraped the blade of his knife over Hookfang covering it in gel. He then made his way to Barf and Belch.

"You remember when we were at Melody Island?" Hiccup asked holding the knife towards Belch, who sparked it and set it alight.

Tuffnut just looked at him in horror as Hiccup made his way back to Chicken. "Don't do it, Hiccup! You'll singe her little feathers. And that's all she has in the whole wide world. Except me, of course. Feathers on me."

Hiccup then placed the flaming knife close it towards the amber cocoon and Chicken clucked fearfully at it.

"I'm just doing enough to get it started," said Hiccup as he placed the blazing knife onto the cocoon. "I won't go deep enough to get remotely close to Chicken." He then removed the blade and Chicken was perfectly fine. "See?"

Hiccup then looked to Toothless. "Now, Toothless?"

Toothless slowly placed one of his claws onto the cocoon and quickly crushed it with a single swipe. Chicken was now free, but she fainted in shock.

Tuffnut then shoved Hiccup away and pick Chicken up. "Chicken is free! Chicken is free!"

They then heard the familiar cries of Garff and they turned to discover Ragnar and Heather, who was carrying Garff in her arms, had just entered the clubhouse.

The moment she saw him Chicken ruffled her feathers fearfully. "You!" Tuffnut glared at him as he pulled Chicken as far away as he could from him. "We need to remove Garffiljorg from the island, immediately!"

"Okay, Tuff, don't you think you're overreacting?" Hiccup asked as he got back onto his feet.

"NONSENSE!" Tuffnut yelled tossing Chicken into the air.

Hiccup quickly grabbed Chicken before she hit the floor and place are safely on the ground.

"It is getting difficult to handle this guy, Hiccup," Astrid admitted. "You gotta admit."

"Yeah, even Bing, Bam and Boom weren't this much trouble and at least then we had Thornado to help us," said Ragnar. "So far the only time he stopped crying was when Chicken sang to him."

"Their right, Hiccup, I mean he just when after Chicken. How long before he goes after one of us?" Fishlegs added.

"He's got a go!" Snotlout yelled and made his way over to Garff. "Back to Melody Island with you."

Hiccup quickly stopped him. "Snotlout, did you forget how the Deathsong tried to eat all of us and our dragons?" he asked.

"Well, I had, and to you just brought it up," Snotlout admitted. "Thank you for that."

"Oh, no, no, it is too dangerous to go back," said Astrid.

"I only make the odd trip rarely just to grab some amber and I can't sneak around with Garff crying all the time," said Ragnar.

"And we don't even know if a baby dragon can bond with a dragon that's not its parent," Fishlegs pointed out.

"You guys, he's too young to know right from wrong," said Heather looking at Garff sympathetically. "He's just following his instincts. I know what it's like to be all alone in the world. We can't just shun him."

Hiccup thought for a moment. "Heather's right," he said. "We have trained everything from a Night Fury to a Night Terror. We can certainly train him not eat us. Right?"

"Yeah, we can try," said Fishlegs.

"We owe it to Garff," Heather nodded.

"Speak for yourselves," Tuffnut muttered.

"What about that?" Snotlout yelled gesturing to Garff's crying. "Does anyone else, not named Hiccup, have an idea before I take a running leap off the top of the Edge?"

"Nobody say a word," said Astrid quickly smirking.

"Funny, Astrid," Snotlout muttered. "By the way, I'm over you, in case you haven't heard. And I'm just being honest with you, because I'm nothing if not honest. Did you hear that, Heather?"

Heather, however, was actually humming and Garff's crying began to quieten. She then began to sing:

" _The sky is dark_

 _And the hills are white,_

 _As the Storm King_

 _Speeds from the North tonight._ "

Garff battery stopped crying now and seem to be falling asleep and Heather kept on singing her lullaby:

" _And this is the song_

 _The Storm King sings,_

 _As over the world his cloak he flings."_

Everyone was staring at Heather as she sang, because Garff was now sleeping soundly in her arms.

" _Sleep, sleep, little one, sleep;_

 _He rested his wings_

 _And gruffly sings._

 _Sleep, little one, sleep."_

"That was—that was just beautiful, Heather," said Ragnar breathlessly.

Snotlout began mimicking kisses and imitated Ragnar. "That was just beautiful, Heather," he said and kept on mimicking kisses.

Astrid just groaned at him in disgust and then turned to the others. "Thank Thor something worked," she said.

"Thank Ragnar, he's the one who gave me the idea," said Heather.

"I did?" Ragnar frowned.

"When you mention how he only stayed calm when Chicken sang to him," Heather reminded.

"Well, would you look at that? Garff wasn't the only one it worked on," said Fishlegs pointing at the twins, who were now fast asleep along with Chicken in their dragon.

"It makes perfect sense," said Hiccup quietly so not awake Garff. "The Deathsong sings to its prey to draw them in. That might be the primary way it communicates."

"And it might help us train it," Heather added.

"Interesting," said Hiccup.

"It's worth a shot," said Ragnar.

"Yak dung!" Snotlout coughed.

He carved a little too loudly and Garff awoke and began crying again.

"Well, you better keep singing then," Snotlout smiled at Heather.

"You mean, 'we'!" Hiccup yelled.

"I do?" Snotlout blinked.

"Oh, yes, you do," said Heather.

"Oh, yes, of course, I do," Snotlout frowned still not understanding what they meant.

* * *

Hiccup took Garff towards the lagoon, he then placed him down onto the ground and began to sing.

" _Now listen my young dragon friend_

 _And I will tell a tale,_

 _Of days when the Vikings feared the sound_

 _Of monsters' distant wail."_

He was relieved to see that Garff had stopped singing which proved his theory that the Deathsong spoke through songs or rhythmic tune.

" _For was a time not long ago_

 _When wars were bravely fought;_

 _Against a foe we feared_

 _Before a lesson we were taught._

 _That night of fury_

 _One did dare to set aside his dread,_

 _And placed his hand_

 _Upon wing at villain's gentle head._

 _Now time has passed,_

 _And what was once our cursed enemy_

 _Now carries us to battle_

 _Against those across the sea!_ "

He then heard Garff spat and looked down to see that his prosthetic leg had been glued upon with amber.

"Ugh!" he said.

* * *

Later that evening, it was Fishlegs legs turn. He was playing a tune on his panpipes to calm Garff down. However, before Garff fell asleep, he kept on spotting amber at Fishlegs, who kept on dodging it as he played.

He only stopped when Garff was fast asleep on the ground he gave a sigh of relief. He then turned and saw Meatlug was covered with spots of amber.

* * *

When Garff woke up that night it was Snotlout's turn to take care of him. He was flying around the Edge on top of a blazing Hookfang.

" _I killed my first boar_

 _When I was just a boy,_

 _A big ol' battle axe_

 _Was my favourite toy._

 _Each of my enemies,_

 _They all have been destroyed._

 _For I am Snotlout, oy, oy, oy!_

 _Snotlout, Snotlout, oy, oy oy!_

 _He's all man and you're all boy._

 _Yes, I said it, try me if you dare,_

 _I'll duel you to the bone_

 _With my steely glare!"_

* * *

The twins were sleeping soundly in their heart, but were awakened by the cries of a baby dragon. When Tuffnut opened the door he found Snotlout standing there covered in amber with a crying Garff in his hand.

"You guys are up, take him," said Snotlout.

"No, no, no!" said Tuffnut firmly as he backed away.

Chicken then came wandering in and Garff stopped crying to look at her. He then licked his lips and Chicken quickly hit behind Tuffnut's leg.

"He's fine, he just gets a little cranky when the music stops," he then dropped Garff onto the floor and quickly made his way outside. "Okay? That's all. So ha-ha, you're gonna have so much fun."

He then closed the door behind him, got on Hookfang and flew off laughing.

Garff quickly made his way over to Chicken licking his lips. Scene he had no choice, Tuffnut began to sing:

" _No, Garff, no,_

 _You must not hurt Chicken._

 _For Chicken is a friend_

 _Will see you to the end._ "

Ruffnut then shoved her brother the way and sang:

" _No, Garff, no,_

 _You cannot eat Tuff's chicken._

 _Eating that bird's heart_

 _Will tear Tuffnut's apart."_

Tuffnut then got back onto his feet and sang:

" _Why must you eat my pet?_

 _It's the only one I'll get._

 _And then all I'll do is fret_

 _Because we only just met._

 _Something else that rhymes with met."_

Ruffnut then shoved him out of the way again and sang:

" _But, how long, how long?_

 _How long can we keep this up?_

 _Can we keep this up? Keep this up?_ "

Chicken then jumped on top of Tuffnut head and began crowing.

Garff then tackle them to the ground and they screamed.

* * *

Hiccup, meanwhile, was at his hut.

The flaming knife had given him an idea and he was busy fiddling with the sword. He had hollowed out the hilt and began to pour Monstrous Nightmare gel into it. The gel be undercover the blade and he began pressing a switch on the hilt in the hopes to spark it, but nothing.

"Hmm. Well, that was supposed to work," he said.

"Hiccup!" a crowd of voices yelled.

When he got outside he found the other Riders and their dragons covered in amber, it became apparently clear that training Garff had not been so successful as he had hoped.

"This is officially out of hand! We cannot go on like this!" said Astrid firmly hopping off Stormfly.

The other Riders agreed in a chorus of sounds.

"But we can't abandon him," said Heather firmly, who was actually carrying Garff in her arms. "We just can't! I'd never forgive myself!"

"We won't abandon him," Hiccup assured. "We'll do what we should have done to begin with. We'll take him to be with his own kind."

Hiccup then press the switch on his sword and then it ignited.

Astrid looked at him as if he was crazy. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Yes, we're going to Melody Island define that Deathsong," said Hiccup looking at his sword which was blazing like a torch.

* * *

The next morning they all gathered at the Dome, Heather was humming gently to Garff to keep them quiet. The other Riders meanwhile were preparing their journey, which was not going to be an easy one.

"Hey, genius, have you thought of the fact that the Deathsong mind-melts our dragons?" Snotlout asked.

"Actually, I have," said Hiccup.

"Good, good, good, good, good, good," said Snotlout. "So do you have a plan for that, or are we just gonna wing it?"

"Pun intended," Tuffnut announced as Hiccup drop something into his hand. He then chuckled "Get it?"

Hiccup shook his head as he placed something in his sister's hand.

Tuffnut then began flapping his arms like wings. "You said 'wing it'. You know, and dragons have—"

"We get it, Tuff," said Astrid.

"We're gonna handle that, Snotlout, by using these," said Hiccup as he placed the same stuff in Ragnar and Fishlegs hands.

"Moss ear plugs! Awesome!" said Fishlegs excitedly.

"Wish I thought of these every time I made a trip to Melody Island," said Ragnar. "I always had a go at night when the Deathsong's asleep."

"I custom-made these for each dragon to keep out the Deathsong's call," said Hiccup handing a pair of earplugs to Astrid.

"Great. As if this guy needed another reason not to listen," Snotlout muttered gesturing to Hookfang.

Hookfang snorted at him.

"You didn't happen to make any for us, did you?" Astrid smiled.

Snotlout began laughing sarcastically. "Very funny, Astrid. You should take that comedy routine on the road."

"Maybe I will," said Astrid as she mounted Stormfly and then took off.

"Oh. 'Maybe I will'," Snotlout muttered. "Execution because it's completely contextual."

* * *

Hours later they, with the dragons wearing the most earplugs, they flew over towards Melody Island. Heather had insisted carrying Garff, who was now asleep in her arms.

"Fishlegs, how did you swing that?" Hiccup asked looking back at the husky Viking.

"Dragon Nip!" said Fishlegs holding out the weed. "I wasn't entirely sure it would work on this particular species. It only took a couple of tries to get close enough to knock the little guy out." He then looked down apologetically at Meatlug, who was covered in amber and snorting at him. "Sorry, girl."

"Just make sure he's awake when we get there," said Hiccup. "We need him alert and focused."

As they were flying Astrid was cheering up their spirits by making jokes about Snotlout, much to the amusement of everyone and much to Snotlout dismay.

"How do you get a one-armed Jorgenson out of the tree?" Astrid asked. "You waved them!"

They all laughed, except for Snotlout.

"Wave to him, that's not even funny," Snotlout muttered under his breath. "Oh, I just got it, it is funny."

"How do you sink a Jorgenson battleship?" Astrid asked. "You put it in the water."

Again they all laughed, apart from Snotlout.

"Keep them rolling!" Ragnar yelled.

"Yeah, more!" Heather yelled.

Snotlout mimic their laughter bitterly. "That's right, laugh, all of you," he said laughing sarcastically. "But don't come running to me when you're out of Nightmare gel."

"All right, gang, the Deathsong strike is very precise," said Hiccup as Melody Island came into view. "Streamlined. So we need to spread out. That way, you can only go after one of us at a time."

* * *

They then flew down around Melody Island and began searching for the Deathsong.

It in take them long to find its cave and while Hiccup when to investigate asked began telling one of her Jorgenson jokes.

"Hey, how do you confuse a Jorgenson?" Astrid asked. "Put him in a round arena and talent go to the corner."

They all laughed and even Hookfang did a dragon's equivalent of a chuckle.

"You don't even understand jokes," Snotlout glared at his dragon.

Hookfang simply huffed.

Hiccup then soon emerged out of the cave.

"It's not in there," he said. "That's good news for Garff."

"And bad news for us," said Snotlout.

Hiccup then mounted Toothless. "All right, let's find this guy."

* * *

They began flying around the island and eventually they did hear the Deathsong's growls indicating they were getting close. Fortunately, this time their dragons weren't drawn to it as they were last time.

"The earplugs are working, Hiccup," said Fishlegs.

"Great. Now let's get in closer," said Hiccup. "Everyone on high alert."

"No kidding," Snotlout muttered.

They then flew down towards the ground and into the valley they were trapped in last time. Inside they found dragon bones covered in amber. Then Heather noticed Garff sterling.

"Oh, no. Hiccup," she warned.

"Yeah, I got it," Hiccup nodded realising they did not have much time.

He signalled for the other riders to stop and Heather began humming trying to keep Garff quiet and Ragnar tried to help by humming as well. Then suddenly Heather was struck by a shot of amber.

"Ragnar!" she yelled.

"Heather!" Ragnar yelled, before he too was struck by amber and landed opposite Heather.

The two of them were now trapped in amber cocoons on top of their dragons, who were now unable to move or fly. They looked up and saw the Deathsong flying towards them roaring in a humming sort of way.

Hiccup turned to the other Riders. "Remember, if we don't bunch up it can't—" However, before he finished, the Deathsong fired shots of amber at them. "Heads up!"

Hiccup was able to dodge the shots, but unfortunately the others weren't so lucky. With the dragons now trapped within the amber and them stuck on their saddles they began crashing towards the ground.

"Aah! I forgot how much I hate this guy!" Snotlout yelled as he and Hookfang crashed to the ground.

The Deathsong then landed in front of them and roared at them. The Riders tried their best to free themselves, but the amber was too thick and they were left at the mercy of the Deathsong again.

However, before it struck, Garff had awoken and was flying down towards it. He then began to cry at the top of his voice and it seem to have given the Deathsong pause.

"Never thought I'd be happy to hear that," said Snotlout.

The Deathsong looked down at Garff, who stopped crying and then it shot amber right in front of him. Seconds later Garff mimicked him.

"Well, at least they're not shooting it at us," said Hiccup.

He then watched as the Deathsong began to roar in a melodically way at Garff. When Garff did nothing, he frowned and roar in the same way again. Getting the idea, Garff began screeching melodically as well.

The Riders watched as the Deathsong lowered its head at Garff and roared melodically again. Garff screeched melodically at it again as if the two of them were communicating.

Hiccup then landed on the ground and dismounted Toothless. "Hey, I think they're bonding," he said.

However, when Garff stopped is melodically screeching the Deathsong slapped him with its tail sending him flying into the wall of the canyon.

"Garff!" Heather yelled.

"This doesn't bode well," said Ragnar.

"We're dead," said Snotlout.

"Hiccup!" Fishlegs yelled.

Hiccup quickly drew his sword, but before he could do anything both he and Toothless were shot by the Deathsong's amber. The two of them were now stuck in place unable to move and Hiccup's sword was not that of his hand.

"I knew this was going to be bad," Snotlout moaned. "Why does no one listen to me?"

Garff then regained consciousness and the Deathsong began roaring melodically again. Fishlegs began to whimper and humming and Garff began to mimic the tune which seemed to annoy the Deathsong.

Snotlout glared over at Fishlegs. "Fishface! What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry, I hum when I'm nervous," Fishlegs whimpered.

"Hum later!" Snotlout snapped. "I heard they love humming in Valhal—"

"Hey, that's my favourite lullaby, and I was the one who taught it to Garff," Fishlegs said defensively.

"Well, that might be the problem," said Hiccup, realising the problem they were facing. "He's singing our songs, the ones we sang to him, and the Deathsong doesn't like them."

"You know, everyone's a critic," said Snotlout.

The Deathsong was now roaring melodically at Garff angrily. Eventually, Garff ran off and hide behind a rock.

The Deathsong then turned to face them with a hungry look on its face. It kept on roaring melodically as if he was expecting and one of them to sing the right song.

"So, what do we do?" Astrid asked.

"Uh, keep singing," Hiccup suggested. "Maybe we can find a song it does like."

"I'm sorry, but I need some time to prepare," said Tuffnut. "This golden throat is a very delicate instrument."

Then the Deathsong grabbed him, pulled him off Belch and lifted him up into the air. Tuffnut decided that he didn't need to prepare and began to sing:

" _Oh, Deathsong, oh, Deathsong;_

 _You're big and mean and you kill a lot_

 _And you spit out goo_

 _That looks like snot!"_

Apparently the Deathsong didn't like the song, because he began shaking Tuffnut around frantically.

"Help!" Tuffnut yelled.

Snotlout looked at the Deathsong fearfully and began to sing:

" _Ooh, it's a scary, scary, bad dragon;_

 _He's gonna kill us all_

 _He's gonna kill us_

 _I hope it doesn't_

 _I hope he leaves soon._ "

"Hey, that doesn't rhyme!" Ruffnut yelled.

"Oh, like it knows!" Snotlout snapped.

However, apparently the Deathsong did know, because it stop shaking Tuffnut and glared down at Snotlout and began roaring melodically. It then dropped Tuffnut.

"Okay, sorry," said Snotlout apologetically.

" _The hardness of your goo_

 _Gives me déjà vu._ "

"Yep, that it. Much better," said Tuffnut.

Astrid then began to sing:

" _The beauty of your wings_

 _Makers us all want to sing._

As they sung Garff came out of hiding and began to move his head to the rhythm. Hiccup, Ragnar and Heather then joined in.

" _Want to sing!_

 _Want to sing!_

 _Want to sing!"_

The Deathsong seem to be liking the song they were sitting as it was moving its head to the rhythm. Ruffnut then began to sing herself:

" _All of us want to seeing your death song,_

 _We all want to be like you and growl!_ "

It was then that the Deathsong charge straight towards Ruffnut and she screamed. Then out of nowhere Garff flew in and began screeching melodically as he flew up into the air. Apparently this time the Daethsong like the tune and flew up after him and began mimicking the rhythm.

Garff then looked down at Heather, who was smiling up at him.

"Go on, Garff, it's okay," she assured.

They then watched relieved as the two Deathsong flew away.

"I don't believe it," said Hiccup shaking his head in disbelief. "Garff saved us."

"Yep, we saved him, and he saved us," Heather smiled.

Tuffnut then grasped. "I just had a thought. Now that they're both on the same team, what's stopping them from both eating us?" he asked.

Toothless then used his tail to hand Hiccup his sword, which ignited. He then used the blade to free himself and Toothless from the amber.

"Hiccup, that's brilliant!" said Fishlegs in awe. "If you find the weak spot in the cocoon, the rest will crack and fall apart."

"You never cease to amaze me," Ragnar smiled.

Hiccup just smiled. "Now, let's get out of here before they get their appetite back."

* * *

Once Hiccup freed them they mounted their dragons and flew away from Melody Island. Hiccup just looked at his new sword smiling.

"You know, if that were, like twice the size, it would make a really cool sword," said Astrid.

"Exactly," Hiccup nodded and began studying it. "I'm gonna call this 'Inferno'. I mean look at it."

"Like kinda like it," said Ragnar.

"Of course, I have to make some adjustments. Lengthen the shaft, add another canister or more Monstrous Nightmare gel, make the gas canister airtight." The other Riders just looked at him in amusement. "Oh, I'm getting to work on this thing right away."

Astrid just shook her head as he flew off ahead of them. "And that's the last we'll see of Hiccup this week."

They all laughed as they flew back towards the Edge. As they flew Snotlout began to carry on his song.

" _Ooh, he's a scary bad dragon;_

 _He didn't kill us,_

 _I'm glad he didn't_

 _Now we can go home._ "


	36. Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Hiccup and the other Riders were hunting down several heavily armed Dragon Hunter ships. They soon landed on a sea stack and Hiccup pulled out his spyglass to look around and spotted three ships on the horizon.

"What are we landing for?" Snotlout asked as he watched as the other lot Riders landed. "They're pulling away. Hookfang, come on!"

"No," said Hiccup. "There's too many and they're sailing in tight formation."

"I'll show you tight formation," Snotlout muttered as he landed on the sea stack.

"Hiccup's right," said Fishlegs. "We'll never be able to approach that convoy without being spotted first."

"And there's no cover faster hide behind, they'll see us for miles," said Ragnar.

"We need a distraction," said Astrid.

"Leave that to us," said Hiccup as he began to rummage through his satchel.

He then pulled something out and show them a yellow tailfin with the Strike Class symbol on it.

"Hiccup, this is no time to play dress-up," said Snotlout furiously.

"And how can you even think of wearing yellow after Snoggletog?" said Tuffnut shaking his head disapprovingly. "That, my friend, is a fashion faux pas."

Ruffnut look at it in disgust. "How gauche!"

Hiccup ignored them and began replacing Toothless' tailfin. "This one is lighter and stiffer. It's made with a thin sheet of Gronckle Iron," he explained. Once he was finished Toothless lifted his tail up and began extending the tailfin. "It's not great for long-distance flying, but…"

"The added stability will allow you to fly along the water surface without using any wing-flap," Fishlegs finished.

"And thus allowing you to sneak past the Dragon Hunters from beneath without them hearing you," said Ragnar looking immensely impressed. "Impressive."

"Exactly," said Hiccup as he mounted Toothless. "We're gonna glide in right under their sight line. Watch for my signal!"

They then watch as Hiccup took off and then glide along the water surface.

"Honestly, I would have stuck with the red," said Tuffnut. "Yellow with Night Fury black? Really? Puh-lease."

Hiccup and Toothless were approaching the Hunters ships and as expected they hadn't seen them yet since they were flying so low and silent. They didn't shoot out in front of the shelves until they were right past them.

"Now, bud!" Hiccup yelled.

Toothless then fired a plasma blast on the lead ship which got the attention of the other Hunters.

"Dragon Riders! Defend the cargo at all costs!" roared one of the ship's captains.

However the captain was then blasted by another plasma blast.

* * *

From the sea stack, the other Riders saw the ships now flames. It appears that Hiccup's diversion had worked.

"That's our signal," said Fishlegs. "Let's go."

"About time," said Snotlout. "Giddy up!"

The other riders then took off heading straight towards the Hunter ships.

* * *

Meanwhile the Hunters were having their hands full dealing with Hiccup and Toothless, who had just taken out one of their net launches. A Hunter tried to snack them with a bola, but they dodged it.

Then Snotlout came flying in and began setting the sales ablaze. The other ships had their problems, especially when Astrid and Stormfly began firing spikes at them. Hiccup and Ragnar just watched as the Riders attacked the ships.

"Windshear, down!" Heather yelled zooming past them.

Windshear then began slicing through the sails, preventing them from moving.

Soon the Riders landed on the leading ship and the Hunters knew they were beaten and surrendered.

"We'll be taking a card now," said Hiccup places hands on his hips.

* * *

Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs then entered the cargo bay in order to free the dragons the Hunters were holding captive.

"Come on, guys," said Hiccup. "Let's free these dragon so we can help with the other ships."

"I hope we didn't startle them too much with all that commotion," said Fishlegs as they ran through the cargo bay. "Poor things."

"I don't think we need to be concerned, Fishlegs," said Ragnar stopping in his tracks.

He was right, there were no dragons and instead there was blocks of marble all over the place.

"Guys…" Fishlegs said staring at the marble, "where are all the dragons?"

* * *

Meanwhile above deck, the twins just finished tying up the Hunters.

"Tuff, you think we tied these ropes too tight?" Ruffnut asked.

"No. You can never be too tight," said Tuffnut.

"Yeah, good point," said Ruffnut as they watched the Hunters struggling to free themselves.

Then Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs returned to the deck, still mighty confused about what they had found. They were soon met by Astrid and Heather, who were checked the other ships.

"Hiccup, the ships don't have any dragons on them," said Astrid. "Just marble blocks."

"Why were they fight so hard to protect a bunch of rocks?" Heather frowned.

They then heard some faint shrieks in the distance.

"Hiccup?" said Fishlegs looking up.

"What is that?" Snotlout asked.

There was definitely something flying towards them in the distance and at first it looked like a large flock of bats.

"Whatever it is, it's moving fast," said Astrid.

Hiccup looked through his spyglass to get a better look and then he saw different species of dragons flying straight towards them. He sighed.

"Bad news?" Fishlegs guessed.

"It's not great," said Hiccup. He then grabbed Fishlegs. "Duck!"

"Dragon stampede! Take cover!" Snotlout yelled.

"No. We need to get in the air!" Hiccup yelled as he switched Toothless' tailfins again.

"What? Why?" Snotlout yelled.

They then mounted the dragons and followed Hiccup, who were taken off into the air. They then began flying through the mass of dragons, which was anything but easy.

"Hookfang!" Snotlout yelled as a Gronckle headed straight towards them.

"Windshear, look out!" Heather yelled as she spun to avoid a collision with a Monstrous Nightmare.

"Watch out, Skull!" Ragnar yelled as a Deadly Nadder flew past them.

"Hiccup, where are we headed?" Fishlegs asked.

"Look, we're gonna follow this stampede to its source," said Hiccup. "These dragons, they're fleeing for a reason."

It took quite a bit of manoeuvrability, but finally they managed to get past the stampede. There they saw an island in the distance and then they heard a great big _booming_ sound emanating from it.

"Do you hear that?" Fishlegs asked.

"We need to take a closer look," said Hiccup.

However, the twins were still trapped in the stampede and several dragons were flying straight towards them.

"Incoming!" Tuffnut yelled.

A Deadly Nadder then slammed into Barf and Belch and the twins found themselves spinning uncontrollably as they crashed down towards the island.

"Ruff! Tuff!" Heather yelled.

"I regret nothing!" Tuffnut yelled.

"I regret everything!" Ruffnut yelled.

They watch as the twins crash landed in the forest and judging by the movement of the trees it was quite a rough landing.

The Riders soon landed on the island and began looking for any trace of the twins.

"Ruff? Tuff?" Hiccup called.

"It's all good in the archipela-hood," said Tuffnut as he emerged from the forest, but seconds later he collapsed to the ground.

Ruffnut then appeared helping Barf and Belch along, who had one broken wing and a broken leg. "But it look like Barf and Belch are going anywhere for while," she said.

"I'll see what I can do," said Ragnar as he dismounted Skull and began rummaging through his satchel.

Snotlout then approached Hiccup. "Perfect. Great plan, Hiccup," he said in a sarcastic tone.

However, Hiccup wasn't listening and that's when Snotlout noticed that he was looking down at a dock with Dragon Hunter ships.

"Hiccup, though ships are just like the ones from the convoy," Fishlegs frowned as he made his way over to him.

They then heard the sound of men grunting.

"Hide!" he whispered.

They quickly ran into the forest and hid behind the trees and seconds later they saw Dragon Hunters pulling carts of marble blocks towards the docks.

Hiccup then looked to Toothless. "Come on, Toothless," he said.

Seconds later, Toothless jumped out right in front of the Hunters blocking their path.

* * *

A minute later the Hunters were tied up and struggling to free themselves, to no avail.

"Do your worst," said the lieutenant. "I stared down the mouth of a Whispering Death. You don't scare me."

"Oh, really tough guy, huh?" said Tuffnut glaring down at the lieutenant. "Put your mace where your mouth is."

"You won't get anything out of us, you dragon-riding dogs!" the lieutenant snarled.

Hiccup then looked to Snotlout, who snapped his fingers. Hookfang then showed up and ignited roaring at the Hunters ferociously.

"Okay, I'll talk," said the lieutenant fearfully.

Hiccup and Snotlout smiled at one another.

"Two convoys left earlier this morning headed for…"

Unfortunately, before they can get anything else out of him, Tuffnut whacked him on the head with a tree branch and knocking him out cold.

"I thought that I would never shut up," said Tuffnut. He then looked to the others. "Am I right?"

"Tuff, he was just about to tell us everything," Fishlegs moaned.

"He was?" Tuffnut blinked.

Luckily the lieutenant wasn't as out cold as they fought, but unluckily Tuffnut slammed the tree branch onto his head again and knocking him out cold for good. He then looked at the others the apologetically.

"Sorry. It's a reflex," he said.

"And this is why we never let you interrogate someone," said Ragnar facepalming himself.

Hiccup sighed and then turned to Astrid. "Astrid, you, Heather, and Snotlout get out there and see if you can track down at other convoy, find out where it's headed."

"On it," said Astrid.

Hiccup then looked at the others. "Meanwhile, the rest of us will scout this island for more answers."

They began making their way through the forest and every now and then they heard a massive bang that created small earthquakes. They eventually made their out of the forest and found a canyon.

Hiccup at once pulled out his spyglass and looked through it. There he discovered that it was not a canyon, but a marble quarry and mining the marble were Dragon Hunters. They appear to be using massive wrecking balls to mine the marble which cause the earthquakes.

"This operation is huge," Hiccup stared.

"That explains the booming," said Fishlegs noticing the wrecking balls.

"But what's so important about the marble?" Ragnar frowned.

"And what does Viggo what with all this marble?" Hiccup frowned handing the spyglass to Fishlegs.

"I don't know, but it can't be anything good knowing Viggo," said Ragnar.

Hiccup nodded. "Okay. Ruff, Tuff, you'll strike on the ground. Ragnar, Fishlegs, we'll hit from the air," he said as he mounted Toothless. "Cover me while we take out those wrecking balls. We need to find out what's going on here and what Viggo has to do with it."

Hiccup then took off. Fishlegs how looked at the lacking bald one more time and grasped. He then handed the spyglass to Ragnar and his eyes widened.

Hiccup and Toothless were not directly over the wrecking balls. "Okay, bud."

Toothless prepare for plasma blast, but then before he could fire Ragnar and Fishlegs place themselves in front of them.

"No! Don't!" Fishlegs cried.

"Hold your fire!" Ragnar yelled.

"What that—?" Hiccup stared pulling Toothless back.

"Hiccup, look closer. Those aren't wrecking balls," said Fishlegs. "Those are Catastrophic Quakens!"

Hiccup looked down and saw that Fishlegs was right. A Hunter with a massive hammer slammed it on the ground and the wrecking balls blew up revealing themselves to be Catastrophic Quakens.

"Hiccup, they're using Quakens for the demolition work," said Fishlegs looking at the chained Quakens in horror.

Hiccup could already see a problem. "Fishlegs, I would love to discuss this, but…"

The Quakens then rolled themselves into a ball and slammed right into the canyon wall and created a massive shockwave that ran through the entire island. Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs flew away, but they were unable to escape the shockwave and were blown off course.

Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs were able to recover, but the twins, whose dragon were still unable to fly, were not as lucky. The shockwave sent them flying straight into the forest.

"The twins!" Hiccup cast.

They quickly flew down into the forest and looked around for the twins, but saw no sign of them.

"I'm sure they're okay, bud," said Hiccup as he dismounted Toothless. "Those to have survived worse."

The ground shook again indicating that the Hunters had forced the Quakens to strike the canyon wall again.

"On your feet, dragon," a voice cried from the distance.

Fishlegs when to investigate and found that one of the Quakens, exhausted from all the pounding it was forced to do, was worn out.

"Oh, Thor!" Fishlegs asked.

The Hunter shoved his hammer right into it as a second Hunter slammed his hammer to the ground pointing at the canyon wall.

Fishlegs' eyes widened. "It's the vibrations, guys."

"Vibrations?" Hiccup frowned.

"The Hunters have trained the Quakens to react to the vibrations when the hammer hits the ground," he said and looked away in disgust. "Trapping them, then fighting them, now working them against their will. This is monstrous! I know these dragons. They may seem dangerous and aggressive at first, but they have a softer side."

"I know," said Hiccup. "No Dragon deserve to be treated like this."

"We'll find a way to free them, Fishlegs. We promise," Ragnar assured.

"Tell me how were gonna free them?" Fishlegs asked.

Hiccup and Ragnar looked at one another, unsure how to answer this question. "Well…" Hiccup began.

"Whatever you're planning, you can count on me to hit someone with a branch," said a voice behind them.

They turned around and found the twins appearing out of the woods, looking the worse for wear.

"Ruff. Tuff. You're okay!" Hiccup then notice Barf and Belch limping out of the woods. "Wait, is Belch?"

Belch looked a little woozy and dizzy, which made the movement difficult and woozy.

"Oh, he's fine," Tuffnut assured as he took off his helmet and began hitting it. "We Thorstons are known for extremely thick craniums."

"Yeah. Was used to wear the skulls of our ancestors as helmets," said Ruffnut and approve the point she slammed a wooden stick on top of Tuffnut's head which broke to pieces.

"See? Thick skulls," said Tuffnut laughing, before he toppled over and was knocked unconscious.

"That explain so much," said Ragnar, who looked both impressed and disgusted.

"Okay, there's a deeply disturbed image I would very much like to forget," said Hiccup.

Toothless did a dragon's equivalent of a laugh.

"So what's the plan to free those dragons, boss man?" Ruffnut asked.

"I am hurt," said Tuffnut, who would regain consciousness.

"Ah, well, there's not a lot of manoeuvrability in that quarry," said Hiccup. "But now that I think about it, I might have something that could get as close enough to cause a distraction for Fishlegs and Ragnar to infiltrate."

Hiccup then began to reach into his saddle and pulled out another tailfin, but this one was blue with purple wavelike images on it.

* * *

Meanwhile, Astrid, Heather and Snotlout were looking for that convoy the Hunter had mentioned. So far they had no luck in finding the ships and flying around in silence.

"You know, I've been meaning to get this out in the open for while," he said, breaking the silence between the three of them. "But moments between the three of us don't have to be weird, guys.

"Why are you talking about?" Astrid frowned, not sure whether she wanted to find out.

"I realise that you're both into me and that's hard on our group dramatically," said Snotlout as he placed his hands behind his neck.

"What?" Astrid stared.

"Oh, no, he did not," said Heather shaking her head.

"But I think it can still work. We're all grown-ups," said Snotlout, completely oblivious to the looks of the two girls. "And I think you're both great. I really don't want you guys to take this one too hard. We got to keep it professional. It's best for the team you know."

Heather stared at Astrid in disbelief. "It he serious?" she asked gesturing to Snotlout.

"You have no idea," said Astrid shaking her head. She then looked forwards and saw something in the distance. "Wait! Up ahead!"

There they saw three Dragon Hunter ships in the distance.

"Looks like our missing convoy," said Heather.

"Let's hang back and see if they lead us to Viggo's delivery point," said Astrid.

They then flew into the clouds to hide from view from the ships.

"Seriously, can we talk about this, ladies?" Snotlout asked.

"Snotlout!" the two girls snapped.

* * *

Meanwhile at the quarry, a Hunter just noticed Hiccup and Toothless flying straight towards them.

"Dragon Riders!" he yelled as he got ready to fire an arrow.

He fired, but Hiccup and Toothless spun out of the way and Hiccup had a bit of a tough time trying to maintain their balance.

"Easy, bud. This new tail is sensitive," Hiccup reminded. "But it'll be easier to manoeuvre in that tight quarry. All right, we'll round up those Hunters and find out what Viggo is up to."

The two of them then began flying around the quarry and two Hunters began to take aim at him.

"I got you!" said one of them.

"Get them!" Ruffnut yelled as they ran past.

However, instead of unleashing gas, they unleashed sparks. The two Hunters just looked at them confused.

"It's gas, then spark!" Ruffnut reminded as Barf began to unleash some gas. "Belch, get with the program, man."

Belch then spark the gas.

The two Hunters were now even more confused, as the gas surrounded them.

"What do you reckon?" one of them asked.

However, before the other Hunter could answer there was a huge explosion and the twins cried out in excitement.

Meanwhile, Hiccup and Toothless were still flying around the quarry trying to get the Hunter's attention.

"Okay, we've got them distracted," said Hiccup. "Now release the Quakens!"

Ragnar and Fishlegs began flying down towards the trapped Quakens.

"Don't worry, Quakens, we are getting you out of here," Fishlegs assured them.

"We'll get those chains off you faster than you can say Hideous Zippleback," said Ragnar.

Meatlug then began to spew lava over the chains and Skull began melting the chains with his fire breath.

"Great work, Meatlug!" said Fishlegs rubbing Meatlug affectionately.

"Nice going, boy," said Ragnar passing Skull on the head.

The Hunters are just noticed that Ragnar and Fishlegs had just released the Quakens. Then they saw Hiccup and Toothless flying overhead.

"It's over. Now leave," said Hiccup in a commanding voice.

The two Hunters then laughed.

"That's not really the response I was expecting," said Hiccup.

A Hunter holding a large hammer then walked up. He then slammed it down onto the ground and the Quakens felt the vibrations and began to snarl. The Hunters then pointed their hammers towards Ragnar and Fishlegs.

Ragnar and Fishlegs saw as the two Quakens they had just freed rose up into the air and snarling at the two of them.

"This can't be good," said Ragnar.

Fishlegs looked at the Quakens confused. "What's the matter? You're free," he said.

The two Quakens then roared at them.

"Let's move it, Skull!" Ragnar yelled.

"Meatlug, look out!" Fishlegs yelled.

The two boys flew as fast they could away from the Quakens, which cut up into a ball and began rolling after them.

"Run!" Hiccup yelled.

Soon Ragnar, Fishlegs and the twins were trying to get away from the rolling Quakens, which were being egged on by the Hunters slamming their hammers onto the ground.

Hiccup and Toothless try to keep up with them, but Toothless' new tailfin wasn't designed for long distance flights.

Tuffnut turned his head and saw the Quakens rolling towards them. They were unable to fly since Barf and Belch's wing was still broken and they were unable to run as fast since one of their legs was also broken.

"Great!" he muttered and looked down at Belch. "Go left, Belch! Go left!"

Unfortunately, Ruffnut had told Barf to go right and as a result the two dragon's heads were wrestling on which way to run.

"Seriously?" Tuffnut yelled.

Hiccup could see the problem right away and looked down at Toothless. "Toothless, the twins will never be able to outrun those Quakens. We need a draw them away."

They flew over the Quakens and fired a plasma blast at them, causing them to stop in their tracks.

"I think we got their attention," said Hiccup. The Quakens rolled back to the normal form and growled at Hiccup and Toothless. "Uh, yeah, we did."

They then took off as fast as they could and the Quakens rolled back up into a ball and began chasing after them. Hiccup and Toothless flue through the forest doing some crazy manoeuvres to dodge the trees, but the Quakens simply smashing right through them and they were gaining.

It didn't help that the fact that Toothless tailfin was dragging them behind.

"Sorry, bud," said Hiccup apologetically. "I guess it's good for tight turns, not high altitudes." Toothless growled. "I know. I know. I'll work on it."

Hiccup quickly made a sharp turn in the hopes to get away from one of the Quakens. He managed to lose one, but the second one was hot on his tail and once they reach a clearing it jumped into the air and slammed into the ground. Next second the huge shockwave covered the place and they were blown off by the shockwave.

Then the second Quakens appeared in front of them, jumped and also slammed into the ground. Now he was being hit back and forth by the shockwave emanating from the two Quakens.

Up in the air both Ragnar and Fishlegs saw everything.

"They're not gonna survive long under that kind of punishment," said Ragnar.

"They don't send the chance against those angry Quakens," said Fishlegs. "I understand those dragons better than anyone. I'm the only one that can stop this."

Ragnar stared at him. "Fishlegs, wait!" he yelled.

But too late, Fishlegs and Meatlug flew down towards the Quakens as the continual chasing down Hiccup and Toothless like a pair of mad boulders. They then hovered off the ground and Hiccup and Toothless past him, but they remained where they were.

Fishlegs raises hand out in the hopes to stop the two Quakens without having to fight them.

"Hiccup!" Ragnar yelled.

Hiccup looked up and saw Ragnar pointing at Fishlegs. He quickly turned and saw what Ragnar was saying.

"Oh, he can't be thinking of training them! Fishlegs, get out of there!" Hiccup yelled.

Fishlegs however, remained where he was. "I know these dragons. I know these dragons."

He remained there no matter how close the Quakens came, but Meatlug seen there was no stopping them move out of the way just in time as they rolled past them. The two Quakens then jumped into the air, rolled into a ball and plummeted towards the ground right on top of Fishlegs and Meatlug.

"Oh, Thor!" Fishlegs moaned.

Fortunately, Hiccup was able to grab them before they were squashed by the Quakens. Unfortunately, they were struck by the shockwave and were blown way off course, everyone the Dragon Riders were blown away by the shockwave.

Hiccup coughed and began to brush the dust of way. "Everybody in one piece?" he asked.

"I'm fine and so is Skull," Ragnar groaned on top of Skull.

The twins were stuck up in a tree.

"We're good over here," said Ruffnut. "Except, Barf took a branch to the eye."

Barf raises head reveal a very bloodshot eye and Hiccup and Ragnar just looked at it in slight disgust.

Tuffnut then made his way over to them. "Oh! You guys are a hot mess. But I can work with it," he said.

While Ragnar went to help with Barf's eye, Hiccup helped Fishlegs up.

"Fishlegs, what were you doing out there?" Hiccup asked. "You nearly got yourself pulverised."

"They relate more to the cruelty of their captors, than to the kindness of somebody who wants to help them," said Fishlegs in shock.

"You know, I had a cousin in Stockholm that that happened to once," said Tuffnut.

"Fishlegs, freeing these dragons isn't gonna be easy," said Hiccup. "Especially if they don't want to be freed. Those Quakens have obviously been in captivity for a very long time."

"We'll find a way to help those Quakens," Ragnar assured. "It won't be easy, but will find a way. It just might take some time."

Fishlegs sighed. "There has to be a way to get through to them somehow," he said.

"Maybe. But we might also have to accept that it may be too late to save them," said Hiccup grimly. Fishlegs stared at him and Hiccup gave him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Fishlegs."

* * *

A few minutes later, Ragnar was fitting and eyepatch with a specialised ointment on it over Barf's bad eye.

"Cool," said Ruffnut.

"The ointment that eyepatch should ease the swelling," said Ragnar.

Then suddenly there was a massive thud and the entire ground shook indicating that the Hunters had restarted their excavation of marble again.

"We can't let them keep excavation continue," said Hiccup. "Viggo definitely needs this marble for something big."

"But we also can't risk harming the Quakens," said Fishlegs.

"I hate to say it, but I think were stumped this time," said Ragnar.

Tuffnut then sniffed something in the air. "Ugh. Barf, your gas breath. Pop in a mint," he said looking at Barf with a firmed expression.

"Tuff, that's not Barf's breath," said Hiccup.

"Is it mine?" Ruffnut asked and began to smell her breath. "Mmm. Fish brains."

Belch sniffed her breath and then fainted.

"Come on, woman, and he been through another already?" said Tuffnut.

Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs then saw a gas vein that had just appeared in front of them.

"It's a fissure. And gas?" Fishlegs frowned.

"And it doesn't look like that it was naturally made, look at the cracks," said Ragnar.

The entire island then rumbled.

"Quaken-related?" Tuffnut asked.

"No," said Hiccup. "That tremor wasn't Quaken-related. Not directly, at least."

"What you mean?" Fishlegs asked.

"Those area tremors that we thought were Quakens were actually the island's instability," Hiccup explained.

"Not surprising, given the fact that the Hunters are making the Quakens slam into the ground willy-nilly," said Ragnar.

"That's probably why those wild dragons were fleeing the island in the first place," said Fishlegs.

"Exactly," Hiccup nodded. "Like Ragnar said, the mining of the marble and the constant Quaken strikes are causing this island to become unstable."

"So, my breath is fine?" said Ruffnut.

"Ugh! Let's not get crazy," said Tuffnut. "You've got dragon breath. No offense, Barf."

"Fishlegs, maybe there is a way to stop this operation and get those Quakens off this island after all," said Hiccup.

* * *

Meanwhile, Astrid and the other Riders were still following the Dragon Hunter ships. They soon came to an island there was very familiar to all of them.

"Hey, does this place look familiar?" Snotlout asked pointing at the island.

"Yeah. Too familiar," said Heather.

"Viggo's base," Astrid gasped.

"I think we just figured out why Viggo need all that marble," said Snotlout looking towards the centre of the island.

In the centre of the island, they could see a large dome made of marble blocks.

"Look at that thing," said Heather in horror. "It's impenetrable."

"Almost impenetrable!" said Astrid pointing.

As they flew around they saw a gap in the dome which revealed Hunters still working on the dome inside. It appeared they were holding the dome by using marble pillars and they were setting up defences inside.

"What you say we make some renovations?" Snotlout asked with a smirk.

"For once, you actually didn't say something ridiculous and annoying," said Astrid.

"Aww, see? I knew we could make this work," said Snotlout.

Astrid rolled her eyes, she should have seen that one coming.

She then led them inside the dome and began blasting the inside. They were able to take up the catapults and net launches easy, but the marble blocks were another thing entirely.

"Hit them, Hookie!" Snotlout yelled and Hookfang fired a fire blast at one of the pillars, but it wasn't even singed. "It's not working."

"It's the marble!" Astrid yelled. "It must be impervious to dragon fire!"

"Then we need a different approach," said Heather.

She and Windshear flew down to one of the pillars and Windshear sliced tail on the marble, but it was as ineffective their fire attacks.

"Viggo's created the ultimate dragon-proof fortress," said Snotlout.

"We need to tell Hiccup what we found before another convoy arrives," said Astrid.

"One more shipment and this stronghold will be complete," said Heather.

"And no dragon will be able to get in. Or out of it."

* * *

Meanwhile at the quarry, the Hunters were still forcing the Quakens to estimate the marble, unaware of island's instability.

They only stopped working when, Toothless fired a plasma blast. They looked up and saw Hiccup and the other Riders on the edge of the quarry looking down at them.

"Shut down this quarry and leave while you can," said Hiccup. "Have you noticed the island's unstable?"

The Hunters looked at one another and then walked off.

"I knew you were reasonable," Hiccup smiled.

However, instead of leaving the quarry, they freed the Quakens from their chains. They then got the hammers ready and the Riders had a pretty good idea what they were going to order them to do.

"I don't think he's as reasonable as you think, Hiccup," said Tuffnut.

The Hunter then slammed his hammer into the ground and then pointed it straight at them. Immediately the two Quakens turned and looked up at them growling.

"Should have seen this one coming," said Ragnar.

"Everyone out!" Hiccup yelled.

The Quakens then rolled up into a ball and began rolling towards them. They just below the quarry ledge they were standing on and sent massive shockwaves across the ground knocking them off their feet. This of course created new fissures in the ground and gas exited from them.

"Okay, maybe the worst is over?" said Tuffnut hopefully. Then the ground shook violently. "I was wrong! Incorrect!"

The entire quarry began to cave in and the Hunters scattered and what was worse the cliffs of the island began to crumble away. The islands instability was spreading and they do know how long they had before the island sank into the sea.

Hiccup ran over to Toothless, but before he could mount him one of the Quakens flew up and rolled itself into a ball. Hiccup and Toothless took off, but they were caught by the shockwave and they fell into a fissure.

"Hiccup!" Fishlegs yelled.

Hiccup shook his head and looked up to see the Quaken looking down at him. Fortunately the fissure was too small for them to follow, but Hiccup did want to stay inside the fissure a moment longer. He quickly grabbed Toothless' original tailfin his satchel.

"Okay, bud, we can do this," he said as he switch the tailfins.

The Quaken roared at him and then fissure cracked under its weight. He then fell into the fissure and was completely submerged by rocks and was riding front of Hiccup and Toothless.

"Uh, Ragnar? Fishlegs?" said Hiccup.

The second Quaken then landed on the edge of the fissure and looked down into it. It was then that Ragnar and Fishlegs noticed that it wasn't attacking.

"You won't hurt your friend!" Fishlegs gasped.

"Makes sense, dragons do look out for one another," said Ragnar.

"Maybe there is a way to reach them then," said Fishlegs.

Then before Ragnar could stop him, he and Meatlug rushed out towards the Quaken. He then grabbed the hammer and looked firmly at the Quaken.

"Fishlegs! What are you doing?" Ragnar yelled.

"Reaching out to the Quakens!" Fishlegs yelled without turning his head. He then took in a deep breath. "Here goes nothing."

He then tapped the hammer onto the ground and the Quaken looked up at him. Fishlegs then raised his hand and rubbed it against Meatlug, who relaxed at his touch. The Quaken tilted its head, and familiar to this sort of treatment.

Fishlegs then pointed the hammer down to the fissure and Meatlug flew into it. The Quaken looked at Meatlug and then to Fishlegs, who raised his hand again. Fishlegs then pointed the hammer at the edge of the fissure.

The Quaken then took off into the air, rolled itself into a ball and smashed right into the fissures edge. This widens the fissure enough for the Quaken to join his friend and the two dragons looked at Hiccup, who was less than thrilled.

"Fishlegs!" Hiccup yelled.

The Quakens then looked at Fishlegs who raised his hammer up into the air. Then the two Quakens followed his command and flew out of the fissure. Fishlegs then pointed the hammer at the opposite side of the ledge and the Quakens landed exactly where he was pointing.

Then suddenly the entire ground began to shake, the excessive excavation caused by the Hunters had finally unstable the island and began to collapse in on itself.

"Now, Toothless!" Hiccup yelled as the fissure collapsed in on itself.

He quickly mounted Toothless and took off into the air with Meatlug following close behind.

Once they were out, Hiccup looked down at Fishlegs and Ragnar. "Guys, we need to get out of here," he said.

Fishlegs quickly turned to the Quaken and raised his hand. He then tapped his hammer onto the ground and the Quakens roared. He then mounted Meatlug and pointed the hammer upwards as Meatlug flew up into the sky.

The Quakens quickly followed him and Ragnar mounted Skull and took off into the sky as well. They left just in time, because the island began to collapse in on itself as gas from the fissures exited from the cracks all over the island.

The twins and their dragon had to get to the docks because Barf and Blech, were still too injured to fly. They were forced to jump into a row boat and sail away from the island as it sank.

They only just got out in time as a huge explosion emanated from the quarry on the island began to sink into the sea.

"Help!" Tuffnut yelled as he and his sister paddle for their lives.

Hiccup was looking back at the island's thinking how now skate they had when Astrid, Heather and Snotlout returned. The three of them were completely bewildered what had just happened.

"Uh, what happened to Barf and Belch? Why is the island sunk? And where did those two Quakens come from?" Snotlout asked bewildered. "I feel like we missed a lot."

"Hiccup, we know what Viggo wants the marble for," said Astrid. "He's building a dragon-proof stronghold."

"A stronghold?" Hiccup gasped. "We need a strike immediately."

"It won't do any good," said Heather. "Marble can withstand dragon fire."

"Um, Hiccup, I might have an idea of how we can take it down," said Fishlegs looking at the hammer he still was holding and to the two Quakens hovering behind him.

* * *

After Astrid groups failed attempt of destroying the fortress, the Hunters had armed themselves preparing for another attack.

"There you are," said a Hunter as he drew an arrow when he saw the Riders flying straight towards them.

Fishlegs was leading the charge he held the hammer up into the sky and pointed it straight at the stronghold. Instantly the Quakens charge straight towards the island, rolled straight into a ball and headed straight towards the ground.

The first Quaken struck the ground just beyond the defences the moment it made contacted sent a powerful shockwave that blew the Hunters and their defences away. The second one soon joined the first and they both ground straight at the stronghold.

Fishlegs then hovered directly above the stronghold with his hammer high up in the air. He then pointed the again on the stronghold and the Quakens rolled into a ball and rolled straight at the stronghold. They went straight through it like a raging yak and began bouncing around smashing through the pillars and the outer walls.

The Riders watched as the dome fell inwards and the Quakens standing outside the crumbling stronghold, who were roaring at the top of their voices. The marble blocks were now crushed, preventing the Hunters from recreating the stronghold answer is they foolishly destroyed the island they got the marble from there was no way they can completed.

The Quakens then made their way over to Fishlegs, no doubt wanting to know what their next orders were.

"No. No more work," said Fishlegs.

He then dropped the hammer onto the ground and held his hand out. This time the Quakens placed their snouts into the palm of his hand as a form of respect.

Hiccup smiled at his friend. "You did it, Fishlegs."

"But how many more dragons like these does he have out there?" Fishlegs frowned.

"If they're out there, we'll find them and free them," Hiccup assured. He then placed a hand on Fishlegs shoulder. "Now, take us to Dark Deep. It's either these Quakens to enjoy their retirement. I'd say they earn it."

"Seriously, is someone gonna tell me where those two Quakens came from?" Snotlout asked.

* * *

Later that evening, Viggo returned to his headquarters to marvel at his new stronghold. However when he and Ryker got there all they found was a crumble of marble blocks.

"Viggo, how?" said Ryker staring at what remained of their stronghold.

Viggo glared, for he knew the culprit. "Hiccup. This is becoming all too familiar, brother. But I promise… it ends now."


	37. Family on the Edge

**Hello dear readers, firstly I like to point out that I have altered the last chapter. Thanks to some reviews I discovered that I missed a portion of the doubt, which I have added now.**

 **Secondly, since they split a two-parter into two different seasons I feel more comfortable that I won't do Defenders of the Wing until the next season comes out. This is so that I don't mess up the story.**

 **I hope you understand.**

* * *

It was a nice beautiful day and the Riders were practising an ambush they were planning on Viggo's ships. Below them they had rowboats prepared to act as Dragon Hunter ships.

"Three, two, one!" Hiccup yelled.

Hiccup then drop the two jars he was carrying of Monstrous Nightmare gel. Toothless fired a plasma blast at the jars causing a massive explosion that struck the target on one of the rowboats.

Astrid then did the same with Stormfly, as did Ragnar and Skull. However, Snotlout and the twins were not as accurate as they were and so there shots missed the targets.

Hiccup soon landed on a sea stack where he had set up sundial and looked down to read the time. He then turned his head at the twins landed behind him.

"Slow and inaccurate," he said. "That's quite a combo."

"It was also our parents' nicknames for us," said Tuffnut. "My nickname was 'Slow', which I thought was inaccurate."

"Viggo doesn't know we found his shipyard, yet," Hiccup reminded firmly. "We'll only have one chance and knocking out his fleet. We have to get it right."

* * *

Later that day, Hiccup returned to the Edge and to his hut. It had been a long day and he was like to ride down for a few hours.

"Come on, bud," said Hiccup yawning as he dismounted Toothless. "Let's get some shut-eye before dinner."

When he opened the door however, he found someone was already inside. It was Dagur and he was staring transfixed at _Inferno_ , which was set ablaze.

"This is cool," he said.

Hiccup yelled in surprise.

"Brother!" Dagur yelled cheerfully as he swung _Inferno_ unconsciously. "Wait, where you going? It's me. Where's my hug?"

Hiccup quickly backed away, not wanting to be burned by _Inferno_. Dagur soon realised why Hiccup was backing away from him so suddenly.

"Oh, sorry," he said pulling _Inferno_ back. He then tried to figure out how to un-ignited. "Uh, how do you turn this thing off?"

Hiccup quickly shut the door, not wanting the other Riders discover that Dagur was in their base.

"Give me that," said Hiccup snatching _Inferno_ away from him.

"I've seen you've been keeping busy," said Dagur. He then smiled at Toothless, who simply snarled at him. "Hey, come on, Toothless. Where's the love, man?"

Hiccup sat down in his chest and Toothless blew _Inferno_ out. Once he placed the blade down he looked at Dagur, with a mixed expression.

"What the Thor are you doing here?" Hiccup asked.

"Heather. I haven't seen a trace of her," said Dagur. "It's so… frustrating."

"Yeah, I'll bet," said Hiccup.

"I've gotta have a dragon," Dagur announced.

Hiccup jumped up and stared at him. "What?"

"To find Heather, I need to cover more ground faster," said Dagur. "Dragony fast!"

"Yeah, I don't think so," said Hiccup and walked away.

"Hiccup!" said Dagur grabbing his arm. "You and Toothless owe me. I saved your lives."

"You also try to kill us," Hiccup reminded shoving his arm out of the way.

"Did I really? I think maybe in here, I never really wanted to," he said placing a hand over his heart.

"Oh, gods," said Hiccup shaking his head. "I… I can't train you to ride a dragon."

"Why not?" Dagur asked.

"I… don't have the time," said Hiccup scratching the back of his head, it wasn't a complete lie he had been really busy planning the attack on Viggo's shipyards.

"Oh. You're too busy. I get it. Sorry. Guess I'll be going," said Dagur. "First maybe I'll, you know, take a scroll around the base. See if you are old friends. Make a few apologies."

Hiccup quickly stopped him before he reached the door. The last thing he wanted was for Dagur to wonder around the base, partly so he did discover their plans on attacking Viggo's shipyards, but mostly he did one of discover that Heather had been right under his nose the whole time. He was entirely sure what Heather's reaction would be and was afraid for her safety and the safety of everyone around them.

"Uh… No, no, no, no. You can't," he said quickly.

"Why not?" Dagur asked.

"Because, uh, you've got to be up early tomorrow…" said Hiccup, not believing what he was saying, "uh… to start your training."

"Are you serious?" Dagur stared. "But I thought—"

"Okay, we'll meet first thing in the morning on the far side of the island," said Hiccup, not wishing to explain his quick change of heart. "That's where the best wild dragons are. Actually, you should go right there now and camp out for the night."

The two of them just looked at each other in silence the next thing Hiccup realised, Dagur pulled him into a massive bear hug.

"Great idea," he said excitedly not realising he was crushing Hiccup's ribs. "Thank you, Hiccup. Thank you."

"Don't mention it," Hiccup wheezed.

"You're so small and cuddly," said Dagur.

Hiccup forgot how awkward it had been to talk with Dagur when he was so friendly and quickly broke apart from him.

"Please never say that again," said Hiccup, wishing he could forget those words. "Uh, so, I'll see you later." Dagur then made his way outside. "Remember, on the far, far side of the island."

Dagur nodded and closed the door and Hiccup walked over his bed. He now needed to lie down more than ever as he figured out what he'd gotten himself into.

* * *

It was later night and the other Riders were busy having dinner and Tuffnut was telling one of his jokes to the others.

"But somebody better explain how yak stew got into my pants," said Tuffnut.

They all laughed.

It was then that Hiccup entered and he too began to laugh, but it was very hollow.

"Hey, uh, speaking of soggy pants, you ever wonder what happened to Dagur's and his crazy pants?" said Hiccup.

That ruin the mood almost right away as every one of them stared at Hiccup.

"Uh… no," said Snotlout.

"And for the record, I don't think his pants were that crazy," said Ruffnut.

"What brings Dagur up, anyway?" Fishlegs frowned.

"Nothing," said Hiccup quickly. "But since we're on the subject of Dagur now, uh, you ever wonder why he helped Heather escape from Viggo?"

"Probably is a distraction so he can get away himself," Astrid offered.

"Or he could just want to get back at Viggo for using him as a henchman," Ragnar suggested.

"Maybe," said Hiccup. "I don't know. But what if it was actually the first step of a path towards a new life?"

"A 'new life'? Dagur?" Heather yelled in fury slamming her fist on the table. She then began to brush the dust off her twin-bladed axe. "A dragon doesn't change its markings, Hiccup."

"Uh, technically…" Fishlegs said tentatively.

"Except for a Changewing, yes, I know."

"And a…"

"You get the point!" Heather snapped.

"Right. You're probably right. But then again, uh…" said Hiccup trying to choose his words carefully. "Remember how we for that Alvin couldn't change and now he is our ally."

"My father wasn't crazy," said Ragnar and Hiccup raise an eyebrow. "Okay, maybe he was a bit crazy, but not as crazy as Dagur. Besides, he only did those things to get back at Stoick. Dagur did all the things he did because it was fun."

"Okay, fair enough," said Hiccup trying to find a better example, "who would've thought my father, Stoick the Vast, would ever ride a dragon?"

"Don't tell you're comparing your father to Dagur now," Ragnar stared.

"Of course not," said Hiccup quickly. "But you never know. Next time we see Dagur…"

"I'll split the father-killer in two!" Heather yelled getting to her feet and slammed her twin-bladed axe into the table holding the meat.

Everyone just stared at her slightly uneasy.

"Yep. Okay. I think we get your point," said Hiccup, breaking the silence.

"I better go. I have island patrol tonight," said Heather.

Hiccup had actually forgotten that. "Uh… actually, I'll take that. I have a way more important mission for you."

"You do?" Heather stared.

"Of course I do," said Hiccup as he tried to come up with one. "It's, uh, one final recon mission to check out our target. You and Snotlout."

Heather and Snotlout looked at each other then back to Hiccup frowning.

"What are you talking about?" Snotlout frowned. "We went last time."

Hiccup had forgotten that as well. "I know. That's why I'm sending you again. To be on the lookout for any last-minute changes."

"That sort of makes sense," Heather frowned.

"And you should leave tonight," said Hiccup.

"Tonight? But I haven't even packed yet," said Snotlout. "Argh! It's gonna take a whole day to get out there."

Heather stared at Hiccup slightly amused. "Jeez, Hiccup, are you trying to get rid of us?" she asked.

"Yes," he said and quickly realised his mistake. "No. No! That's crazy. Why would I…"

Heather looked at him even more amused now. "I'm kidding, Hiccup. Relax," she said, trying to hold back a laugher. "Come on, Snotlout. Soon we leave, the sooner we get back."

They watched as Heather and Snotlout left.

"Take your time," he called to them. He then noticed the puzzled looks at Astrid and Ragnar were giving him an added, "And by that I mean 'be safe'."

* * *

At first light, Hiccup flew to the far side of the island to meet up with Dagur. To say that Dagur was excited to see them, would have been an understatement.

"Finally!" said the mad berserker as he ran up to them. "Not mad, just excited."

"Yeah, I can see that," said Hiccup.

"Then thinking about what dragon I should ride," said Dagur. "Something that makes a statement. You don't have any Skrills hanging around, do you?"

The last thing Hiccup wanted was for Dagur to ride around on a Skrill. "What? No," he said.

"Well, oppose I could just settle for a Night Fury," said Dagur looking down at Toothless. "Not the same 'zhush' as a Skrill, I could get by."

"Sorry, he's one-of-a-kind," said Hiccup.

"How about a Razorwhip? Like Heather's?"

"Dagur, I already picked out a dragon for you," said Hiccup. "You're gonna love it."

He then whistled and at once the bushes began to wrestle as something large headed towards them.

"He's awesome, right? And dangerous?" Dagur asked excitedly. "Bigelow only pick out a name. 'Shattermaster'."

Then jumping out of the bushes was a green scaled Gronckle that stopped a foot away from Dagur out with its tongue hanging out affectionately.

"Is, uh… is that my dragon's breakfast?" Dagur asked hopefully.

"No, this is Shattermaster," said Hiccup as Shattermaster looked at Dagur excitedly. "The perfect dragon for you. Stable, easy to ride."

"Yeah, uh, I am not riding that dragon," said Dagur.

"Then you're not riding any dragon," said Hiccup firmly.

"It's beneath me," said Dagur crossing his arms.

"Not yet. Prove to me that you can even get on it," said Hiccup.

Dagur looked at Shattermaster with a fixed stare. "Easy."

However, it proved not to be easy. When he tried to jump on top of Shattermaster, the Gronckle simply moved out of the way and he landed face first on the dirt.

"I got this…" said Dagur jumping onto his feet. He then began to chase down the Gronckle, apparently for they were playing. "Get back here!"

"Dagur, no!" Hiccup yelled.

Too late, Dagur jumped onto Shattermaster's tail and immediately he swatted him up into the air and slammed his bludgeon-like tail down on top of him and sent him flying over the edge of the island.

"Are you okay?" Hiccup asked looking over the edge.

"You made your point, Hiccup," Dagur wheezed, holding onto a tree branch. "We'll do it your way."

* * *

Once they rescued Dagur, Hiccup began to teach in the proper way of training a dragon. Dagur held out his hand and placed it on Shattermaster's snout, who then relaxed by his touch.

Then he began to teach him how to fly Shattermaster. He soon discover that Hiccup and the other Riders made it look easy, because he and Shattermaster kept on flying around in circles.

"Here we go," said Dagur as he tried to keep control. "Come on, Shattermaster. Turn! Turn!"

Once Dagur finally got hold of actually flying Shattermaster, he flew side-by-side with Hiccup. He then looked down to the ground and lost his nerve and placed his hand over one of Shattermaster's wings.

Next second he screamed as they plummeted towards the ground. Fortunately, Hiccup and Toothless caught them before they got anywhere near to the ground.

"Tanks, T!" said Dagur looking at Toothless.

"Maybe we should try something a more down to earth," Hiccup suggested.

They soon flew at ground level began to do some evasive manoeuvres in the forest. Though, Dagur was having as much trouble as he did higher in the sky.

"You're trying to steer him too much," said Hiccup. "You need to trust your dragon, Dagur. He doesn't want to hit the trees any more than you do."

"If you say so!" Dagur yelled. "Let's see what you've got for speed."

He then nudged Shattermaster, too hard and he shot forwards.

Hiccup could foresee a problem. "Slow down, you're not ready for—"

Too late, Dagur slammed in a tree and bounced off it and slammed right into Hiccup and Toothless. Once Dagur got himself up he looked apologetically at Hiccup.

"Bad Dagur, bad!" he yelled. "I'm sorry, Hiccup."

"You're trying to do too much too soon," said Hiccup. Hiccup then noticed his prosthetic leg was bent and removed it. "Great. I can't fly Toothless like this."

"Gimme it," said Dagur taking the leg from Hiccup, before he could stop him. "I can straighten it out."

Hiccup had a sudden case of déjà vu, because he remembered Snotlout doing exactly the same four years ago.

"No, no, no, no!" he yelled.

Too late, Dagur snapped the leg in two.

"Oops," he said. He then presented the pieces to Hiccup. "Here you go."

"It's okay," Hiccup sighed. "I have a spare back at my hurt. I'll take your dragon in the back as soon as I can."

"Okay," said Dagur.

Dagur then helped Hiccup to Shattermaster and once he was mounted Hiccup looked back at Dagur. "Now you stay right here. Don't go anywhere. Don't do anything. All right?" he said firmly.

He then looked up at Toothless. "Toothless, keep an eye on him."

Dagur then watched as Hiccup took off on Shattermaster. Once it was a safe distance away he turned to Toothless, who gave them a very questionable look.

"So, any ideas on how to pass the time?" he asked.

Toothless did a dragon's equivalent of a giggle.

* * *

Seconds later the two of them were up in the air flying and Dagur was really enjoying himself.

"Come on, T," he said and dived down into the forest. "Whoa! We're best friends now!"

However, he placed a hand on Toothless' wing, who suddenly came to a stop throwing Dagur right off him. He went straight through a bush and landed hard on the ground.

"Why'd you do me like that, bud?" he questioned.

Then suddenly saw an act right to his face and looked up and found the owner of a very angry Astrid and the other Dragon Riders. Fishlegs was holding the pieces of Hiccup's leg.

"What have you done with Hiccup?" Fishlegs demanded.

* * *

An hour later, Dagur was tied up and dragged to the Edge. Astrid had just kicked him in the butt to force him into the arena. He had been trying to tell them that Hiccup was perfectly fine, but they didn't believe a single word he said.

"The sooner you tell us where Hiccup is, the easier it'll go on you," said Astrid warningly.

"And you better tell us the truth," said Ragnar.

"I'm telling you, he's here," said Dagur. "Getting a spare leg."

"Sure he is," said Tuffnut as he and his sister walked around Dagur with sceptical looks. "I've had enough of these lies. Either you start singing like a canary or we do."

Dagur just stared at him and then suddenly the twins began singing, quite terribly, like a canary. It was so excruciating that Fishlegs covered his ears, and Astrid and Ragnar grimaced. They were so busy recovering from the eardrums that they had noticed that Hiccup was approaching them directly behind the twins.

"And it only gets worse," said Tuffnut and he pointed straight at Hiccup with his thumb. "Ask Hiccup."

Realising what he had just said, the twins turned around and just stared at Hiccup, who was standing directly behind them.

"Hiccup!" Fishlegs yelled with relief.

Astrid and Ragnar pushed past Dagur and approached Hiccup with very questionable looks.

"You're alive," said Tuffnut excitedly. He then frowned. "Wait. You're alive?"

"What's going on here?" Astrid asked.

"Like to know this myself," said Ragnar.

"Dagur says you're buddies now and you're teaching him how to ride a dragon," said Astrid pressing a finger against his chest with every word.

Hiccup laughed nervously and placed his finger on top of hers. "Yeah, it's a funny story, actually," he admitted.

* * *

He later led them to the clubhouse and began to explain everything, from how he met Dagur, how he saved him and Toothless and all the way to how he rode Toothless.

"Then I flew away in one direction and he sailed the other," Hiccup finished.

Astrid, Ragnar Fishlegs, and the twins just stared at him.

"So, Dagur save your life?" Astrid blinked.

"And Toothless," said Ragnar incredulously.

"Yeah. Pretty much," said Hiccup looking at them awkwardly.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Astrid asked.

"Yeah, why didn't you tell 'em, brother?" Dagur asked curiously.

"Because I was unsure how you would feel about it," said Hiccup. He then looked at the blank faces. "'Cause I wasn't sure how I felt about it."

"To be fair, I have done some pretty questionable things," said Dagur.

"Questionable?" Fishlegs spat. "Trying to kill it is not questionable."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. He save you. I get that," said Tuffnut. "But why you teaching him how to ride a dragon?"

"I'm looking for Heather," said Dagur.

The twins smiled at one another as did Astrid, Ragnar and Fishlegs, who could understand why Hiccup wanted to keep this secret.

"Yes, and the sooner I teach him how to fly, the sooner he can leave to go find her, wherever she might be," said Hiccup.

Astrid, Ragnar and Fishlegs just gave him blank faces.

"Dagur, have we got some good news for you," said Ruffnut suddenly.

"Yes, yes, we do," said Hiccup quickly and dragged Fishlegs towards Dagur. "Fishlegs, here's our best Gronckle trainer in the world. He can help improve your flying."

"Aww. Thanks, Hiccup," Fishlegs smiled.

The twins tried to get Dagur attention, in an attempt to tell about Heather.

"Maybe you should go train him," said Hiccup encouragingly. "Now!"

Fishlegs nodded. "Ooh. Yes, right away," he said.

He then dragged Dagur away as the twins kept on trying to get his attention.

"I want to know everything," said Dagur. He then slammed a hand on Fishlegs shoulder. "Everything!"

"Okay," said Fishlegs awkwardly. "Where to begin? The Gronckle…"

"No!" Ruffnut yelled trying to get Dagur's attention. "Wait, wait, wait!"

"Look towards me!" Tuffnut yelled as he to try to get Dagur's attention.

Astrid and Ragnar quickly grabbed the twins and pull them away from Dagur.

Hiccup just sighed. He started to wonder how he got himself into the sort of situations.

* * *

Later in his hat, he was looking down at the model of Viggo's shipyard to plan their attack with Astrid and Ragnar.

"Eight ships being worked on at once," he said. "If we hit them in one coordinated strike, we could cripple Viggo's fleet."

"Could we talk about the Rumblehorn in the room, please?" said Astrid. "Dagur, here?"

"Yeah, it is a little disconcerting," said Ragnar.

"I know. I know," said Hiccup. "But he seems like he's really trying to change."

"You don't think it strange that he showed up here right as we're about to hit Viggo's shipyard?" Astrid frowned.

"You two want there," said Hiccup. "He could turn me over to Viggo's men, but… he helped us escape."

Astrid crossed her arms. "Did he? Or is that what they wanted you to think, so they could put a spy among us?"

Hiccup looked at Ragnar, who had been silent for quite some time. "What do you think?"

"Well, my father change when he lost everything and apparently being alone has a way of bringing clarity into one's mind," Ragnar frowned. "I didn't tell you this, because I thought you'd call me crazy, but I had a vision and Dagur was in it." Hiccup and Astrid looked at him. "I saw him riding a Gronckle against several Dragon Hunter ships."

"It doesn't really prove anything," said Astrid. "Even you admit that your visions aren't hundred percent accurate. For all we know he is rushing towards the Dragon Hunter ships to warn them about us."

"I know, but maybe we should try and given the benefit of the doubt," said Ragnar.

Hiccup nodded and looked at Astrid. "I agree with Rag," he said. Astrid was about open her mouth, but he raised a hand silencer. "Look, I'm not blind to the risks, Astrid. Why do you think I gave him the slowest, least dangerous dragon I could find?" He then rested a hand on the table. "It's… It's just that…"

"What?" Astrid asked.

"When the chips were down and I thought the Hunters had me for sure, Toothless let Dagur write him to save me. If Toothless trusts him, then I have to trust him, too."

"Well… I hope you and Toothless are right about Dagur," said Astrid. "For all our sakes."

"We can at least keep an eye on him while he's here and make sure he doesn't find any sensitive information about us," said Ragnar.

"Agreed," said Hiccup getting up. "We should check on how he and Fishlegs are doing."

Astrid nodded. "And let's make sure he doesn't discover what we're planning," she said and tossed a blanket over the shipyard model.

While they walked way they failed to notice that one of the ships had fallen off the table landing on the ground in plain sight.

* * *

A few minutes later they were on their dragons and flew up to meet up with Fishlegs and Dagur.

"Fishlegs, how's your student?" Hiccup asked they hovered beside Fishlegs.

Fishlegs pointed.

Next second they heard Dagur maniacal laughter and looked up to see him flying Shattermaster a lot better than before.

"He is a fast learner!" said Fishlegs.

"I have an excellent teacher!" said Dagur.

"Oh, stop it, you," said Fishlegs blushing slightly.

Astrid groaned in disgust.

"Look at this move he came up with," said Fishlegs. "Remember the Gronckle Drop? Well, watch this."

Fishlegs then grabbed a firm hold on Meatlug and they flew upwards.

"Three, two, one," they counted simultaneously.

They then flipped upside down and plummeted straight towards the ground.

"Oh, Fishlegs!" Dagur laughed excitedly.

Then at the last second they flipped back up straight, just as they touch the water, and high-fived each other. They then soared upwards to meet up with Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar.

"That was insane!" said Hiccup.

"I know!" said Fishlegs.

"Though not surprising, considering who came up with it," said Ragnar.

"Good point," Dagur shrugged.

"We call it the 'Inverted Gronckle Drop'," said Fishlegs. "We could really use it on our next mission."

Hiccup quickly shook his head and Fishlegs closed his mouth. "Ah. I think that have training for you two," he said.

"But there's hours of daylight left," Dagur complained. "I have so much to learn!"

"Oh, you're still training," Astrid smirked. "With me."

"Uh, he is?" said Hiccup, looking slightly unnerved.

"Relax, Hiccup," said Dagur. "She obviously doesn't trust me and wants to check me out for herself."

"Oh, hey, he's not as dumb as he looks," said Astrid, looking slightly surprised.

"And she's trying to provoke me," Dagur added laughing. "But it won't work."

" _I am the sea, calm and wide_

 _My sense of peace comes from inside._ "

Astrid then turned and looked at the others. "Seriously?"

"Try not to hurt him," said Hiccup.

"Or kill him," Ragnar added as they left.

"No promises," said Astrid crossing her arms.

Dagur smiled at her nervously.

* * *

It was evening now and they had just landed on one of the sea stacks of Dragon's Edge. Dagur landed perfectly on the sea stack, much to her surprise.

"That wasn't horrible," she admitted.

"How 'not horrible'?" Dagur asked.

"Probably better than Snotlout could have done it."

"Thanks."

There was then a very awkward silence between the two of them.

"Use loops to keep the sun behind you and in your enemy's eyes," Astrid advised. "You be harder to hit."

"Right!" Dagur nodded. "I saw you do that last time you were defending the Edge against…" He quickly came to a stop when he saw Astrid, who had her eyes narrowed at him. "Too soon?"

"We should head back," said Astrid.

The two of them then headed straight back to the Edge. They were quiet as they flew back towards the Edge and Dagur could sense that Astrid was no trusting him quite yet.

"I am really trying to change, Astrid," said Dagur.

"Hiccup think so. Ragnar is giving you the benefit of the doubt. But if this is an act, if you betray us, or Heather, I will personally make you pay," Astrid warned clenching her hands around her saddle.

Stormfly could sense the hostility from Astrid and growled at Dagur and Shattermaster growled back.

"Aww. It's okay, fella," said Dagur calmly. "She's just trying to make a point."

"He was ready to defend you after one day," Astrid said looking quite impressed. "Pretty impressive bonding."

Dagur smiled, but then Astrid flew in closer and leaned her head towards him in a threatening manner. "But seriously, turn on us and I will send you to Valhalla myself."

* * *

Later that night, Dagur was in the clubhouse having an unusual conversation with the twins and Chicken. Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar were watching from a distance.

"This is the 'Reverse Tuffnut'," said Tuffnut holding Chicken out on her side. "This is the 'Double Twist Tuffnut'." He then moved Chicken side to side. "And my personal favourite," He then began shaking Chicken up and down, "the 'Tuffnut Surprise'. Dinner and a show."

Suddenly an egg popped out of Chicken and Dagur caught it.

"Did you name all these moves yourself?" Dagur asked.

"Maybe."

Astrid and Ragnar looked to Hiccup.

"I can tell Dagur about Heather?" Astrid asked.

"Or vice versa?" Ragnar added.

"How can I? You heard last night," said Hiccup. "She clearly isn't ready to see."

"Well, then get him off the Edge. She could be back any minute," said Astrid.

"She's right, and trust me if she finds Dagur here she will be even more ferocious than a Monstrous Nightmare," said Ragnar.

"Yes, I know. Why do you think I'm teaching him how to fly?" Hiccup asked. "I figure we've got until about sundown tomorrow to get him out of here."

"Get who out of here?" said a voice.

The three of them turned horrifyingly as Heather and Snotlout entered the clubhouse.

"We raced back," said Snotlout.

"Uh. I think I know who lost," said Hiccup.

"Oh, boy," said Ragnar.

Heather then noticed Dagur and glared at him. "You!" she snarled.

Dagur turned and raised his hand out in surprise. "Sister!" he yelled.

Heather then grabbed her twin bladed axe charged at Dagur with hatred in her eyes. Dagur just simply walked over to her with his arms outstretched.

"Heather, no!" Hiccup yelled.

Tuffnut covered Chicken's eyes, not wanting her to see Dagur being disembowelled.

Dagur suddenly realise that Heather was not pleased to see him and closes eyes. Fortunately, Heather calmed down enough with her blade inches away from his face and pulled the blade away.

"I get a hug is out of the question?" Dagur guessed.

Heather then punched him in the face.

* * *

After Ragnar tended to Dagur they all crowded around the clubhouse with Dagur on one side and Heather on the other.

"Hiccup Haddock, I cannot believe you kept my Heather from me," said Dagur looking at Hiccup disappointedly. "I was so worried. What she alive? Was she dead?"

"Oh, please. Drop the act," Heather spat. She then glared at Hiccup. "And you! Bad you were consorting with my mortal enemy."

"I think that means they're dating," Tuffnut whispered to a sister.

"Ha! Does Ragnar know?" she whispered back.

Heather then stormed up to Hiccup looking furious. "But then you teach him how to ride dragons?" She then grabbed the scruff of his armour. "Have you lost your mind?"

Hiccup pulled Heather's hand away from him. "Heather, he saved my life."

"I don't care!" Heather yelled. "You can't trust him. You think it's a coincidence that he shows up before this mission? It's a setup, Hiccup. Can't you see that?"

"To be fair, that was my first thought, too," said Astrid placing a hand on her shoulder.

"He sent me adrift at the child," Heather reminded and marched up to Dagur glaring at him. "He killed our father, for Thor's sake. He tried to each of us multiple times."

"Most, if not all, of those things are true, but I am trying to change, sister," said Dagur honestly.

Heather then grabbed his shoulder and pointed her twin-bladed axe at his throat. "Don't ever call me that, spy," she snarled.

"I'm not a spy," said Dagur moving the blade away from his throat. "I don't know how I could possibly prove that. I guess you're just gonna have to take my word for it."

He then looked at the blank faces of all the Dragon Riders.

"Yes, I don't think I would take it, either, if I were you," he admitted. "So, thank you for the hospitality, but I think Shattermaster and I should go. Good day."

Dagur then made his way to the door.

"Oh, come on," Hiccup groaned. "Dagur, Dagur."

"I said 'good day'," he sobbed and walked outside.

"Was he crying?" Snotlout stared.

"Yeah! Tears of laughter, at us," Heather snarled.

"I should probably talk to him before he goes," said Hiccup and made his way outside.

Ragnar then looked at the other Riders. "Would you mind if you can leave us in private?"

Astrid looked at him and nodded, she then guided the twins and Snotlout out of the clubhouse. Once they were sure they were alone Heather quickly turned on Ragnar.

"I can't believe you!" she yelled. "You all people should know how I feel?"

"I do," said Ragnar calmly. "But need I remind you that my father changed when he lost everything."

"You cannot honestly say you forgave him?" Heather stared. "He killed your mother!"

Ragnar nodded. "I will never forgive him for killing my mother, but I learn to accept and as my father. Heather, believe me when I say that you should give him a chance, if you don't you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

Heather looked at him with a furious look on her face and then stormed off without even uttering a word to him.

* * *

Meanwhile, Dagur had wandered over to Hiccup's hut and then he saw model ship on the floor. Curious, he made his way over to the table and removed the sheet and found a model shipyard.

Hiccup then entered staring at him. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Everyone kept dropping hints about some big mission," said Dagur. "I thought I should take a look. Heather may hate me, but I do not want her to fly into any suicide missions."

"It's a shipyard," said Hiccup walking over to him. "Viggo is retrofitting his ships. Enlarging the cells for bigger dragons, it looks like."

Dagur frowned. "Hmm. Remarkably undefended."

"It's very remote," said Hiccup. "Deep behind his lines and shrouded in fog."

Dagur frowned again. "Hmm. Seems a little too easy."

"We've kept an eye on it for weeks. Viggo doesn't defend it because he doesn't think we know about it."

"Let me guess, coordinated attack, using the sea stacks for cover, but staying up out of arrow range?"

"Something like that."

"You're too gullible, Hiccup. That's your problem," said Hiccup. "I should know. I tricked you plenty of times."

"Yeah, well, I'm still here," Hiccup pointed out.

Astrid then entered his hut. "Hiccup, what did Dagur…"

She stopped when she saw Dagur standing over the shipyard model. She then pulled out two daggers and charged straight at him.

"Astrid, stop!" Hiccup yelled.

Astrid stopped, but not before placing the two daggers and across formation right underneath his throat.

"So, you are a spy!" Astrid glared.

Dagur pushed the daggers away with the model ship in his hand. "Relax, Blondie. I was just trying to talk some sense into your boy Hiccup, here."

Astrid turned to Hiccup. "We can't let him go now. He's seen the plan."

"I know," Hiccup nodded.

"Fine. Lock me up," Dagur offered. "Then go do your mission." He then placed the model ship down and glared at Hiccup. "But know this, Hiccup. If anything happens to Heather, I'll hold you personally responsible."

* * *

Dagur was then taken to the stables with his hands tied and was placed in the stable holding Shattermaster, who was happily busy eating rocks. He only stopped when Dagur entered, stuck out his tongue and wiggled his tail.

"That should hold you," said Astrid shutting the door behind him.

"We'll figure out what to do with you when we get back," said Hiccup.

"I have some ideas," said Heather holding out her twin-bladed axe.

"Easy, he technically hasn't done anything to endanger us yet," said Ragnar calmly.

"He will given the chance," Heather snarled.

"Just one question, Hiccup," said Dagur. "Why attack now? To the number of ships about shipyard just happen to go up?"

Hiccup stared at him. "Uh—Yes. From eight to twelve."

"Of course they did!" Dagur yelled. "Because eight ships weren't enough to draw you in. Use your brain, Hiccup."

"I am, and you know what?" said Hiccup crossing his arms. "It's telling me not to trust you."

Hiccup, Astrid and Heather left without uttering a word to Dagur. Ragnar just simply shrugged it Dagur, indicating that he half believed him and then follow the others. This left him with the twins.

Tuffnut looked at Chicken. "You're on guard duty, Chicken," he said. "Keep an eye on this guy."

Chicken then flew down to the floor and Dagur just simply stared at her as she pecked the ground and clucked away.

* * *

The next morning, the Riders were preparing for their mission. Hiccup, was stunning have some misgivings about the mission.

"Dagur couldn't be right about the mission being too easy, could he?" Hiccup asked.

"I am inclined to believe him," said Ragnar. "He did bring up some good points, I still find it hard to believe that Viggo would leave the shipyards undefended, even if it was in a remote location."

"We've been watching those shipyards for weeks," Astrid reminded the two boys. "We haven't seen anything out of the ordinary."

"Dagur is still working for Viggo," said Heather firmly. "He was just trying to keep us from attacking his master. He's a liar and a spy."

Hiccup and Ragnar looked at one another, it was clear the two of them were in two minds about the mission and Dagur.

However before either of them could speak, Chicken appeared running up to Tuffnut clucking madly.

"What's that, Chicken?" Tuffnut asked. Chicken clucked at him frantically. "Buck! Buck! Buck?" Chicken continued on clucking and seem to be making some sort of gesture and then fell to the ground. "Dagur has escaped?"

"I told you," Heather growled at Hiccup and Ragnar.

* * *

They quickly made their way to the stables and found that Dagur had indeed escaped. It appeared that he had used Shattermaster to burn away in the wall and flew out.

"Shattermaster broke him out," said Hiccup.

"You have to admit, he really has bonded with his dragon well," said Fishlegs. He then noticed Hiccup, Ragnar and Heather giving him looks. "I'm just saying."

They quickly ran outside with the other riders had only mounted their dragons.

"Wings up, gang. We have to hit the shipyard before Dagur had a chance to give away our plan," said Hiccup mounting Toothless.

They quickly took off into the sky.

* * *

Hours later they soon reached the shipyard area. They hovered in mid-air scanning the area.

"Anyone see Dagur? Maybe we beat him here," said Hiccup.

"There he is," Astrid pointed.

Hiccup look forward and indeed saw Dagur and Shattermaster ahead of them.

"Okay, here's the…" However, before Hiccup could finish Heather zoomed forwards charging straight at Dagur with hatred in her eyes, "plan."

Heather slowly gained on Dagur. "This is your last betrayal, Dagur," she snarled.

Heather then several shots straight at Dagur, but he managed to dodge them in time. He then flew upwards into the sun, blinding Heather and he reappeared behind her.

Heather growled and swung Windshear around to strike him with her tail. However, Dagur simply dodged it.

"You can't lose me that easily," she said.

She then began to chase Dagur through the sea stacks and eventually came face-to-face with him in the clearing. However he simply patted Shattermaster and they performed the Inverted Gronckle Drop, and fell into the fog which surprised her.

Dagur then sneaked up towards Heather below Windshear and slammed Shattermaster's tale into her. Heather suddenly felt a downward drop, but they were able to drift over to a sea stack and saw that Windshear was panting and she reassured her.

She then noticed Dagur flying straight towards the shipyards.

"What do we do?" Astrid asked.

"Even when he warns them they'll still need time to react," said Hiccup. "We have to hit the shipyard now!"

They then flew down towards the shipyards.

The Hunters on the ships were busy talking and that when they noticed Dagur overhead.

"Ahoy, in the shipyards," Dagur cried. "I have a message for Viggo. Tell them Dagur the Deranged says hello."

Then Shattermaster began to spew live on top of one of the ships and overpower Monstrous Nightmare gel, which caused a massive explosion. Then suddenly a huge net, I was made to camouflage the sea stack dropped revealing a port with dozens of Hunters with crossbows, which then began to fire bolts at Dagur.

"Yep. Trap," said Dagur smiling.

Then suddenly another net dropped revealing a Dragon Hunter ship.

"Fire!" the captain yelled.

A Hunter then fired a cannibal with flaming boulder straight at Dagur, who merely dodged it.

By this time the Dragon Riders had reached the shipyard and saw the fire all around it. Hiccup gave them the signal to stop.

"What is he think he's doing?" Snotluot stared.

"Proving he was right," said Hiccup. "That it was a trap all along."

Dagur began spewing live on another ship directly over another barrel of Monstrous Nightmare gel cause in another explosion. He then tossed several daggers at another ship, disarming a Hunter's crossbow and slicing for a rope that was connected to a large net of barrels which then fell upon the two Dragon Hunters.

However, an exploding boulder knocked him off course and several Hunters began to fire bolts directly at him. Fortunately, he was able to dodge the bolts and had to dodge another flaming boulder which crashed right through a sea stack he was hiding behind.

Shattermaster growled at the Hunters and Dagur patted him encouragingly. "Come on, Shattermaster! Let's show 'em what a real Rider and his dragon can do!"

He then drew out several daggers and they charge straight at the Hunters ships and disappeared in the smoke yelling a battlecry. The Riders could only watch as they heard explosions emanating from the smoke and were unable to see what happened to Rider and dragon.

"It's just like my vision!" Ragnar stared at the chaos.

"Come on!" Hiccup yelled. "We have to do something!"

Hiccup was about charging there, but Astrid stopped him. "Hiccup, don't. He's gone. There's nothing we can do," she said.

Realising there was nothing they could do they flew back towards the Edge with looks of guilt on their faces.

* * *

Back at the Edge, Hiccup put model ships and the model of the shipyard away.

"This is my fault," said Hiccup. "I should've listened to him."

"He knew it was a trap and he still flew right in," said Astrid.

"We never saw him hit the water, so maybe… maybe…" said Snotlout encouragingly.

"Yeah, maybe," said Ruffnut.

"After what happened with Alvin, I still stick firm to my belief," said Ragnar closing his eyes. "Never count someone dead until you see their body right in front of your eyes."

"I will never forget his noble sacrifice," said Fishlegs.

"You think my brothers sacrifice himself?" said Heather. "Not with his ego. He thought he could make it."

Hiccup looked at her.

"What? Heather frowned.

"I just never heard you calling Dagur 'brother' before," said Hiccup.

Heather looked stunned herself and pulled her hood over her head. "I need some sleep."

The Riders watched as she left.

When Heather returned to Astrid's hut, she found a note on her bed. She frowned and picked it up and saw that it was Dagur's handwriting. She then began to wonder outside as she read the letter, which said:

 _Heather,_

 _If you're reading this, I guess that's bad news for me. Sorry, but I couldn't let Hiccup fly you into a trap. Tell our little brother that if he really wants to hurt Viggo, hit his next dragon auction. It moves around, but if he turns over enough rocks, some worm will tell him where it is._

 _One other thing. I didn't kill our father. When he disappeared, I let people believe that, so they would think I was tough enough to be chief. I did a lot of things I'm sorry for, but I couldn't rest in peace knowing you thought I did that. Be safe._

 _Your brother, Dagur_

When Heather finished reading it, she pulled her down and tears trickled down her face as the storm clouds above broke and rain fell from the heavens.

She then sent someone behind then turned to find Ragnar standing there. At once she flung herself at him and wrapped her arms around him and he did the same with her.

"You are right," she sobbed into a shirt. "I should have given him a chance."

Ragnar could do the only thing he could and rubbed his hand against her, knowing that she had just suffered a great loss.


	38. Last Auction Heroes

Johann was sitting in a tavern with a tankard of mead in his hands. The tavern was full of Dragon Hunters and other scrupulous types, but he remained quiet and kept as he is open.

It was then that he heard to Dragon Hunters talking behind him and he listen to what they were saying with great interest.

"Grimborn auction? What's on the block this time?" a Hunter asked.

"Dragons," said the second Hunter.

"Think what we can do with our own dragons. Its hide alone."

"Only the richest Vikings dare to show up."

"So, how do you know about it?" the Hunter laughed.

The Hunter then grabbed his mouth and glared at him. "Because I have this map." He then removed his hand and reached into his pocket and pulled out a small map. "Got it from a gold baron. Told him I'd let him live if he showed me what it was." The Hunter scoffed. "Idiot."

The other Hunter laughed.

The Hunter with a map then finished his mead and chucked his tankard away. He then looked at the other Hunter with a firmed look. "Don't let that out of your sight."

Johann watched as the Hunter with the map walked away from the table and that's when he saw his chance.

Seconds later he was running for his life out of the tavern with the two Hunters in close pursuit. When the Hunters left the tavern they found that he had vanished, but seconds later Hiccup and Toothless soon passed with Johann riding with them.

"You get, Johann?" Hiccup asked. Johann didn't speak. "Johann!"

"Huh?" said Johann looking at Hiccup. "Oh. Of course."'

He then pulled out the map he took from the Hunters.

* * *

Meanwhile, at an unknown island, Viggo was going over his brother with the preparations for the auction. All around them were cages for dragons, prize dragons that they were going to sell to wealthy Vikings.

"Ah! Do you smell that, brother?" Viggo asked taking in a deep sniff.

Ryker sniffed. "Dragon droppings."

Viggo rolled his eyes. "Gold. This auction will not only bring us wealth, but will cement my reputation as the most prolific dealer of dragons, both living and not." He then turned to his brother with a firmed look. "But everything must go off with perfection. How security coming along?"

"Catapults are doubled. Watchtowers are going up. No Riders will spoil the auction," Ryker assured.

Viggo then patted his Ryker's head, much to his annoyance. "See what you can do, when you put your mind to it, big brother?"

Ryker growled.

"Any news our special guest?" Ryker asked.

"Are you sure _he's_ coming?" Ryker frowned.

"Positive. The second you have confirmation of his arrival…"

"I will let you know," Ryker finished.

"Of course you will."

Viggo then looked up to the sky as if he knew someone was watching from above.

In truth, someone was. It was Hiccup, who was looking down at the auction with his spyglasses.

"I see Terrible Terrors and a few crates of Fireworms," said Hiccup. "But where are they hiding all the big dragons?"

* * *

Hiccup soon returned to the Edge and began to discuss his findings with the other Riders and Johann.

"Extra ships on the perimeter," said Hiccup looking down at the map. "Guard everywhere. Catapult and watchtowers on the cliffs. Dragon Root arrows launches on every sea stack within a half mile. There's no way in or out. Period."

"Hiccup, Hiccup, Hiccup, think positive," said Tuffnut.

"And how do you suggest I do that?" Hiccup asked.

"Rapid-fire. Mug, half-empty or half-full?"

"Definitely empty."

"Don't waste your time," said Ruffnut.

Hiccup turned his attention back to the matter in hand. "It is, however, the perfect opportunity to put a big dent in Viggo's dragon trade."

"But how?" Astrid asked.

Fishlegs laughed. "Astrid, I'm sure Hiccup has an idea." He then looked to Hiccup hopefully. "You do have an idea, right?"

"Let me guess. Crews riding to the place and announce ourselves," said Snotlout laughing.

"You know, I think we need someone to get close to Viggo," said Hiccup. "Keeping busy while we find the rest of those dragons. Now, it has to be someone Viggo wouldn't suspect, because he's never seen him up close."

He then turned and looked at Snotlout, who was busy picking his nose. He then offered his finger to Hookfang, who then sniffed it and then licked it. Hiccup, Astrid, Ragnar and Heather groaned in disgust at the site.

"You've got to be kidding me," said Astrid.

"Yeah, I think we've just reached the bottom of the barrel," said Ragnar.

"Wait, no, he's the only one who was never captured by Viggo or Ryker. He's the only one they don't know," said Hiccup.

"He's the only one who's clueless enough to actually pull it off," Fishlegs added.

"Ha. Sound like a real winner, Hookfang. Right?" said Snotlout, unaware they were talking about him. "I hate to be caught dead with that guy." It took several seconds to realise they were talking about him. "Wait, what?"

Johann then made his way over to Hiccup with a grim face. "I hate to be the bearer of most unfortunate use, Master Hiccup. Unless you're hiding a pile of gold in the crevices of your tunic, you won't see the dragons let alone bid on them."

Hiccup got an idea.

* * *

Hours later, Hiccup was standing in front of his father and Gobber, who were both laughing their heads off, in the Great Hall.

"Oh, sure," Stoick said sarcastically. "Yeah. Take Berk's entire cache of gold."

He and Gobber laughed.

"Here, take it all," Gobber laughed as he removed his hook, pegged leg and tooth and placed them on the table. He and Stoick then looked at Hiccup seriously. "Not funny, Hiccup."

"If you weren't my son, I'd lock you up are right now," said Stoick. "You have no idea what you're suggesting, Hiccup.

"Viggo Grimborn is the most ruthless Viking we've come in contact with," said Hiccup looking at his father firmly. "If we don't do something to disrupt this auction, Viggo will make so much gold, he'll be able to buy an entire armada of dragon-hunting ships and reinforces empire. No dragon will be safe, and eventually, he will set his sights on Berk. And on our dragons."

Stoick then turned and looked at Skullcrusher, who was sleeping peacefully in the corner. He then looked to his son.

"Well?" he said.

"'Well' what?" Hiccup frowned.

"Well, son, I'm assuming you didn't fly all the way here without a plan," said Stoick.

Hiccup nodded.

* * *

Hiccup then began to tell his father his plan as they made their way to the arena.

"Hmm. A special convoy, you say?" said Stoick.

"Exactly," said Hiccup.

He then turned to the wooden board and saw Ragnar and Fishlegs poking their heads giving him the thumbs up.

"Going into the auction under an assumed identity," said Stoick.

"Exactly."

"Well, he's gone have to be smart, crafty, quick on his feet, and, most importantly…"

Stoick stopped when he discovered who was going to be the spy. It was Snotlout with his hair painted gold, his clothes painted gold, his helmet painted gold and wearing a fake ruby ring on his finger.

"Not Snotlout!" Stoick finished.

Snotlout then walked up snobbish and clapped his hands together and were nothing happened, he did it again. He then growled at the others.

"I'm clapping," he said in a fake posh voice. "When I clap, that means you two servants serve me!"

Ragnar and Fishlegs then shut the twins towards him and they began to clean his boots.

Stoick growled angrily made his way to the exit.

Hiccup quickly grabbed his arm. "Now, before you shoot this down, and by the way, you have every reason entire archipelago that you should, there's a method to my—" He paused trying to come up with the right word."

"Madness?" Stoick offered.

"Yes," said Hiccup awkwardly. "I need you to trust me on this, Dad. It's foolproof."

Unfortunately it was at that moment that Tuffnut grabbed Snotlout arm and tried to pull his fake ring off.

"'Fool', maybe. 'Proof'? Not quite with you on that," said Stoick. He then saw the firm's expression on Hiccup's face and knew that all too well. "Oh, don't look at me like that, son."

Fortunately Ragnar then walked up to Stoick. "Trust us chief, none of us want Snotlout in the role… especially since he's acting Uber the Obnoxious. But there is logic in what appears to be a Very bad idea," Ragnar stated.

Stoick looked to him and then to Hiccup. He knew deep down in his heart there was nothing that would dissuade his son from consuming on this crazy plan.

He sighed. "Fine, on one condition."

* * *

The next day, Gobber wasn't standing of a boat at the dragon auction. Stoick had insisted on having Gobber accompany Snotlout, to make sure he didn't do anything stupid.

"Hear ye, hear ye. They honourable…" Gobber paused to come up with a proper name for Snotlout's character. "Sir Ulgerthorpe."

Snotlout then came walking down the gangplank carrying a chest of Berk's gold.

"Don't just stand there babbling to the peasants," Snotlout snapped. He then shoved the chest into Gobber. "Carry my gold."

Gobber swore to himself once this job was done he was going to have a nice long talk with Snotlout.

They made their way through the harbour and got the attentions acquired a few nasty looking Vikings, but Snotlout acted completely oblivious to this. He then fumbled with a few gold coins and toss them to several Vikings.

"Get yourself a new axe," he said. "You? Get yourself a new tunic."

Once they reached the end of the harbour they came across both Viggo and Ryker, who didn't look entirely please of their presence.

"Sir—" said Viggo with a fixed gaze.

"Ulgerthorpe," said Snotlout. "Learn the name. Live the name. Love the name."

"Of?" Viggo asked raising an eyebrow.

"Does it matter?" said Snotlout gesturing to Gobber.

Gobber then opened the chest to reveal the gold coins in it. Snotlout was about to walk off, but Viggo grabbed his arm firmly.

"There is one thing," he said frowning. "I feel like I know you from somewhere. Do I?"

Snotlout wasn't quite sure how to answer that question.

"My brother asked you a question," said Ryker marching up and grabbed the scruff of his shirt. "Does he know you from somewhere?"

"Wha… Ha!" said Snotlout nervously. "Does he know me from somewhere? "Does he _know_ me from somewhere?" He quickly looked at Gobber. "Hey, does he know me from somewhere?"

"It's none of your beeswax who he is or where you know him or don't know him," said Gobber confidently.

"Beeswax?" Snotlout laughed and shout Ryker away.

He then slapped Gobber across the face twice earning a few gasps from Dragon Hunters and several muttered indignantly. Viggo and Ryker looked at one another, slightly taken aback.

"You do not speak to me," said Snotlout firmly to Gobber, who is narrowing his eyes at him. "Do you understand?"

Gobber was very tempted to steal him with his hook, but his eyes were focused on Viggo and Ryker, who are watching with great interest.

"Do you understand?" Snotlout yelled filing some spit over Gobber's face.

"Yes, Sir Ulgerthorpe," said Gobber wiping the bit off with his hook. "Please accept my humble apologies."

"Try getting good help these days. Boof. Very hard," said Snotlout to Viggo and Ryker. He then walked off. "All right, be a good boy and tip the attendant. Come on."

Gobber sighed.

Ryker reached for his sword, but Viggo stopped him.

"We don't want to refuse the man's money, now, do we?" said Viggo.

Gobber walked past and tossed the coin to Viggo.

A few hours later, Johann showed up and Ryker was still in an angry mood.

"I'd turn it around. You've no business here," said Ryker.

"Says who?" Johann asked nervously.

"You have in the gold nor the constitution to stomach this," Ryker reminded.

"While you certainly speak the truth, Mr. Ryker, I do bring your brother an offering," said Johann.

"What kind of offering?" Ryker asked curiously.

* * *

Moments later he was aboard Johann's ship and open the hatch that led to below deck. He looked down into the cargo bay and then turned to his men.

"Get Viggo. He needs to see this," said Ryker.

"You must have misunderstood me, Mr. Ryker. I've simply brought an offering," said Johann. "I'd just as soon offload it and be on my merry way, if it's all the same to you."

"Yeah, well, it's not all the same to me," said Ryker angrily. He looked at his men. "Get Viggo."

"No need, big brother," said a voice.

They turned and saw Viggo walking across the gangplank.

"Mr. Grimborn. What a pleasant surprise," said Johann pleasantly.

Viggo made his way below deck with Ryker and Johann. There he saw several dragons locked-in dragon proof cages.

"As I was endeavouring to explain to your brother, I wanted to present you with these dragons for your auction as a sign of respect," Johann explained. "And as an exchange for future safe passage in my trading lanes. Maybe?"

Viggo gave him an emotionless look as one of the Hunters shoved Johann towards him.

"Trader Johann, perhaps I've judged you a bit harshly," said Viggo. "This is a splendid and most generous gesture."

He then walked over to him and the floorboards creaked.

Underneath the floorboards with the Dragon Riders and Toothless. They had used Johann ship a way to sneak onto the island with their dragons and were now very tense when they heard Viggo above them.

"The downside to an old ship," said Johann. "Not nearly the quality and excellence you have, no doubt, come to expect from the vessels in your fleet. Perhaps when the day comes that you feel the need to part—"

"Shh!" said Viggo raising a finger.

He then flipped his hand and a gold coin appeared he then dropped it into the cracks of the floorboards and heard the coin clunking. This indicated that the floorboards below them were hollow and unusual sign from a trader that visited many Viking colonies.

"The trade has been a bit, shall we say, 'sluggish', lately," said Johann. "My stories eyes empty as a tree following a ring-tailed lemur migration."

He then chuckled nervously.

Viggo then made his way above deck and Johann sighed with relief. However, it was short lived when Viggo came rushing down the steps again and smashed through one of the floorboards. He looked through the hole, but found nothing but darkness. He took a few seconds more to look around, but he saw nothing out of the ordinary except for an empty hold.

When he looked away, Toothless removed his wings that he used to shield the Riders. His wings was so dark that it made it look like the ship was indeed hollow which was relieved to them all.

However, when Viggo made his way back to Johann some dust through the cracks and on top of Tuffnut, who began to sneeze. The old tensed up as Tuffnut tried his best to hold it in, but he couldn't.

Fortunately, Fishlegs places hand over Tuffnut mouth just as he was about to sneeze and Viggo was none the wiser.

"We accept your terms," said Viggo. He then looked up the hatch to his men. "Offload Trader Johann's dragons and place them with the others."

"Aye, sir," said one of the men. "Ready to offload."

When Viggo left the hold, Johann sighed with relief. "My poor heart will surely not withstand any more of these harrowing moments."

* * *

Snotlout and Gobber meanwhile were outside Viggo's tent.

"Where is this simpleton?" said Snotlout, still acting as a snobbish Viking, which came quite naturally to him. "Does he make it a practice of disrespecting his best clients like this?"

"You do realise you actually aren't his best client," Gobber pointed out.

"I'm in character, Gobber, so, no. No, I do not realise that," said Snotlout.

They suddenly heard rustling in the bushes and suddenly a very large and lazy dragon emerging out of the bushes. It then waddled over towards a heap of scrap metal began to eat it in seconds later it fell asleep.

It greatly resembled that of a Gronckle, although it have a larger body and wings, its eyes were positioned closer to the snout than to the ears. It also had a larger tail bludgeon and a slightly smaller jaw, but with sharper and smaller teeth compared to Gronckles'.

Gobber recognise it from the Book of Dragons as a Hotburple and he was automatically transfixed upon it.

"Look at that big boy," said Gobber in awe.

The Hotburple had woken up and began eating the scrap metal again and then fell asleep again.

"Ugliest dragon I've ever seen," said Snotlout.

"I think he's magnificent," said Gobber as he hobbled towards the Hotburple.

"Of course you do."

"Hello," said Gobber waving his hook at the Hotburple.

Gobber raised his hand to him and the Hotburple automatically placed his snout upon the palm of his hand and began to purr. Gobber grabbed a piece of scrap metal and gave it him, which he ate happily. Gobber then happily hugged the hulking dragon.

"Out of my way, Grump. Fat beast," said a rude and angry voice.

Gobber looked up to see Ryker kicking the poor dragon. Gobber watched as he walked away, he would have wrung his neck if it wasn't for the fact that they were undercover.

"Do you auction off the ugly, fat one as well?" Gobber enquired.

Ryker laughed. "Who would buy him? Besides, he eat all the scrap iron and as the only dragon that can bite through a dragon-proof cage." He then made his way over to Grump. "Personally, I'd just as soon skin them and eat him. He then leaned down towards Grump and rubbed the dragon. "That fat would be tasty on toast squares with some yak butter. Eh, Grump?"

He then shoved Grump sadistically, much Gobber's annoyance.

"But Viggo likes having him around. Says there's a use for everyone."

Gobber looked at Ryker angrily and took a step towards him. Seeing the tension between the two of them Snotlout spoke up.

"When you two ladies are done blabbing about whatever, I like to do business," said Snotlout. "Is that not what we came for?"

"What, are you waiting for my permission?" Ryker frowned.

"Am waiting for some 'me' time," said Snotlout. "A private place to count my money out of the eyesight or earshot of your goons. Offence intended." He then looked to the tent beside them. "This will do. Come, valet."

Ryker stopped Snotlout before he could enter the tent. "Nobody goes inside Viggo's tent," he said.

Snotlout chuckled. "Very nice. First of all, Sir Ulgerthorpe goes where Sir Ulgerthorpe wants. Second, I need to count my gold. It's not gonna count itself." He then looked angrily at Ryker. "And unless you plan on building me a hut in the next five minutes, I'll do what I want!" He then calmed down. "Of course, I can go somewhere else and you can explain to your brother—"

Ryker grumbled. "Go ahead. Count your coin. But make it quick," he warned and walked off.

Gobber went to pick up the chest and saw Grump snoring peacefully. He felt sympathy for the poor dragon, but he followed Snotlout into the tent.

"Can you believe that barbarian?" said Snotlout as the entered the tent. "The nerve to question my intentions."

"You can drop the act," said Gobber. "We're alone."

"Sir Ulgerthorpe does not kowton to pressure, nor does he break character," said Snotlout. "He lives within. He becomes it."

Gobber narrowed his eyes. "Well, you tell Sir Ulgerthorpe that if he doesn't help Sir Gobber find the manifest, this hook is going to become—" He then raised his hook threateningly at Snotlout.

"All right, fine," said Snotlout shoving the hook away.

Then they began to search the tent for the manifest.

"You know, you could be a better scene partner," said Snotlout, still maintaining his snobbish voice. "It is two-sided. I'm giving for myself and I would appreciate a return on that energy."

Snotlout then found a piece of paper. "Ooh, what's this? Looks important," he said.

Gobber then snatched the paper and blew his nose with it. "Not as important as the auction manifest," he said holding out the manifest out.

Snotlout gave him a blank look.

Gobber sighed. "Manifest, Snotlout. The list of dragons and where they are kept."

"I actually know what a manifest is, Gobber," said Snotlout laughing boisterously.

"All right, time's up," said Ryker voice outside the tent. Gobber quickly hit the manifest behind his back just as Ryker entered the tent with several guards. "And the bidding is about to begin."

They then followed Ryker outside and as they walked towards the auction Gobber tossed the manifest onto the ground where seconds later Hiccup grabbed it.

He and Toothless then quickly hit behind Viggo's turned and looked at the manifest.

* * *

Moments later, Fishlegs and the twins began to look for their dragons.

"Now, one we find our dragons, we wait for Hiccup's signal," said Fishlegs as simply as possible to the twins.

"Yeah. Then we release the rest of the dragons," said Tuffnut. "We get it." He then looked his sister. "Is he guy serious?"

They then began wandering through the dragon cages for any sign of their dragons.

"Belch!" Tuffnut whispered.

"Barf!" Ruffnut whispered.

"Shh!" Fishlegs hissed. "Meatlug!"

"Do you hear something?" said a voice.

Fishlegs and the twins quickly hit behind one of the cages just as three Hunters appeared.

"I'm sure I did," said one of the Hunters.

"We're gonna get caught and thrown into a Whispering Death hole," Fishlegs quivered.

"Fishlegs. It's all in your noggin, my man," said Tuffnut.

"If you believe were gonna get caught, we're toast," said Ruffnut.

Unfortunately, the Hunters were one cage away from them and they heard their voices. One of the Hunters gestured to the cage and the other nodded and they turned yelling and raising their swords.

Fishlegs shrieked and covered his eyes.

Then he suddenly heard grunts and groans. He then removed his hands to find Astrid, Ragnar and Heather directly behind the Hunters, who appeared had just kicked them from behind.

"Keep looking!" said Astrid.

"We rest our case," said Tuffnut.

Astrid, Ragnar and Heather dragged the Hunters away so no one would spot them and Fishlegs and the twins kept on looking for their dragons.

Fishlegs remove the tarpaulin over one of the cages to reveal a Speed Stinger but try to sting him.

"Not my Meatlug," Fishlegs shrieked backing away from the Speed Stinger.

He then rushed up towards the twins looking quite frantic. "Right. If I think Astrid, Ragnar and Heather will show up to save us…" He then looked back quivered. "Oh, what do we do have they don't?"

He then noticed the twins had vanished.

"You hide," Tuffnut whispered.

"Where'd he go?" said a Hunter's voice.

"I don't see," said another voice.

Hunters were now patrolling the cages looking for any intruders. Once they've passed, Fishlegs, who had been hiding under a tarpaulin that was covering a cage, came out of hiding.

He watched as Hunters began to move the cages, it became apparent that the auction was about to begin and they still haven't found their dragons.

* * *

It was now evening and the auction was about to begin. Viggo was standing on a podium looking at all the buyers with Ryker by his side. Ryker gestured to Snotlout, who was busy talking to a Viking with a hood over his head.

"Are you from around here?" he asked. "Having a little fiesta back on my island after. I can put you on the list."

"Our special guest," said Ryker.

Viggo then stepped forward to look at all the buyers. "Friends, buyers, honoured guests, I believe we have assembled the most unique and comprehensive group of dragons in the archipelago. I think you will agree."

Viggo then remove the tarpaulin of the cage to reveal the twins clinging onto the cage of a Speed Stinger. It appeared that the twins were now paralysed and were unable to remove themselves from the cage.

There was incessant mumbling at the site and Snotlout jumped to his feet at once as did Gobber. He quickly open the chest and began to toss gold coins around.

"I'm making it rain," he said. "It's raining gold."

Unfortunately, no one jumped for the coins and Viggo and Ryker were now glaring at him.

"I knew I recognised him," said Viggo. "He's a Dragon Rider. Seize him. Seize them all!"

Seconds later, Snotlout, Gobber and the twins were surrounded by heavily armed Vikings.

* * *

It was now night and Fishlegs deal had not located the dragons. To make things worse the guard were now searching for them, it appeared that someone had blown their cover.

He secretly kept on looking for the dragons and removed the tarpaulin to reveal Stormfly and he soon of the other tarpaulins to reveal the other dragons.

"Stormfly. Skull. Hookfang. Barf and Blech," he said excitedly. He then spotted Meatlug and ran over to a cage. "Meatlug! Oh, I missed you, girl."

Meatlug spewed lava over the cage, but it did not melt. He then turned and saw two hunters charging at him with bolas in their hands.

"I'm not gonna get caught," he said to himself. "I'm not going to get—" He got caught, the bolas wrapped around him. "That doesn't work."

A bola then wrapped around his legs and he toppled over face first in the ground.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup had finally found the dragons deep within the islands caverns. All them were locked in the cages and wanted to be free more than anything in the world.

Hiccup rush over to the first page which contained a Quaken and began to fumble with some keys that he took off from a guard. As he was doing as he heard Toothless growling.

Hiccup quickly looked down the corridor and saw large figures heading straight towards them.

"Toothless, make 'em count," said Hiccup as Toothless prepare defy a plasma blast.

However when they got into the light Toothless quickly stopped. For it was three Hunters holding Astrid, Ragnar and Heather captive.

"Sorry, Hiccup," said Heather.

"It's okay, Heather," said Hiccup.

He turned and found more guards down the other end of the corridor. He was trapped.

* * *

Moments later he joined the rest of the Riders and Gobber in a cell which was being closed by Viggo himself.

"Assuming this is all Berk's gold, I'm guessing that Berk will take quite the hit on his bottom line," Viggo smiled. "That is most unfortunate. But please know that it's all going to a wonderful cause. As are your dragons."

He then gestured to Toothless, who was bound to a cart and muzzled.

"Toothless!" Hiccup yelled.

"All of them," said Viggo smiling sinisterly. He then made his way over to Toothless, who snarled at him. "This one will fetch a considerable price. Almost a pity to sell him. But I'll get over it." He then looked at Hiccup smirking. "If you're good, I might even let you watch."

Hiccup watched helplessly as Viggo and his men dragged Toothless down the tunnel no doubt to the auction to sell him. Astrid placed a hand on his shoulder to reassure him and then he placed his hand over hers.

"Hiccup, we have to get out of here and stop them selling our dragons," said Fishlegs.

"We will, Fishlegs," Hiccup assured.

"How?"

"This guy's killing me," said Tuffnut to his sister.

"Oh, I'm killing you?" Fishlegs chuckled looking at him.

"Please! Guards! Don't you know who I am?" said Snotlout slamming his hand in the cell door and still putting on his posh snobbish voice.

"He really gets into character, doesn't it?" said Ragnar looking at Heather, who simply nodded.

"Hey, Ulgerthorpe," said Gobber. "They do know who you are. Which is why you are in here with us."

"Okay, grumpy," Snotlout muttered.

Hiccup then began looking at their cell. "Hey, Gobber, what you think these walls are made of?" he asked.

Suddenly Tuffnut slammed his head into the cell wall.

"Huh," said Gobber looking at Tuffnut, who was now lying on the ground.

"It feels like iron ore," said Tuffnut picking himself up. "It's tough to run through."

"You should try it again," Ruffnut suggested.

"You think so?"

"Yes."

Tuffnut then took a running start and head-butted cell wall again.

"Definitely iron ore," said Tuffnut with a dazed expression before toppling over.

Gobber simply shrugged it Hiccup.

* * *

Meanwhile the auction, Viggo was going is well underway as he was busy selling a Deadly Nadder.

"Sold, to the Viking with no teeth," said Viggo.

Two Vikings laughed and they soon discover that both of them had no teeth and began hitting one another.

Then several Hunters rolled Toothless onto the podium and many of the buyers gasped. The man wearing the hood took exceptional interest.

"That's right, gentlemen," said Viggo. "Your eyes do not deceive you. A Night Fury. The Night Fury. The only one in existence. The prized centrepiece of any collection. Let us start the bidding at—"

Automatically all the buyers began yelling at once all of them wanting a piece of the Night Fury.

"Get the boy," said Viggo looking at his men. "I want him to remember this moment."

He looked down at Toothless, who growled at him.

* * *

Meanwhile in the cells, Gobber was now tossing several chunks of iron ore at the guards. The guards turned and watched him toss another piece.

"Oh? Look out. You might get pebbled to death," said one of them.

Gobber tossed another one.

"Oh, come on. Is that all you got?"

"Give it your best shot," said the other guard raising his axe.

Gobber tossed another one in the guard swung, but missed. The two guards laughed.

However, Gobber heard a familiar roar and smiled. Next second appearing round the corner was Grump, who was eating the iron ore happily.

The two guards turned and looked at the large dragon.

"Oh, it's Grump," said the guard laughing. "Come on."

"Oh no!" yelled a guard sarcastically. "It's the fat, lazy dragon."

The guards laughed.

Grump began chewing the iron ore and then he looked to Gobber, who was giving him a pleading look.

"Help me, Grump. Please? Please, Grump?" he begged.

It was that point that Grump's attitude changed completely, he was now growling angrily at the guards with his wings outstretched. The two guards looked at each other slightly uneasy and slowly backed away from the angry dragon.

"Right. Easy, Grump. Easy."

"Good dragon."

"That's it, Grump. Get them!" said Gobber.

Grump then fired a fire blast at the Hunters. He did at them directly, but did cause their feet to be set a light. Then before they knew what hit them, he whacked his bludgeon-like tail at one of them sending him flying. He then head-butted the second guard tossing him up into the air and struck him with his bludgeon-like tail.

Grump walked past the two now unconscious guards towards the Riders and Gobber's cell. Gobber then placed his hand on top of Grump's snout and he purred happily.

"These are dragon-proof bars," said Fishlegs. "He'll never be able to…" He sobbed when Grump took a large bite out of the cell as if it was a piece of meat. "Ooh! Amazing!"

"Is he ever going to learn?" said Ruffnut looking at her brother.

"None of them will," said Tuffnut.

* * *

Meanwhile the auction, the enthusiasm was reaching its peak as everyone bidded on Toothless. Then the hooded Viking held out a large bag of gold coins and the buyers groaned in disappointment.

"Sold!" Viggo announced.

Toothless growled at him.

It was at that point that they saw Hunters were running for their lives as all the dragons they were holding suddenly charged through. The dragons had been locked up in abuse and were now wanting payback destroying everything in sight.

The buyers seen the calamity gone up from his seat and screamed heading straight towards the docks. To Viggo's annoyance that includes the hooded man, who snatched his gold coins back from him and walked off.

Viggo knew exactly who was responsible for this debacle. "Hiccup," he growled.

Then jumping out of flames caused by a Monstrous Nightmare where the Riders.

"Everyone, to your dragons," said Hiccup. "Check the decks of the ships that are leaving."

"We'll find them, Hiccup," Fishlegs assured.

"I the attitude, Fishlegs," said Tuffnut as he and his sister clapped enthusiastically.

Hiccup then saw Toothless on the podium. "Toothless."

The Riders then ran in different directions to find their dragons.

Hiccup looked up at the podium where Ryker stood. "Ryker, it's over," he said.

"Says the one-legged boy with no backup," said Ryker as he drew his sword.

He then jumped off the podium and raised his sword up high straight at Hiccup, but then his sword was blocked by Gobber, who held up a battle-axe.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" said Gobber. Hiccup saw his chance and made his way over to the podium. "Someone like me."

Ryker growled as the two Vikings pushed their weapons to overpower the other. They soon broke apart and began swiping at each other. Gobber blocked the low swing Ryker attempted and the high one.

Ryker placed of his body weight into his sword and pushed Gobber back, as the old Viking held his ground. Gobber then broke apart and began going on the offensive by swinging his axe.

"Is that all you got?" said Gobber.

Gobber pushing back towards the cliffside and then spun and disarmed Ryker with his hook. Ryker swung a first at Gobber, who ducked and allowed Ryker to go past him.

"Come on!" Ryker roared.

The two Vikings then charged at one another, but at the last second Gobber bent down and knocked him off his feet with his hook. He then jumped off the wall and performed a power dive right on top of Ryker.

However, it wasn't enough to take Ryker down as he got back onto his feet. Ryker then charged headfirst into Gobber, who then did the same to him. Ryker tried to head-butt him again.

"Oh, no, you don't," said Gobber and grabbed him and tossed them into the cliff wall.

Hiccup had finally reached the podium and was now attempting to free Toothless from the cart. He then saw Gobber rolling past and slammed into one of the dragon-proof cages.

"You think this might be an opportunity to go after Viggo and get Berk's gold back?" Gobber enquired. "Just a thought."

"Right," said Hiccup. "Sorry."

Hiccup then removed the muzzle around Toothless' mouth and then gave him a good hug. He then looked back at Gobber. "You good?"

Ryker then jumped onto the podium.

"Never been better!" Gobber yelled as he charged at Ryker, wrapped his arms around him and then jumped off the podium.

* * *

Once Hiccup had freed Toothless they made their way down to the docks and found Viggo's flagship and Viggo himself with the chest in his arms. The ship was already setting sail.

"I see him, bud," said Hiccup and they flew down towards him.

Viggo looked up and saw Hiccup and Toothless approaching him. He then raised the chest above his head and then tossed it right into the sea.

"No! Toothless, dive!" Hiccup yelled.

Toothless quickly dived into the water and began searching for the chest, which was sinking fast. Hiccup then jumped off Toothless and slammed towards the chest. He grabbed it, but it was far too heavy for him and it was pulling him down as well.

Toothless tried to swim after him, but he wasn't a Tidal Class and could only watch as Hiccup sank to the bottom of the ocean. Hiccup could hold his breath much longer knee felt the chest slipping from his fingers and then suddenly something grabbed him from out of nowhere.

It was then poured out of the sea and he saw that Astrid and Stormfly had saved him just in time. He looked to his side and saw Ragnar and Skull holding onto Toothless, who roared at him happily.

Ragnar then took the chest from Hiccup and he then jumped onto Toothless back and they hovered next the other Riders.

"Where's Gobber?" Astrid asked.

Hiccup pulled out his spyglass and looked at the island which was now burning and dragons were flying out of every direction.

"He was fighting Ryker, but I don't see him," he said.

"There! My valet!" Snotlout yelled, still in his posh and snobbish voice.

There sure enough was Gobber riding on top of Grump laughing triumphantly.

"Where's Ryker?" Hiccup asked.

"Turn tail after old Gobber taught him a thing or two," said Gobber. It was then that they noticed that he was missing his hook and he quickly heard the stump behind his back. "He might have gotten in a few moves of his own."

"So did Viggo," said Ragnar holding out the chest.

Hiccup flew over and some of the chest was for of rocks. "He switched chests on me."

"Well, let's go after him," said Astrid.

"He's long gone," said Hiccup.

"That's a 'chest half-empty' point of view, Hiccup," said Tuffnut.

"Tuff, the chest isn't half-empty. It's totally empty. Of all of Berk's gold."

Astrid looked at the dragons that were flying past, the ones they saved. "It was worth it, Hiccup. Look at all the dragons we saved," she said.

"And I imagine that Viggo has lost some in credibility for not able to keep his dragons under lock and key," Ragnar added.

"I just hope my dad feels the same way," said Hiccup hopelessly.

"I'll take the heat from Stoick, Hiccup," Gobber assured taking the chest from Ragnar. "And we'll get that gold back."

He then grabbed one of the rocks from inside the chest and gave it to Grump, who aided happily. He then saw the faces of both Hiccup and Ragnar.

"What? We shouldn't let it go to waste," said Gobber and then fed Grump another rock. "Besides, this guy needs to eat. Constantly."

With that the Riders flew back home just as the sun began to dawn.

"Look, everyone," said Snotlout, still performing his posh and smugglers voice. "My valet has secured a dragon to call his own. Oh, it's so beautiful."

Gobber then slapped him across the face, twice. "I know it's wrong, but that felt good," said he blissfully.

Snotlout just stared at him as he rubbed his cheek. "The face. The one thing you don't slap."

"Actors," Gobber scoffed.


	39. Defenders of the Wing Part I

Hiccup and the other Dragon Riders were engaging the Hunters out in the open sea. They were stopping yet another shipment of dragons, but after they had decimated Viggo's auction he had stepped up security on his transport ships.

Astrid was flying right underneath two of them as a Hunter by the net at them.

"Stormfly, twirl!" Astrid yelled and they spun to avoid getting snagged by the net and then fired several spine shots down at the ships.

Hiccup landed on one of the ships and on one of the dragon-proof cages which had a Deadly Nadder trapped inside. Toothless fired a plasma blast burning through the rope freeing the Deadly Nadder.

"Let's go," said Hiccup and soon he joined Astrid.

There were making their way to another ship and they saw that Snotlout and the twins were fighting over a cage Changewing.

"Let me handle this," Snotlout yelled at them.

Astrid groaned. "Come on, Stormfly."

Stormfly then fired several spines and the cage knocking off the lock and freeing the Changewing. Snotlout and the twins just looked at one another, shrugged and then took off.

They managed to free all the dragons and were making their escape, but then a chain wrapped itself around Meatlug's hindlegs. Fishlegs tried desperately to fly away from the ship as they were pulled in closer towards it.

"Come on, girl, you can do this," said Fishlegs encouragingly.

A Dragon Hunter then approached and fired two arrows straight at Astrid and Stormfly. Astrid was able to kick one aside, but the second struck her on the leg and she screamed in pain. She pulled the arrow out and placed a hand over her wound.

"A little help!" Fishlegs yelled.

Unfortunately, the Riders were too busy escorting the dragons away from the burning ships to help.

Fishlegs groaned. "Looks like we're on our own. All right, blast it, girl. Now!" Meatlug fired a lava blast at the chain, but it was dragon-proof and the pulled even closer towards the ship. "Go for the winch!"

Meatlug fired a lava blast at the winch knocking the Hunter backwards, but the winch was still intact.

Ryker chuckled evilly as he approached him. "Oh, I'm afraid the chain and winch are both dragon-proof this time."

"But that wood deck isn't," said a voice behind him.

He looked up and saw that Hiccup and Toothless were looking down at him from the mast. Toothless then fired a plasma blast that the deck and Ryker jumped aside just as the plasma blast struck the deck.

The explosion was powerful enough to free the winch from the deck and Fishlegs took this opportunity to fly away. Ryker quickly picked himself up and gave chase, but he missed grabbing fell into the ocean.

Fishlegs cheered as he and Hiccup flew away from the ships as the Hunters fired some arrows at them. Leaving behind a furious Ryker, who slammed his hand into the water.

* * *

A few hours later they were back on at Dragon's Edge and Hiccup approached Fishlegs.

"How's she doin'?" he asked looking at Meatlug.

"You know, her feelings are hurt," Fishlegs pointed out. "You guys were cutting it a little too close. Minor wings sprain, but she'll be fine."

Hiccup then noticed that both Ragnar and Heather were helping Astrid with walking and saw that she was limping.

"Are you limping?" Hiccup asked.

"No," said Astrid firmly.

"She got shot in the leg," said Heather.

"What?" Hiccup stared.

"A Hunter arrow was gonna hit Stormfly, so I blocked it," Astrid explained.

Hiccup stared at her in bewilderment. "With your leg?"

"It's just a fresh wound," Ragnar assured. "However, I should bandage it fast, before it gets infected."

Ragnar then took Astrid so that he could do just that.

Hiccup then turned to the others. "All right, has anyone else been hurt recently? Who didn't tell me?" he asked.

Snotlout and the twins raise their hands.

"I got a thing in my eye," said Tuffnut.

Ruffnut leaned over and looked at it. "You mean that tiny little bug?"

"Hey. That bug was on a mission. A mission to be in my eye."

"Oh, gods," Hiccup moaned.

"We all know the risks, Hiccup," said Heather.

"And let's not forget we freed a couple dozen dragons this week," said Astrid as Ragnar bandaged her leg.

"I should have enough medical supplies to treat everyone," said Ragnar.

Hiccup couldn't believe this was happening. "Okay, guys, new rule. From now on—"

Suddenly a Terrible Terror landed on his arm with a message strapped to his leg. Curious, Hiccup removed it and read it and the Terrible Terror blew off.

"What is it?" Tuffnut asked excitedly. "Lots of big words? You want me to take a look at that? Yeah, big words are my thing. Or should I say my thingy."

"Talk to us, Hiccup," said Astrid.

Hiccup looked up from the note. "It's from Viggo. He wants to meet."

* * *

A few minutes later they were in the clubhouse looking over a map of Viggo's meeting point. It was a small island a few miles away from Berk, but a long distance from the Edge.

"He picked a spot in the middle of nowhere," said Astrid pointing at the island which they had circled. "Nice long flight to tire out your dragon."

Snotlout laughed. "Trap. That's definitely a trap."

"That is a lot of open sea," Ragnar agreed.

"Hiccup, he just wants you out there alone so his men can ambush you," said Astrid.

Hiccup shook his head. "No, that's not his style."

"Hiccup's right," Heather agreed. "Viggo likes to out-think his opponents."

"And that's his weakness."

"Unless he actually out-thinks you. Which sounds like a strange to me," said Tuffnut. Ruffnut then promptly punched him in the face with the back of her fist. Tuffnut then glared at her. "Like you weren't thinking it too."

"Of course I was, but I wasn't saying out loud," Ruffnut snapped.

"Sorry if my thinking comes out of my mouth. The things I think, I say out loud."

"Letting Hiccup now how overmatched he is isn't going to help with his obvious lack of confidence," she said gesturing to Hiccup, who was now pinching the bridge of his nose as he started to feel a headache coming.

"Only he can find the confidence within himself. Which he's now lacking. He needs to go to a seminar."

"Viggo will come after us, whether I meet him or not," said Hiccup slamming his fists on the table. "I'm going."

* * *

Hiccup soon headed to Viggo's meeting point with Astrid, Ragnar and Heather. As they flew over the island they saw the lone Dragon Hunter ship.

"There's Viggo," said Heather pointing at the centre of the island.

The island was small with very little cover which did not seem like the best place for an ambush.

"No place near him for his men to hide," Astrid noted.

"I very much doubt he would send the one ship just for us," said Ragnar.

"He'd be easy to pick off from here," Heather pointed out.

"No, no. I'm gonna see what he has to say," said Hiccup. "Keep an eye on that ship for me."

Hiccup then headed down towards the island while the others patrolled in the skies keeping a close eye on him, Viggo and his ship.

Toothless was about to land and Hiccup noticed some very familiar blue flowers surrounding Viggo and quickly pulled him up.

"Blue Oleander!" he yelled.

Toothless then landed on the edge of the flower field and Hiccup dismounted.

"You stay here, bud," said Hiccup. "If he makes a move, you know what to do."

Hiccup then made his way over to Viggo, who was sitting at a large stone with a Maces and Talons gameboard. Hiccup then placed a piece onto the gameboard.

"I think you're missing a piece," he said.

Viggo smiled up at him. "You came. I'm surprised."

"No, you're not," said Hiccup as he walked around him so he was now facing him. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be sitting in a field of flowers that are poisonous to dragons."

"A man has to take precautions," Viggo shrugged. He then looked up at Astrid and the others flew around the island. "I noticed you arrived with your friends."

"Like you said, 'precautions.'" Hiccup then narrowed his eyes at Viggo. "Look, what do you want, Viggo."

"To complement you, Hiccup. Your little group has had some impressive victories recently. Put quite the dent in my bottom line."

"Glad to hear it."

Viggo then place another piece on the board. "You are a worthy opponent. And, as such, this battle between us could continue for years to come." A small smile appeared across his face. "Or…"

"Or? Or what?" Hiccup asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Or it could end today."

"I accept your surrender," Hiccup smiled.

Viggo snickered. "Oh, it's good to see your sense of humour is still intact. But I am offering a truce." He then brushed away the pieces on the board. "With very generous terms." He then placed a map on the board with a large red line across it. "You stay on the south of this line. And my men and I stay above it."

He then stood up. "We never have to fight again. Hiccup, I'm not unreasonable. I have no desire to rule the world like…" He paused slightly. "Some people. I'm a businessman, and fighting is bad for business."

"What about the Dragon Eye?" Hiccup asked.

Viggo shook his head. "I'm afraid that's not part of the deal. I'm offering you the chance to save the life of every dragon below this line, not to mention those of your fellow Riders. I am willing to memorialise this deal now and end the bloodshed." He then wrote his name on the bottom of the map with a red pencil and then handed it over to Hiccup. "Are you?"

Hiccup looked at the map and then to Viggo. "I'll need to think about it."

"Of course. Of course. All leaders should receive counsel." He then smiled up at him. "But in the end, it's up to us, isn't it?"

Hiccup rolled the map and was about to leave, but Viggo added with a smirk, "Oh, how's Astrid's leg? Healing well, I trust." Hiccup narrowed his eyes and turned his back on Viggo. "Time is of the essence, Hiccup."

Hiccup then walked away without saying a word.

Viggo merely smirked. "He's can be such a fragile thing."

* * *

Hiccup and the others soon return to Dragon's Edge and explained the situation to them. They all then looked over Viggo's map pondering over the deal Viggo offered.

"A truce? You have to be joking," said Astrid in disbelief.

"This is a very serious-looking map," said Fishlegs.

"It is an unexpected move of his," said Ragnar curiously.

Astrid then turned to Hiccup, who was looking over a Maces and Talon gameboard. "You're not actually thinking of doing this, are you, Hiccup?" Hiccup said nothing but focus on the gameboard. "Uh, Hiccup? The map is over here."

"Yeah. But the answers are over here," said Hiccup. "You see, Viggo's a game player. His moves are never what they seem to be."

"Unless, he knows that you know he's a game player," said Tuffnut. "Then the deception move is to make the obvious move."

"But, he is also smart enough to know that Hiccup knows that Viggo knows that Hiccup knows that he's a game player. So the deceptive move is actually make the deceptive move," Ruffnut added.

Fishlegs was starting to get confused by this trail of thought from the twins.

"But, if Viggo is that smart, then you know that Hiccup is smart enough to know that Viggo is smart enough to know that Hiccup is Viggo." Tuffnut shook his head realising that he confused himself. "No, wait. What were we talking about again?"

Astrid groaned and turned towards Hiccup. "Hiccup, would you please tell us what you're thinking?"

"Viggo doesn't want a truce," said Hiccup. "What he really wants is to keep us away from something on his side of the game board."

"You might be right, but where do we find this thing?" Astrid asked.

Hiccup got to his feet and made his way towards them. "I think we can assume that Viggo wouldn't give up any more territory than he has to. So, whatever he wants to keep us away from is going to be right on the edge of the line." He then pointed out the small island that was near the edge of the line. "Here. This is where we start."

Ragnar looked at Hiccup with a concerned look. "It could be a trap. This will be the first time that Viggo manipulated us in doing exactly what he wanted us to do."

"Ragnar has a point," said Heather. "He did manipulate you guys to track down the Buffalord and us to attack that fake shipyard."

"This time we'll be double careful of our surroundings," said Hiccup.

* * *

The next morning they headed out towards the mysterious island on the map. The island was as big as Berk, but in the centre it had a volcano and judging from the smoke emanating from it was active.

"There it is," said Hiccup looking up from the map.

"There's a village in the clearing to the west," Astrid noted.

Hiccup grabbed his spyglass and saw the village, but he didn't recognise the architecture. The also appear to be a large statue of a dragon standing on two pillars right in its centre.

"Strange-looking buildings," he commented. "Not Viking or Hunter. And check out that statue." He then looked over towards Fishlegs. "Fishlegs, can you make out what kind of dragon that's supposed to be?"

He then shot his spyglass over to Fishlegs, who nearly dropped it. He then placed a design looked at the statue. It had a round body and quite a long tail. Its wings are relatively small and its heads are as big as its bodies. Its front legs are very small compared to its hind legs and they have several big, spiky lobes along their backs and tails.

"Looks like a Boulder class to me. But not one I've seen before," he said.

"I find it unusual that they would build a village at the base of an active volcano," Ragnar frowned. "I'm surprised they haven't been buried in lava."

Snotlout chuckled. "Let's go ask 'em," he said and I down towards the village.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Astrid yelled. Snotlout groaned and stopped. "We don't know if they're friend or foe."

"We don't even know what the reaction to dragons will be for Dragon Riders for that matter," Ragnar added.

"Let's do a little surveillance first," Astrid suggested.

"Astrid and Ragnar have a point," said Hiccup. "We'll land over in that forest and then try to move in for a closer look."

* * *

They then flew down towards the forest and let their dragons and made their way on foot to the village. Ragnar made his way up to Hiccup with a slightly concerned look.

"Anything the matter, Rag?" Hiccup asked.

"I swear I've seen at dragon in my visions," he said with a tone of concern. "I also seem to remember that we were imprisoned and trialled for execution."

Hiccup bit his lip, he knew that Ragnar's visions had always come true in the past. "Don't mention this to the others," he said.

"Don't mention to them that will be captured and executed? Wouldn't dream of it," he joked.

As they continued on walking Astrid approached the two of them. "That village didn't seem like much. Why wouldn't Viggo want us to find it?"

"I don't know yet," said Hiccup. "I'm just happy to be one step ahead for a change."

"How about we find out what he's hiding before we pat ourselves on the back," Ragnar advised.

Snotlout then yawned and the twins turned around to look at him. Then to their bewilderment they found that he had vanished.

"Where did Snotlout go?" Tuffnut asked turning towards his sister. He then noticed that she had vanished as well. "Okay, I'm pretty sure I had a sister when we landed. Or has it merely been me in girls' clothes?"

Then something grabbed him and he vanished as well.

Fishlegs was wondering around as if he had no worries in the world and then he saw blueberry bush. "Oh, blueberries!"

He then reached out for blueberry and seconds later something grabbed him and pulled him into the bush.

Heather thought she had something, but when she looked around she saw nothing. She then carried on walking, but then her leg got caught in a snare and she was whisked upside down before she knew it. She grabbed her axe and sliced through the rope, but something grabbed on the way down and the only thing that landed was her axe.

Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar heard the movement of the trees and only saw Heather's axe and saw they were five Dragon Riders short.

"This can't be good," said Ragnar.

"I… uh… I have a bad feeling," said Hiccup.

"You want a worst feeling?" said Astrid, who noticed something above them. "Look out."

They looked up and saw several masked men and women above them holding some sort of crossbow.

"Astrid… Ragnar," Hiccup began.

Their mysterious attackers then by their crossbows and launched several darts at them. Astrid and Ragnar were quick enough to grab the darts and Hiccup attempted to be diplomatic.

"We come in—"

Unfortunately he was caught short by a dart which struck him in the chest and penetrated his armour. Shortly after Astrid and Ragnar was struck and they collapsed.

"…peace," Hiccup finished weakly before he lost consciousness.

* * *

When Hiccup regained consciousness he noticed they want in the forest any more. He then saw that he and the other Riders were bounded and placed somewhere within the village and guarded by mysterious masked figures, the same ones that attacked them.

"What the…" he said slightly confused.

"Great," Astrid groaned.

"Should have seen this coming," said Ragnar.

Soon all the other Riders started to regain consciousness and they too were slightly confused.

"Who are these guys?" Snotlout asked.

"And what are they feeding our dragons?" Fishlegs asked.

They turned and saw that a man was actually feeding some sort of fruit to their dragons and they appear to be enjoying it.

"I don't know," said Hiccup. "But I think we're about to find out."

He then got to his feet and looked at them. Soon moving his way through the crowd was a man, probably a few years older than they were, with red hair that was very close to his the top of his head, with it shaven off all around. He wears a green shirt, with black shoulder pads and arm guards, green pants with black boots, and black armour like the rest of his tribe.

He started to walk around them and his eyes focus on the unblinkingly. He then approached Hiccup. "I am Throk," he said.

"Uh…" was all Hiccup could say before Throk grabbed his head and forced him down on his knees.

He then released Hiccup and then turned as did the guards. "All hail, Mala, Queen Defender of the Wing."

All then then placed her hands on the chests and bowed as a very short, blonde haired woman with pale green eyes approached them.

She had bangs parted to the right of her hair. Her outfit was very similar to the rest of her tribe with the exception of being longer and gold lining on her tunic and shoulder guards and the ends on the front had some sort of crest that resembles a dragon statue.

They all positioned themselves that they could get a better look at me could tell from her eyes that she was studying every single one of them with a cold glare. Once she stopped Throk and the rest stood up straight and turned to face them.

"So, these are the Dragon Hunters your men captured, Throk?" she said in a cold commanding voice.

"Yes, my Queen," Throk bowed.

Astrid stared at her. "Hunters? Us? You gotta be kidding."

"We do not hunt dragons," said Hiccup.

Mala narrowed her eyes at them. "Do you take me for a fool? You were sent by Viggo Grimborn to attack and steal the Great Protector."

They followed her eyes towards the statue above them, clearly it was more than just a statue for them.

"You couldn't be more wrong," said Hiccup.

"Yeah, why would we steal a statue?" said Tuffnut deeply confused. "To pose like it for a long period of time?"

"Silence, girl," Mala glared.

"What? She's the girl," he said gesturing to his sister.

"A lot of people make that mistake when they first meet us," said Ruffnut.

"Look, we don't know who you are or who 'the Great Protector' is, but if your enemies of Viggo Grimborn, then we have something in common."

"Exactly what the last five sent by Grimborn said," said Mala.

"We don't hurt dragons. We honour and respect them."

"So you say, but you shackle them and make them do your bidding," said Mala gesturing to the saddles on their dragons.

"Those are just saddles. We ride dragons."

"Not anymore, you don't. Your dragons are now free."

The man that had been feeding their dragons then waved his arms around. "Go, fly, fly free!"

However, Toothless and the others didn't seem raring to go.

"Go! Be burdened no more," said Mala.

All seven of them just sat there refusing to leave their riders.

"See? Our dragons are loyal to us," said Astrid.

"Especially you, Hookfang," Snotlout smiled. "Way to go, buddy!"

Hookfang then took off, but the other dragons growled at him and he landed back onto the ground.

"Okay, if we're really Dragon Hunters, then why wouldn't our dragons leave now that you've 'freed' them?" Hiccup asked. "How do you explain that?"

"Is it not obvious? They no longer think for themselves," said Mala. "But we will change that." She then leaned down and glared at Hiccup. "And you will pay for your crimes against dragons." She then turned her people. "Take them away, Throk. Prepare for a royal trial."

* * *

A few minutes later, the eight of them were in a pit sealed with iron bars and guarded by two Defenders. Astrid and Heather was standing on the twins shoulders to get a better look at their surroundings and hopes for an escape route.

"I'll take the guard on the left," Astrid whispered.

"I'll take the one on the right," said Heather. "The rest of you, head straight for the dragons while we hold off the others."

"Once you get in the air—"

"Just hold a second," said Hiccup. "We're not going anywhere."

Astrid looked down at him as if he was crazy. "We aren't?"

"These Defenders of the Wing clearly love dragons just like we do," said Hiccup. "And the way they fight, they could be great allies against Viggo."

"Except for the fact that they think we work for Viggo," Snotlout pointed out.

"Which is just a misunderstanding."

"That I would prefer to clear out from the backs of our dragons," said Astrid.

"If we shoot our way out of here, they'll never gonna trust us," said Hiccup.

"Actually, I'm okay with that," said Ruffnut raising her hand.

"I also second the motion," said Tuffnut raising his hand. "There is a motion, right?"

Astrid then kneed him on the head.

"Look, Viggo was willing to give up a lot to keep us away from this island," said Hiccup. "I think it's because he knows these people can help us defeat him. But first we have to earn their trust."

Astrid then jumped off Tuffnut's shoulders and stared at him. "By standing trial?"

"For being Dragon Hunters? Why not? We're innocent, aren't we?"

"Perhaps the true will set us free," said Fishlegs encouragingly.

"That if the trial is fair," said Ragnar folding his arms. "I've seen a woman in my visions and she was definitely pointing a sword at you. Plus, I'm not sure they want to trust us. From what I can tell from their culture they actually worship dragons and clearly to them riding a dragon is just as bad as hunting them."

"Are you sure your visions didn't show you anything else?" Hiccup asked.

"Well, I saw also saw Mala riding with Snotlout on Hookfang and appear to be touching his arms," said Ragnar.

Snotlout looked up. "What?"

"So what you're saying is that Snotlout could have us executed," said Astrid smiling.

Snotlout glared at her. "Hey! I resent that remark!"

"What if we used the insanity defence?" Tuffnut asked.

"That would only work for you," said Ruffnut.

"True."

"We can do this," said Hiccup enthusiastically.

"All right, Hiccup," Astrid sighed, slightly concerned with what Ragnar had said. "I hope you're right about this."

"Me too."

* * *

Soon they were all out of the pit and everyone will have gathered at the foot of the statue. Mala was sitting on a throne like chair looking down.

"You stand accused of being Dragon Hunters, subjugators of dragons," Mala began. "Do you deny this?"

Hiccup stepped forward. "Yes."

"But you admit that you bought the dragons to carry you on their backs?"

"We don't force them."

"And that used them to land secretly on our island?"

"Yes," Hiccup admitted. "But you make it sound worse than it was."

"So, you were captured by my men seeking towards our village?"

"'Sneaking' is a strong word."

"And you didn't come heavily armed?"

"Those are for self-defence."

She smiled. "Oh, so you came here expecting a fight?"

"No, you're… You're twisting my words," said Hiccup, who was starting to believe that Ragnar was right about the trial being rigged.

"Okay, that's it," said Tuffnut as he stepped forward. "Time for an expert to step in."

"No, don't!" Astrid pleaded.

"Let him go," said Ruffnut. "He knows what he's doing. He's been on trial more than anyone in Berk. Of course, he's also been convicted more than anyone in Berk. But who cares."

"Well, we're dead," said Ragnar.

"Tuffnut Thorston, attorney at things," said Tuffnut as he stood alongside Hiccup.

"Tuffnut," Hiccup warned.

Tuffnut ignored him. "For the defence, your Queen-ness." Mala just smiled, no doubt predicting that were about to go bad for them. "Did we seek your island? Perhaps. Did I eat a coconut?"

"Maybe," Ruffnut called.

"But since when is sneaking around on someone else's property without permission a trespass?" Tuffnut continued.

"For the record, this person does not represent me," said Hiccup.

"Not at all," Ruffnut called.

"And maybe we do make the dragons do whatever we say and we go wherever we go and want to do, where ever we want and carry us on their backs and we obviously keep them in cages and…" Hiccup and the other Riders, minus Ruffnut, who was smiling, knew they were about to be executed. "But does that mean that we 'subjugate' them?"

"Subjugate then we do not," Ruffnut called.

"Yeah, that's kind of what it means," said Astrid.

"It does?" Tuffnut blinked. "That's terrible. Why do we do that?"

"Tuff, I'm begging you. Enough," Hiccup pleaded.

"And take your leader, Hiccup Haddock the Third," Tuffnut continued.

Ruffnut blinked. "There's three of 'em."

"A man who shot down Toothless and crippled him so that he could only fly with Hiccup, subjugating him…" The other Riders notice that the Defenders were starting to get angry and Mala was clenching her fists. Hiccup just faceplamed himself. "Did I use 'subjugating' right? I rest my case, Your Honour."

"Oh, there it is," Hiccup groaned.

"Oh, yeah," said Tuffnut made his way back to the others.

Hiccup then looked at Mala in an effort to explain the situation. "Look, until a few years ago we fought dragons. But since then, we've learned to live in harmony with them. And yes, we ride them, because they allow us to. But the most important thing for you to know about us is that we hate the Dragon Hunters and everything they stand for."

There was a lot of chatter amongst the Defences and it looked as if they got the crowd on their side.

Mala then got to her feet. "We are most moved by your sincerity and passion, Hiccup Haddock. Just one question. If you despise Viggo as you say, why are you hold a map written in his hand and carrying his signature?" she asked holding out Viggo'a map for all to see.

"Just great," Ragnar groaned.

"I find you all guilty," said Mala. "And I sentence you to the same fate that befalls all Dragon Hunters, the Nest!"

The Defenders cheered at the top of their voices.

* * *

Soon Hiccup and the other Riders found themselves walking into a cave with some heavily armed Defenders at the back being led by Mala and Throk. The Defenders prevented the dragons from entering the Nest.

"Told you the trial was a rigged," said Ragnar looking at Hiccup.

Hiccup looked at him. "You're not going to let that go, are you?"

"None."

"So, you still think we can be allies with these guys?" Astrid asked.

"Actually, I do," said Hiccup.

"Hey, this is no time for optimism," Snotlout snapped.

"Hiccup, we need a break for it. Soon!" said Heather.

"All right, hear me out," said Hiccup calmly. "They're taking us to 'the Nest,' right? The Nest of…"

"Dragons, I assume," said Astrid looking at the Gronckles overhead.

"Right. So, when they tossed me in this nest, instead of getting eaten, I'm gonna train those dragons and prove once and for all that we aren't Dragon Hunters."

"You really think you can pull that off?" said Heather sceptically.

"I'm betting my life on it," said Hiccup.

"You're betting all our lives on it," Astrid pointed out.

They soon reached a pit and Mala turn towards them. "We protect the dragons as they protect us. We accept the judgement of the dragons as they have accepted us. Step forward and receive that judgement."

"I'm the leader. I'll go first," Hiccup volunteered.

"Be my guest. Please," said Snotlout as he walked past him. "Even though you're not the leader, you should go first."

"Hiccup, good luck," said Astrid as Throk shoved him forwards.

"I'll be fine," Hiccup assured before Throk shoved him again.

Heather leaned over to Astrid. "So, you can train any dragon?"

"Except for a few," said Astrid. "Whispering Deaths, Changewings…"

"And Speed Stingers," said Hiccup as he looked into the pit which was full of Speed Stingers.

Throk then shoved him into the pit and Astrid rushed over to the edge as he screamed.

"Hiccup!" she screamed.

She was about to jump in after him, but Mala drew out her curved blade and stopped her.

Hiccup soon found himself in the pit and traced a phrase with several Speed Stingers which was snarling at him. They then zoomed around the pit surrounding him.

"Hiccup!" Astrid yelled trying to jump to his aid only to be stopped by Throk.

"I'm okay!" Hiccup assured. "So far."

A Speed Stinger snarled at him and he raised hands hoping to bond with it. Mala and Throk were confused by this gesture.

"What is he doing?" Mala frowned.

"Perhaps he's offering himself an easy kill," said Throk.

"Perhaps," said Mala folding her arms. "A coward's way to avoid suffering?"

"Hiccup is anything, but a coward," said Ragnar glaring at the two of them.

Hiccup slowly approached the Speed Stinger. "Hey, come on, little guy, we can be friends. Let's show them how we can—"

The Speed Stinger apparently didn't want to be a friend and tried to strike Hiccup with its stinger. Fortunately, Hiccup was able to avoid it stinger and quickly backed away from it.

"Whoa! Whoa!" Hiccup yelled as he dodged another sting attack.

One of the Speed Stinger managed to strike Hiccup's prosthetic, but ended up hurting itself. A second Speed Stinger rushed straight towards Hiccup with its stinger raised.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hey!" Hiccup yelled as he blocked the stingers with some bones that were lying around in the pit.

Unfortunately, a Speed Stinger sliced through them and Hiccup jumped back in time to avoid getting stung by another Speed Stinger.

"Whoa!"

Another Speed Stinger aimed its stinger at him, but he was able to avoid it. Unfortunately, this caused him to fall over and he was now the mercy of the Speed Stingers.

Astrid trying to break Throk's hold, but his grip was far too strong. She could only watch as the three Speed Stingers advanced slowly towards Hiccup with their stingers at the ready.

Then suddenly out of nowhere Toothless appeared jumping over Mala and landed in the pit between Hiccup and the Speed Stingers. The Speed Stingers ran towards him only to be knocked aside by his tail and knowing they were outmatched they retreated. Toothless then roared acknowledging his victory.

"Thanks, bud," said Hiccup gratefully as he mounted on Toothless.

They then flew up back to the ledge and Throk placed himself between Mala and Hiccup with his axe raised. The other Defenders aimed their weapons at them and that's when Astrid and the others made their move.

Astrid, Ragnar and Heather quickly disarmed three of the Defenders and grabbed their spears. The twins did the same with two Defenders behind them by slamming down on their feet.

"Stomping!" Tuffnut cheered as they grab their spears.

Fishlegs then knocked a Defender with one of his large fists and Snotlout grabbed the spear.

"Thank you very much," said Snotlout.

Throk held a firm grasp on his axe and Mala looked at them in a commanding look.

"Surrender!" she ordered.

Stormfly then flew down the tunnel and landed right in between the Riders and Mala and Throk with her spikes on end.

"Yeah, I'm thinking 'no,'" said Astrid.

"Mala, you need to ask yourself, would be dragons risk their lives to protect us if we were Hunters?" Hiccup asked.

Mala just remain silent.

"Give the order, my Queen, and I shall obey," said Throk.

"You said he would accept the judgement of the dragons. Well, except the judgement of our dragons. We are not the enemy."

"Stand down," Mala ordered.

Throk stared at her. "My Queen—"

"The dragons judged him innocent, Throk. Release him," she ordered as he approached Hiccup. "Release them all."

"Thank you," Hiccup smiled.

"You are a mystery Hiccup Haddock. But know this," she said as she bent down to Toothless and scratch under the chin. "If you are not what you claim to be for betrayers in any way, I will end you myself. Dragon or not."

The look she was giving him told him that she was very serious.

"Fair enough," said Hiccup.

Mala then walked away and Hiccup dismounted Toothless. He then looked at Astrid and Ragnar, who were making their way towards him.

"See? Told you it would work," he said confidently.

Astrid sighed.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," said Ragnar.

* * *

An hour later they were in the village and Mala was giving them a tour.

"That is the Temple of the Wing," she said pointing a building. "And next to it is our healing center. Where both man and dragon can be treated."

Ragnar looked intrigued. "You can heal dragons?"

"The some injuries, yes," Mala smiled back at him.

"I have learned a few things with turning to our dragons, maybe we can share what we know," Ragnar offered.

Mala then pulled out the same strange fruit that they gave them to their dragons earlier. "We call it Sagefruit. It calms even the most aggressive dragons. Makes them easier to handle."

"Which explains why our dragons have been so docile," said Hiccup as he rubbed Toothless' head.

"And yet, when you were in danger, he ignored its effects," she said looking quite impressive. "That was very impressive."

"Well, Toothless is no ordinary dragon," Hiccup smiled as Toothless nuzzled him.

"You do have a connection with him Hiccup Haddock," Mala admitted. "I do not understand it, but I cannot deny it."

"Well, maybe if we took you for a ride?" Hiccup offered.

Mala looked up at the sky and then to the statue of the Great Protector. "No. Such a thing is forbidden."

"Uh, Your Majesty, what dragon is this?" Fishlegs asked looking at the statue.

"That is our Great Protector," she said. "The Eruptodon. He eats lava from the volcano to keep us all safe. If not for him, all of this would burn to the ground."

"Eats lava?" Ruffnut stared. "Awesome."

"We should hook it up with Meatlug," said Tuffnut. "You know, she pukes lava. He might be into that kind of thing."

"I wondered why you would build a village at the base of an active volcano," said Ragnar folding his arms. "And this also explains why you worship him and why you're so protective of him."

"Indeed," said Mala nodded. "So you understand why we do what we must do to protect not only ourselves but him as well."

"So it is a Boulder Class," said Fishlegs pulling out the Book of Dragons and began to sketch it.

Snotlout chuckled. "I think you're Great Protector is asleep on the job," he said pointing at the smoke coming from the volcano.

"That should not be," said Mala in a panic voice.

"Let us check it out for you," Hiccup offered. "We can be there in just a few—"

"No, Hiccup Haddock," said Mala firmly. "While you are here, I ask you to respect our ways. You may come with us on foot."

"Okay, we'll do it your way," said Hiccup.

"I have a bad feeling about this," said Ragnar as they follow them to the volcano.

* * *

They started to make their way up to the volcano and they could see that lava was pouring down and was already hitting the far side of the island.

"The Great Protector has never let the lava get this far," said Mala looking deeply troubled.

"I'm sure there's an explanation," said Hiccup.

Mala turned to her Defenders. "You three, start chopping down this line of trees before the fire spreads further into the forest. The rest of you, come with me to the Den of the Great Protector."

* * *

The Riders followed Mala and her Defenders to where the Eruptodon and as they made their way up the path they noted that the Defenders had actually gifts for him as a way of showing thanks.

"Wow! Look at all these gifts they leave for the Eruptodon," said Heather as they passed the gifts.

Hookfang then spat fire at Snotlout, who quickly turned on him. "What? I treat you fine," he said defensively. "You don't even like flowers. Needy Dragon."

They soon reached some sort of archway and both Mala and Throk noticed that something was wrong immediately.

"There should be guards here," said Mala.

They quickly ran past the archway and Hiccup follow them. They entered into the volcano itself, but when they got inside he saw no trace of the Eruptodon.

"The Protector is gone!" said Mala.

"Could he just be on a different part of the island?" Hiccup asked.

Mala shook her head. "No, he never strays far from his food source."

"Hiccup," said Astrid.

"What is it?" Hiccup asked turning towards her.

Astrid picked up an arrow that appeared to be tipped. She tasted the liquid on it and spat it out immediately. "Dragon Hunters," she said.

"What?" Hiccup stared.

"And it's fresh," said Astrid handing him the arrow. "I think the Hunters took the Eruptodon."

Hiccup's eyes widened in horror as he realised what had just happened. "Viggo. He wasn't trying to keep us from this island. He was leading us here. To use as a diversion so he could steal their dragon. How did I fall for that?"

"I did tell you," Ragnar pointed out only to be elbowed by Heather.

"So, you were just a distraction after all," said Mala picking up yet another arrow and encrusted in her bare hands. "I was actually was beginning to believe you."

"No, this isn't what you think," said Hiccup quickly.

"Silence, Hiccup Haddock!" Mala roared. "You've served your master well. Without the Eruptodon to protect us, the fate of my village is sealed." She then pointed a finger at him and shaking angrily. "But so is yours."

"Mala…"

"I warned you what would happen if I found out you were lying to me," she said at the Defenders surrounded the Riders pointing their spears at them. "Your people are going to die for what you've done. But first, Hiccup…" She then drew his sword and pointed it right at Hiccup's throat. "I'm going to kill you myself."


	40. Defenders of the Wing Part II

Mala still had emerges look on her face as he pointed her sword beneath Hiccup's chin.

"I warned you, Hiccup Haddock. I warned you not to betray me," she said threateningly as he pushed Hiccup back towards the other Riders.

Fishlegs was quivering slightly at Throk's axe. "That's a very nice axe, Mr. Throk," he said nervously. "Is Throk a family name?"

Throk only responded with an annoyed glare.

Hiccup could tell the situation had deteriorated badly as he tried to come up with a plan to fix this.

"Look, I am all for winning friends and influencing people, but this mission has gone talons up," said Tuffnut.

"Way up," Ruffnut agreed.

"Two talons up."

"I guess it wasn't Snotlout's but we were about to be executed after all," said Ragnar looking at Astrid.

"That's the first," she admitted.

"Hey!" Snotlout glared.

"Seize them!" Mala ordered.

The Defenders then charge straight at them with their weapons held high. With that the riders retreated back to their dragons, but only Astrid managed to reach her dragon to retrieve her axe, because the others were blocked by the Defenders.

Toothless took up a fighting position and his mouth glowed as he came ready to defend his Rider. Stormfly stood beside Astrid with her spikes raised. Skull roared at the top of his voice that was almost ear-splitting. Hookfang and Barf and Belch snorted as they too prepared to attack.

Hiccup could tell that this fighting would solve nothing and would only get each side killed, which was probably what Viggo wanted.

"Stop!" he yelled at the top of his voice and held both his hands out.

Surprisingly the Defenders paused, clearly they didn't expect Hiccup's voice to be so forceful in command.

Hiccup looked at the Defenders. "Okay, look, you're right, you were tricked, but we were tricked too. Okay? Viggo use that as a distraction so he could steal your Eruptodon, but without us knowing."

"And it we did work for Viggo, do you really think he would send the Night Fury to an island knowing that the residents would free at first glance," Ragnar added. "He's a businessman and giving up the Night Fury is bad for business."

"We don't work with Dragon Hunters. They're our enemies," said Hiccup.

"And yet, our Eruptodon is gone, our village is in peril from the lava flow, and you hold in front of you your Night Fury," Mala pointed out not lowering her sword.

"Back off, bud," Hiccup ordered and Toothless relaxed, though reluctantly. "We will prove it to you. We'll go rescue your dragon and bring it back. I'll even leave some people here to help you fight the lava."

"Only you're best," she said firmly.

"Heather's a survivalist, she's dealt with lava before," said Hiccup looking at Heather. "And Ruff and Tuff…"

All eyes fell upon the twins, which was unfortunate because at that point they were transfixed with the Defender's blowgun.

"Oh, what do we have here?" said Tuffnut as he took one Defender's blowguns. "Huh, a blowgun. I'm just gonna…" He then blew it, but he held it backwards and the dart flew right into his mouth. "Oh, no!" He clutched his throat and looked at his sister. "Dart throat stings. Losing control of my vocal chord—" he said as his voice changed.

Ruffnut laughed uncontrollably, until Snotlout knocked Tuffnut in the back of the head and the dart flew out on landed on Ruffnut's helmet. The two of them groaned and in collapsed and fell unconscious, which did not seem to impress the Defenders.

Mala raised an eyebrow at Hiccup.

"Uh, let's just say they… have a lot of experience cleaning up stuff," said Hiccup. "You can trust me. I swear it."

Mala looked at the Defenders and she was clear unsure which path to take to kill them to trust them.

Eventually she lowered her sword. "I accept your offer, on one condition, I must travel with you to save our beloved dragon."

The entire tribe gasped, because they knew riding a dragon was forbidden on their island.

"I thought you didn't fly dragons?" Hiccup asked equally surprised.

"I will do whatever it takes to save The Great Protector," she said with a firmed expression. She then marched up towards. "But if you fail me, I will kill you. If you attempt an escape, I will kill you. If I think, at any time—"

"You will kill me," Hiccup finished. "Understood."

Mala nodded. "Then it shall be done."

Snotlout looked at Hiccup as if he'd gone crazy. "She's coming with us? That's totally gonna mess up our rhythm."

"What rhythm?" Hiccup asked.

The twins chose that time to regain consciousness.

"What happened?" Tuffnut asked as his sister removed the dart from her helmet. "I had a very vivid dream that I choked on a stun dart and lost control my vocal chords," he said as voice changed yet again.

Heather groaned, knowing that her work was going to be cut out. "Come on, it's up to us to stop the lava flow," she said grabbing the twins.

"Chocked on a stun dart," said Tuffnut his voice making very little sense.

"Thor help me," Heather begged.

"We cannot tell you, my Queen," said Throk as he and the other Defenders made their way down the path and flying over their heads were Heather and the twins.

"You can fly with me and Toothless," said Hiccup looking at Mala. "We'll start canvassing the—"

Mala quickly raised her hand as he heard rustling in the bushes. The dragons began to growl as they sense something in the bushes as well. Suddenly shot out of the bushes and Hiccup and Mala barely jumped out of the way in time.

"Dragon Hunters!" Astrid yelled.

"Take to the air!" Hiccup ordered.

"Get us outta here, Hookfang!" said Snotlout mounting Hookfang.

Unfortunately, Hookfang shot up to quickly and Snotlout didn't get his feet in the stirrups. Snotlout was launched into the air and landed directly in front of Mala.

Hiccup then saw a Hunter arrow heading straight to Mala. "Mala!" Hiccup yelled.

Snotlout chosen that point a stand-up, and completely by accident, his helmet blocked the arrow. Mala smiled at him as he placed a hand on his shoulder before she charged into the bushes. The riders watched as he jumped inside and they heard the sound of fighting and from the sounds like the Hunters were getting a bit of a beating. The fighting soon start and Mala emerge from out of bushs with a Hunter in each hand.

"She is definitely coming with us," said Snotlout firmly in then glared at Hiccup. "And you think you didn't want to come, Hiccup."

Hiccup sighed in exasperation.

Astrid soon landed back onto the ground and dismounted Stormfly in order to approach the Hunters. "Which way did they go? Tell us!" she demanded.

The Hunters said nothing and gave looks indicating they would not be intimidated. Toothless then approached them and roared which scare the two of them almost instantly.

"North!" one of the Hunters yelled. "Viggo went North with the Dragon!"

"Thanks, bud," Hiccup smiled. He then mounted Toothless and looked at the Riders and Mala. "Saddle up. Come on, Mala."

As the remaining Defenders took the Hunters into custody Mala approached Hiccup.

"No," she said. "I will not be flying with you, Hiccup Haddock. I shall be flying with…" She then pointed to Snotlout, who was busy picking his teeth on top of Hookfang. "Him."

Hiccup and Astrid stared and then turned to Ragnar, who merely shrugged. "Hey, I see the vision I don't control," he said defensively.

Snotlout chuckled nervously at them. "Me?"

"Oh, good. Yeah," said Hiccup sarcastically as Mala smiled at him.

* * *

A few minutes later they were up in the sky on their dragons. Mala, true to her word, was riding with Snotlout much to the bewilderment of the other Riders, including Snotlout himself.

Mala was just looking around as they flew in amazement.

"It's quite a rush, isn't it?" Hiccup asked, knowing the look of wonder all too well on Mala's face.

"Indeed. Indeed," she said. She then began to massage Snotlout's shoulders, back and forearms with a pondering look.

This gesture did not go unnoticed by Snotlout, who was feeling quite a bit nervous. He wasn't sure whether there was because of the way Mala was talking or the fact that Ragnar's vision, had once again, come true.

"Uh, why do you keep doing that?" he asked as he moved his arm away from her. "You're freakin' me out, lady, okay? It's called personal space."

"I think, with a little less mutton and a little more exercise, you would be perfect," she said.

Snotlout looked at her warily. "Uh, perfect for what?"

"To be my king," she said simply.

Snotlout quickly turned on her. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Did you just say 'king?' Hold on, I thought I heard 'king.'"

"It has been foretold that a man from afar would come to my island and saved me on the field of battle, and that man will become my king," she explained. "Snotlout, you are that man."

Snotlout laughed excitedly. "Oh, my Thor, this is awesome!" He then looked down at Hookfang. "Did you hear that, Hokkfang? Finally someone recognises my worth! Forget being chief, I'm Snotlout, King of the…" He stopped and looked at Mala. "Wait, where are you guys from?"

"There he is," said Astrid, who had spotted the Hunter ship with her spyglass.

"Viggo and the Eruptodon, travelling without any backup?" Fishlegs frowned. "That's weird, right."

"Yeah, it is, Fishlegs," Hiccup agreed. "He's up to something."

"Or maybe you believe that we and the Defenders would kill each other instead of agreeing to help one another," Ragnar suggested.

"It's possible, but I doubt it," said Hiccup.

* * *

In the Dragon Hunter ship, Ryker was looking at the Eruptodon from behind it Dragon-Proof cage. It looked exactly like it did like statue, but it she looked as if it was made of molten lava.

"A funny thing happens when you remove an animal from the safety of its home," said Viggo as he approached Ryker and looked at the Eruptodon. "At first, it becomes disorientated and—"

Eruptodon then slammed its head against the cage door angrily. Ryker then drew his blade and pointed it at the dragon.

"Aggressive," Viggo finished. "Then, finally, the creature accepted its fate."

The Eruptodon kept on trying to break free of its cage, but while the cage shook it didn't break. It then started to grow weaker as it realised that it can free itself by bashing its way out.

"It loses interest in killing its adversaries and becomes more concerned with its own survival," Viggo smirked as Ryker lowered his sword. "Or at the very least, it becomes someone's expensive toy."

"It better survived captivity," said Ryker. "It's worth a lot less to us dead."

Viggo pressed his hands behind his back as he leaned down towards the Eruptodon, which was beginning to relax. "All in good time, brother, all in good time. He has a very important job to do for us first. One that poor Hiccup will never see coming."

* * *

It was late in the evening when Hiccup and the rest of the Riders were thinking of the best way to approach the ship.

Hiccup flew back towards Snotlout and Mala. "Why don't you two hang back? Something doesn't feel right," he said. He then turned his main focus on Mala. "And you're not used to aerial combat."

Mala gave him a warning look. "Remember, Hiccup, if you fail me—"

"I know, I know. You will kill me," he said.

"Or perhaps I'll have my new king do it for me," she said placing a hand on Snotlout's shoulder.

Snotlout smirked at Hiccup. "You heard her right. King Snotlout!"

Hiccup stared at them. "Wait, what? How is this a thing?"

"Unlike you guys, she recognises royalty when she sees it. But don't worry, Hiccup, and I'll make it a quick and painless death," he promised.

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Oh, gods."

He then flew back to the others.

"What a muttonhead," said Snotlout.

Hiccup looked at the other Riders. "Okay, everyone, let's ambush him before he can react."

The four of them flew down towards the ship and Toothless fired several plasma blast at deck, gaining the Hunter's attention. Next came Stormfly's spikes which just as much chaos for the Hunters. The Hunters, however, counter-attacked when they saw them.

"Man the catapults," a Hunter ordered. "Archers, take down the leader."

"I'm gonna take a closer look," Hiccup inform the others. "Cove me."

The Hunters then by their crossbows just as Hiccup and Toothless dived.

"Look out, bud!" Hiccup yelled pulling Toothless' up.

"Spine shot!" Astrid commanded.

"Skull, guard!"

Stormfly quickly fired several spines and destroy most of the arrows aiming towards Hiccup and Toothless. Then Skull flew past them the arrow's bounced off his armour.

"Nice shooting, Stormfly," said Astrid as they flew past Hiccup.

"Nice save, boy," said Ragnar rubbing Skull's neck.

Hiccup then started to circle around to get a good view of the ship, but it didn't look any different from the other Dragon Hunter ships he encountered before. The Hunters kept on firing Dragon Root Arrows at them, but Hiccup and Toothless skilfully dodged them and soon they rejoined the others.

"I don't see Viggo or Ryker, they must be down below," said Hiccup.

"Then we're gonna need to clear the deck," said Astrid.

They then dive back down towards the ship and Snotlout and Mala watched their attack from a distance. Mala had to say that it was quite impressive the way they flew as if the Rider and dragon depended upon one another working together.

"Hiccup and his dragon are amazing," she said impressively.

"Yeah, I… He's okay, I guess," Snotlout shrugged. "I don't see it."

"I've never seen anything like," she said in wonder.

Snotlout then turned towards her. "Yeah, but remember, I'm the guy on who saved you the field of battle, remember? After the person foretold the story about the things?"

Mala eyes were still on Hiccup and Toothless. "The way those two fly through the air in perfect harmony, it's magical."

"You know he only had one leg, right?" Snotlout pointed out.

The Hunters then fired their catapult at Fishlegs and Meatlug.

"Open wide, girl," said Fishlegs as the boulder flew towards them. "It's lunch time."

Meatlug growled excitedly and licked her lips.

"Wider. Wider," said Fishlegs as the boulder came closer and closer. "Wider!" He soon realised the boulder was far too big for Meatlug's mouth. "Abort!"

They tried to fly away, but the boulder struck Meatlug and spun out of control. As they spun around Fishlegs screamed at the top of his voice, but eventually he was able to regain control over Meatlug.

"Oh, yeah?" Fishlegs glared down at the ship. "Let's give them something to chew on, girl!"

Meatlug then fired a lava blast at the catapult destroying it. She then kept on firing at the hunters and they began running away screaming, one even fell overboard.

Hiccup and Toothless then began to shoot at the sails leaving to burning holes in them. They then flew back and landed on the bridge where were terrified Hunter was trying load and arrow in his bow.

Toothless opened his glowing mouth and the Hunter fumbled with the bow and arrow. He then fired out of fear and the arrow just landed a few inches in front of him. He then looked up at Hiccup and Toothless, who roared and the how to immediately ran away screaming.

Hiccup and Toothless chased after him and as they ran down the stairs Hiccup jumped off Toothless to catch up. It was so busy looking at them that the Hunter failed to what we knew was going and ran into the mast.

Two more hunters charged towards them, but a few helpful spine shots from Stormfly stop them cold in their tracks.

"That's far enough," said Astrid as she hovered down towards them.

They tried to retreat backwards, but then came face-to-face with Ragnar and Skull.

"Going somewhere?" Ragnar asked with a large smile.

Then Fishlegs and Meatlug landed next to them pushing them back towards the side where they stood terrified.

"If any of 'em move, Meatlug, eat 'em," Fishlegs ordered.

The Hunters just stared at him in fear and then looked at Meatlug, who licked her lips. When Fishlegs left they just jumped overboard screaming. Fishlegs looked back at her with a disappointed look.

Hiccup strapped on his shield and looked at Toothless. "High alert, bud, we're going below. Keep your eye out for an escape hatch."

"Hiccup…" Astrid began as they made their way to the storage hatch.

"I know. We'll be careful," he promised.

She then watched as he and Toothless made their way below deck.

When they got there Toothless prepare to fire a plasma blast, but Hiccup held out his hand to stop him. They made their way down the corridor, but have yet to encounter any more Dragon Hunters or even Viggo or Ryker and there was no sign of the Eruptodon or any other Dragon in cages.

* * *

It was soon dark when they returned and Snotlout landed on the deck. Hiccup then turned towards Mala, to give her the bad news.

"We searched everywhere. No, Viggo, no Eruptodon," he said apologetically. "The hunters he left behind on the island were another misdirect."

"And now he had enough time to get away," Ragnar cursed.

Mala closed her eyes and jumped off Hookfang.

"Oh. I hate to say it, Hiccup, but this recent failure… I really wish there was something that could be done," said Snotlout with false sympathy.

Astrid, Ragnar and Fishlegs looked to Mala, who had yet to said a word.

"This does place me in quite a quandary," she admitted. "On your one hand, your valour in battle and the grace in which you fly your dragons are undeniable, on the other hand…"

Soon there was an awkward silence in the air, because they knew what she was implying.

"There is a possibility," said Mala raising a finger. "New rulers are granted one pardon for condemned Vikings. If you feel it is in order, my king."

"Only one pardon, huh?" said Snotlout smugly. "Oh, gosh. Save it. Use it. Save it. Use it."

Astrid and the others looked at Hiccup questionably.

"What is the talking about?" Fishlegs asked.

"He's a king now?" Astrid stared.

"When did this happen?" Ragnar asked.

Snotlout began to pace up and down. "I mean, I suppose I could use it. Probably score some points with the peasants, you people. But I wonder if it's too early in my kinghood to burn my only pardon." He then looked at Hiccup. "I'll have to think about it."

"I suggest you think faster, King Snotlout," said Astrid holding her axe threateningly. "I don't offer pardons."

"Fine. Fine. Fine," said Snotlout quickly. "You're pardon. Whatever. But you owe me. And don't assume you automatically invited to my parade." He then turned to Mala. "I get a parade, right?"

"If you wish," Mala shrugged.

"I do, I wish," Snotlout smiled.

"Okay, if Viggo want us to go north he's definitely heading south," said Hiccup as he mounted Toothless. "I just hope Heather and the twins are having better luck with the lava then we are with our new monarch."

They then remounted their dragons and then took off to the sky.

* * *

Meanwhile on the Defenders Island, the Defenders were busy digging trenches as a lava flow was flowing towards them.

"Keep digging, men!" a Defender ordered.

Heather and Windshear landed near some trees. "Slice 'em down, Windshear," she commanded.

Windshear used her tail to slice the trees and they found the path of the lava flow slowing it down and force me down the trench. The Defenders cheered as they won the first battle against the lava.

Unfortunately, at that point the twins arrived on Barf and Belch carrying a huge chunk of ice.

"Look at all them down there, Ruff," said Tuffnut.

"Waving their shovels in anticipation of our heroism," Ruffnut smiled.

The Defenders were actually not waving them, but trying to warn them not to interfere.

"It's a great day to be a Thorston," said Tuffnut, completely oblivious to the Defenders cries for 'No'. "To be Tuffnut Thorston."

"Bombs away!" Ruffnut yelled.

The twins released the chunk of ice band much to everyone's horror it smashed right through the tree blockade that Heather and Windshear had created. The ice quickly melted and the lava continued to flow down the path it had originally took. The twins realised too late that the defenders were just trying to tell them not to interfere.

"Oh," said Tuffnut.

Heather flew up to them furiously. "All right, you two are grounded!" she yelled.

"What?" Ruffnut yelled.

"Objection, Your Heather, the defence purports you to be said jurisdiction," said Tuffnut. Heather growled at them angrily. "But we will agree a short recess," he added quickly.

The twins then promptly flew back down towards the ground.

* * *

Meanwhile it was dawn and Hiccup and the others had found no trace of Viggo or his ship. Mala was now starting to get worried about the Eruptodon and Astrid pointed this out to Hiccup.

Hiccup flew back towards her. "Are you okay, Mala?" he asked.

"Yes. I'm fine," she assured.

"If you're feeling airsick, we'll be landing soon to water the dragons," said Hiccup.

Mala looked at Hiccup. "He's hungry, Hiccup."

"Who, Snotlout? He's always hungry."

"No, the Eruptodon. He must constantly eat lava or he will die." Everyone remained silent not sure on what to say to comfort her. "When I was just a little girl, there was an earthquake that disrupted the lava flow it wasn't long before the Eruptodon was frantic and starving. He became so weak, he was unable to fly to another food source. Only deep prayer for the lava to return save our beloved dragon, but, now…"

"Mala, look, starved dragon is no good to Viggo," said Hiccup. "He has our Dragon Eye, he must know about this about the Eruptodon. In the meantime, that can help us. We'll fly over active volcanoes until we spot him."

"If only it were so easy," Mala sighed. "The Eruptodon doesn't need active volcanoes to eat. It appetite is insatiable, and its desire immense, so much so that it would eat through the crust of a dormant volcano until it erupts."

Hiccup eyes widened in horror and Ragnar and Fishlegs came to the same conclusion.

"Dormant volcano?" Fishlegs gasped. "The snow-capped peak at Dragon's Edge is a dormant volcano."

"Classic Maces and Talons move," Hiccup cursed. "Viggo's gonna use the Eruptodon to destroy our home."

"Like how we destroy his Dragon-Proof base," said Ragnar horrified.

* * *

Viggo and his cleat had finally arrived at Dragon's Edge which was completely unguarded. He then turned to his men and nodded giving them the order.

"Come on there, steady as you go," said Ryker as the men lifted the Eruptodon out of the ship. Once it was out of the ship they release the chains. "That's right. That's right."

The Eruptodon looked towards the snowy peaks of the Dragon's Edge and recognise the mountain as a dormant volcano. It in waste a single second by flying up into the air and heading straight towards the mountain.

"Oh, I love you when a good plan falls perfectly into place," Viggo smiled and walked off.

Ryker wasn't as confident. "We'll see, brother," he said as he watched the Eruptodon flying away. "We'll see."

* * *

It was now morning and at the Defenders island, Heather and the Defenders were unable to stop the lava flow. It was now only a few yards away from entering into the town. In a last desperate attempt they built the gorge whether lava was flowing with rocks.

"Come on," said Throk as the Defenders pushed rocks into the gorge.

Sadly the rock didn't even slow it down at the lava went through the cracks and continue down into the gorge to the entrance of the town. Heather looked at Throk both them running out of ideas on how to stop the lava.

After their debacle, the twins decided not to help the Heather and the Defenders and leaning against the statue of the Eruptodon with Barf and Belch.

"I mean, whatever we were gonna to try next, that should totally work," Tuffnut said to his sister.

"It would have been genius, whatever it was," Ruffnut agreed.

"Yes, and what would it have been?"

Barf and Belch watched as Heather and the Defenders desperately tried to fill up the gorge with rocks. Heather was starting to get exhausted from carrying all these rocks.

"We can't stop it," she said. "It's going to reach the village." She looked at Throk. "I'm so sorry."

Throk angrily tossed the rock into the lava in frustration, because he knew it was true.

The twins were still slightly annoyed that Heather ordered them to stay away from the lava brigade.

"So not cool," said Tuffnut.

"Who benches their stars at the end of the game?" Ruffnut asked in disbelief.

"It's her, right? It's her."

Barf and Belch looked up at the statue and then got an idea. They looked at one another and it appeared they came to the same conclusion. They then began to head-butt the one pillars causing the statue to shake.

"Knock it off, guys," said Tuffnut, who hadn't realised what they were attempting to do. "Not in the mood to play right now."

Barf and Belch ignored him and continue to head-butt the pillar.

"He said, knock it get off!" Ruffnut yelled, who too hasn't realised what they were attempting to do.

The two-headed dragon then told one last massive head-butt causing the stone pillar to crumble. This caused the statue and the other pillar to fall towards the gorge entrance. Heather and Throk saw just in time and managed to run to safety just before it blocks the entrance.

The statue of the Eruptodon, just like its living counterpart, save the village from being destroyed by the lava. Barf and Belch head-butted one another in joy and the Defenders began to laugh and cheer.

The twins then rushed towards the statue and looked over to see the lava had stopped in its tracks.

"Snatched from the mouth of defeat!" Tuffnut yelled.

"Victory is ours!" Ruffnut yelled.

The lava flow then cause the statue to shake and the two of them fell over unfortunately away from the lava.

"Uh. The Tuffnut rests," said Tuffnut.

Throk and Heather then climbed onto the statue, but saw that the lava was still flowing upwards. They might have slowed it down, but they hadn't stopped it. The only way that was going to happen is if Hiccup and the others were able to retrieve the Eruptodon.

* * *

Hiccup and his team eventually reached the Dragon's Edge.

"All right, the fastest way to the volcano is straight over the island," Hiccup began. "We'll—"

"Uh, Hiccup?" Fishlegs interrupted hovering next to him.

"What, Fishlegs?" Hiccup asked.

"I don't think we can go straight over the island."

"Why not?"

"Because of them," he pointed.

There they soon came into view when they saw that Viggo and Ryker had already arrived and seized the base for their own. Hunters were already aiming their own catapults and ballista at them.

"That right, move the ballista over here!" a Hunter ordered. Once everything was in position he then lowered his axe. "Fire!"

They fired the catapults directly at them.

"Look out!" Hiccup yelled.

The Riders quickly made evasive manoeuvres and dodge the boulders.

"We'll have to try fly around the Edge," said Hiccup looking at the others.

"I don't think that will work either," Fishlegs pointed.

Hiccup then saw coming from either side of the bay were Dragon Hunter ships. The archers on the deck then fired arrows straight at them and they have to quickly.

"We're totally overpowered," said Snotlout.

"And they are using our own defences against us," said Ragnar as they dodge the ballista bolts that was being fired from on top of Astrid's house.

Hiccup yelled in frustration. "Think."

"Hiccup!" Astrid yelled.

* * *

Watching everything from a distance was Viggo and Ryker. Viggo was watching the entire spectacle from his spyglass.

"They're completely boxed in and panicking," Viggo smiled. "The end is near, brother."

* * *

Hiccup was finding it very hard to manoeuvre from being boxed in from two sides in attack in three different directions. They probably would have been hit by now that hadn't been for Ragnar and Skull blocking most of the Dragon Root arrows.

Hiccup then got an idea. "Wait, wait, wait, I got it!" He then turned and looked at the others. "Fly as close as you can to the Hunters' ships."

"You want us to do what?" Snotlout stared at Hiccup dived towards one of the ships.

"Trust me," Hiccup yelled.

The Riders looked at one another and then they followed Hiccup down to the closest ship making sure they were flying in front of the Edge. The Hunters via the catapults at them, but Hiccup and the other Riders had dived towards one of the ships at the same time and the boulders smashed right from its deck, sinking it.

"Have them shooting at each other," said Ragnar impressively.

"Your gamesmanship makes me proud to call you my friend," Fishlegs smiled.

* * *

Viggo had watched the entire event and was now utterly furious. "Clever, Hiccup, very clever."

"Uh, brother, is everything all right?" Ryker asked with a smirk.

Ryker's tone wasn't escaped on Viggo just glared at him in annoyance.

* * *

Hiccup and the others might have taken out one of the ships, but they had the ship to content with and the Edge's defences.

"I'm going in," said Astrid.

Astrid flew down towards the edge and managed to avoid being hit by a boulders. She was starting to make a way over the edge, but failed to notice that her own ballista was aiming directly at her. The Hunter then fired and she only realised too late.

"Astrid!" Hiccup screamed.

Stormfly was able to dodge the bolt, but the sudden jerk had knocked Astrid of her saddle. She then fell downwards screaming something which Viggo was very happy about.

"See? They lost a Rider," he said pleasantly. "They'll never get past their own defences. You're too good, Hiccup. And it's coming back to haunt you."

Astrid was falling towards the water, but thankfully Fishlegs and Meatlug. Meatlug managed to grab Astrid with her claw and then they blew her back to Stormfly.

"Thanks, Fishlegs," she said gratefully when she got back on Stormfly. She then looked at her dragon. "I'm okay, girl."

Stormfly screeched thankfully and then they re-joined the battle.

Hiccup and Toothless tried to get past the Edge, but was nearly shot by the ballista. Ragnar and Snotlout flew over towards him.

"Hiccup, we're running out of time," said Mala frantically.

"We'll never get past this ballista, Astrid built it," Snotlout reminded.

"Even Skull's armour won't stand for it," said Ragnar. "We just did too good of a job defences."

"It's suicide, Hiccup!" Snotlout yelled. "And I have a kingdom to think about."

"So do we, Snotlout, so did we," said Hiccup grimly. Ragnar, Snotlout and Mala looked at him hoping that he had a plan. "Okay, here's what I want you to do…"

* * *

Viggo was still watching as the battle unfolded. At the top of the mountain he saw the Eruptodon digging its way into the volcano and then he saw Snotlout retreating from the Edge.

"Another Rider is retreating," he said pleasantly. "Sad, really, for things end like this."

* * *

The Hunters fired more boulders at the Riders at Astrid and Fishlegs stopping them from reaching the Edge.

"We can't get close enough," said Astrid.

"One hit from that ballista and we are dead," said Fishlegs.

"Let me worry about the ballista," said Hiccup hovering above them with Ragnar. "You guys fly west with Ragnar and draw the catapult fire."

Astrid stared at him. "But Hiccup—"

"Just do it," he ordered.

"I'll explain on the way," said Ragnar as he flew to the west.

Hiccup then made his way over towards the ballista. Not able to do anything else Astrid and Fishlegs followed Ragnar to the west. The Hunters didn't waste any time firing their catapults at them.

Hiccup were flying up in the air circling around the ballista. The Hunters arming the ballista took aim straight at him.

"Okay, bud, we need everything you've got," said Hiccup patting him on the head.

* * *

Viggo watched as Hiccup Harvard in front of the ballista. "Such courage," he said and handed the spyglass to his brother. "Bear witness. Bear witness, big brother."

* * *

Hiccup then flew straight towards the ballista at full speed. The Hunter was taking very careful aim not to miss, but then Toothless stopped abruptly and Mala jumped off his back and somersaulted behind the Hunter.

He swung his massive fist at her, but she jumped and spun upside down to avoid. This caused him to lose his balance over the edge of the platform and Mala slammed her two fists right into his chest knocking him over the edge.

The Hunter landed on the ground and looked up to see Snotlout and Hookfang looking down at him.

"Don't you mess with my queen!" he said pointing at Mala before he lost consciousness.

The second Hunter had jumped off the control that turned the ballista's position and swung his axe at her. She dodged gracefully and he try to hit her again, but she jumped spinning and kicked him right into the head slamming him down onto the platform and grabbed his fallen axe in mid-air.

* * *

Ryker had seen the entire event from the spyglass Viggo gave him. "I'm sorry, brother?" he smirked. "What was that you were saying? Something about our troubles being—"

In anger Viggo grabbed Ryker's throat and glared at him. The two of them looked as if they were going to fight, but a Hunter saw something heading towards them.

"Incoming!" he yelled.

Mala had fired a bolt straight at Viggo's ship nearly hitting both Viggo and Ryker. The two of them didn't even flinch when the splinters flew past their faces. Frustrated Viggo walked away leaving behind a very smug looking Ryker.

* * *

On the Edge, Mala signalled Hiccup that it was safe to proceed and he saluted back.

"Now's our chance," said Astrid.

Astrid, Ragnar and Fishlegs flew down towards the Edge and attacked the Hunter's manning the catapults with dragon fire. The Hunters were now retreating towards the short where the remaining ships were still standing.

"Let them go," Hiccup ordered. "We need to get to the Eruptodon."

"We need a hurry," said Ragnar. "By now the Eruptodon has dug into the volcano."

They then flew towards the volcano and Mala jumped off the ballista and landed on Hookfang as he and Snotlout flew past.

* * *

When they got there they found that Ragnar was correcting with his hypothesis. The Eruptodon was digging deeper into the volcano which was now smoking. Hiccup was the first to land and the first one to approach a large dragon with his hand outstretched.

The other Riders soon landed and Mala dismounted Hookfang. "Hiccup…" she said worryingly.

"It's okay, you're all… You're all good, big boy," said Hiccup calmly.

The Eruptodon then turned and looked at down Hiccup and roared angrily.

Hiccup quickly backed away. "Oh, yep. Fair enough."

Mala joined him just as the island shock. "He's in a feeding frenzy. Nothing will stop him," she said terrifyingly.

The island shook again as the Eruptodon kept on eating and Hiccup saw the volcano was about to burst.

"Hiccup, it's going to erupt!" Fishlegs yelled as he flew overhead.

"We can't lose the Edge," said Astrid joining him.

"I'm more worried about all the other dragons on this island," said Hiccup. "What will happen to them?"

Fishlegs frowned. "If we can't stop him…"

"We have to stop him," said Hiccup

"Hiccup, I don't know if we can stop this guy from eating," said Ragnar troublingly.

Mala looked at Hiccup, afraid that he might kill the Eruptodon to save the island. "I now understand, Hiccup Haddock, you're not an enemy to dragons. The good of the many outweigh the good of the few, but with all this knowledge you have what good can it for one starving Dragon?"

The island shock even more violently as the Eruptodon even closer towards to the source of the volcano.

Hiccup was hoping for another solution, then he remembered what Tuffnut had said when Mala first described the Eruptodon.

"Wait a minute, that's it," he exclaimed. "We're not gonna kill your dragon, Mala, we're going to feed it." He then looked up towards Fishlegs. "Meatlug!"

"Of course!" Fishlegs yelled realising what Hiccup had in mind. "Come on, girl." Fishlegs guided Meatlug closer towards the Eruptodon just above its head. "Spew that lava, girl! Spew!"

Meatlug try to spew, but she was out of lava from all the fighting they did. "Oh, no. She used up all her lava in the battle."

Hiccup exchanged looks with Mala unsure what to do next.

Meatlug then got an idea and roared loudly and a few seconds later wild Gronckles flew towards them. Fishlegs performs hand signals to get them into position above the Eruptodon's head and spew lava onto the ground.

The Eruptodon smell the lava and turned towards it and then began to eat it. The Gronckles kept on spewing lava creating a trail which the Eruptodon followed.

"Meatlug! You're amazing!" Hiccup yelled.

"Oh, thank you," said Fishlegs rubbing Meatlug affectionately.

Mala watched as the Eruptodon was taken further away from the volcano and eating happily with the lava of the Gronckle's were leaving behind.

She then turned to Hiccup. "Your dragons are not unlike our beloved Eruptodon, they will stop at nothing to protect your home. They are truly part of your tribe."

"Okay, am I the only one who thinks this is a little gross?" Snotlout asked pointing at the Eruptodon, which was still eating the lava. He then saw the others were giving him looks. "What?"

* * *

Later that day they return to the Defenders island and returned the Eruptodon to them. Thankfully just in time before the village was flown by the lava flow.

Mala was now addressing the Defenders with Hiccup and Toothless by her side. "It is a good day, a day we shall always remember. The Great Protector has been returned, the village's is safe once more, and the Defenders of the Wing have new allies in our fight against Viggo Grimborn. Hiccup and the Dragon Riders," she said gesturing to Hiccup and Toothless.

The Defenders cheered and waved at the Dragon Riders, who waved back.

"Watch this, she's about to introduce me as the new king," said Snotlout. "Prepare for an epic acceptance speech.

"I have also chosen a new king," said Mala.

"Bingo," said Snotlout as he walked up smugly.

"One that I am sure will be worthy, and serve you well," said Mala. She then turned to Snotlout. "His name is Snotlout."

"Thank you, my people, thank you," said Snotlout waving his hands with a smug grin. Throk then grabbed his arm and turned towards him. "Hey, even with the new goods, Throk-man."

"Where do you think you're going?" Throk asked.

Snotlout frowned at him. "Hello? Aren't you paying attention? I'm going to stand next to my queen and take in the steerage."

"A new king must first prove his worth Mala. And you king must cross the Pool of Valour," said Throk narrowing his eyes and pointed.

"Fine, I mean, I prove myself daily, but if this makes queenie happy…" said Snotlout making his way to the place Throk had pointed.

He soon discovered that the Pool of Valour was a lava pit.

Mala was still addressing her people. "By Snotlout's courageous, my Snotlout is brave, my Snotlout is—"

Snotlout then ran past a screaming and jumped onto Hookfang.

"Hookfang, go, go, go, go, go, go!" he yelled and they took off quickly.

"Leaving?" Mala stared.

"Better get used to that," Astrid smirked as she, Hiccup and Ragnar joined her.

* * *

Meanwhile, Viggo was looking over his Maces and Talons game board and grabbed one of the pieces. He then grasp it firmly in his hand with an evil glare.


	41. Gruff Around the Edges

**I will be making changes to Secrets of the Ice Caves since we now have new information on Heather.**

* * *

It was a nice and peaceful morning on the Edge, the sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. It was utterly peaceful, but then a large horn was heard across the edge giving everyone a start.

"What the…" said Hiccup shooting up.

Ragnar shot up so fast that he actually had his head on the shelf above him. Snotlout was hugging his toy dragon when he woke up. Astrid, who was suffering from bad hair, drew two daggers.

"Good morning, Dragon's edge!" Tuffnut's voice yelled across the base.

"It's Tuff…" said Tuffnut.

"And Ruff…" Ruffnut added.

"And Chicken…" said Tuffnut holding out Chicken.

"In the morning," they yelled in unison.

Recently the twins had been using the Thunder Ear providers had installed to listen to ships and were using it to send their voices across the Edge. Normally wouldn't be so bad, but they insist on using enduring the early hours of the morning for some sort of ridiculous show appears.

"All right, folks," Ruffnut began. "Now it's time for your weather forecast." At this point the Dragon Riders had emerged out of their houses feeling very tired. "Today will be freezing cold. Tomorrow will be, well, freezing cold!"

"Leave it to you muttonheads to use the Thunder Ear backwards," Snotlout glared.

"Or are we using it right-wards?" Tuffnut asked. He then leaned over towards the earpiece. "To inform the masses."

"Ugh!" Snotlout groaned.

"Plus, the earwax on this thing keeps our lips from chapping," said Ruffnut as she scrapes some wax of earpiece and rubbed it against their lips. "You know, we really should market this."

Heather had also emerged out of Astrid's house yawning she then jumped back in surprise when she saw Astrid bed hair.

"Okay, let's check the old mailbag and see what Terrible Terror mails came in last night," Tuffnut continued.

Ruffnut was scavenging through the mailbag and pulled out one. "Ah! Here's one for Snotlout, 'I miss your snuggles, too. Signed Mummy.'"

Snotlout was at this point even more furious with them. "Hey, that private!" he yelled.

"Whoa! This one's addressed to us," she said pulling out another parchment. "'Dear Ruff and Tuff, your cousin Gruffnut is on his way to visit you today.'"

Tuffnut stared at his sister. "Wait, Gruffnut? Gruffnut's coming here? Today?" he asked excitedly. "Oh, no, look at me. I am a mess. All right, show's over. I gotta get ready."

He then tossed Chicken to Ruffnut and then quickly ran back down to their house.

* * *

Later that morning, Tuffnut spent most of the day cleaning the clubhouse enthusiastically.

"Gruffnut's coming," he said and kept on repeating over and over again as he swept the floor with a broom "Gruffnut's gonna be here in any second. The place needs to look nice." He then looked at his sister. "You wanna help, just a little?"

"No," said Ruffnut, clearly not as enthusiastic as her brother.

"Okay. I'm new here. Who is Gruffnut?" Heather asked.

"He's their cousin. We've never met him but Tuffnut worships the guy," Snotlout explained as he leaned against his spear for he was still quite tired.

"No, I don't," Tuffnut scoffed. "Even if he is a totally awesome world traveller and a fearless adventurer."

"Yeah, you say traveller, I say a drifter, who just wanders into our lives every few years," Ruffnut scoffed.

Tuffnut then gave a pleading look to Hiccup. "Hiccup, what do you guys think about me taking over the reins around here? You know, just while Gruff is around?"

"Don't you remember what happened last time you were in charge?" Hiccup asked.

Hiccup of course was referring to the incident with the fireworm migration. During that period the twins discovered that they owned the island and became tyrannical rules and their poor decisions almost burnt the Edge to the ground when the fireworms landed.

"To be fair, I was only in co-charge of the island, so I think we all know whose fault all that really was," said Tuffnut gesturing to his sister.

Ruffnut looked as if she was about to punch her brother, but then a strange voice that sounded strangely similar to Tuffnut was heard. "Did this island just get hundred percent more amazing, or is it just me?"

Everyone turned towards the clubhouse door and saw a figure standing in the silhouette of the sun.

"Gruffnut," said Tuffnut excitedly. "Ah, my hero-ic cousin. How are you, friend?"

Gruffnut then ended the clubhouse and that when they realise that he looked exactly like Tuffnut. The only difference was the horns on his helmets were lopsided, he was wearing a brown tunic and all his hair was cascading down his back.

Gruffnut smiled at Ruffnut, but she just narrowed her eyes in annoyance. Tuffnut then made his way over to his cousin. "Gruffnut, these are the Dragon Riders. Dragon Riders, this is the Gruffnut."

"Hello, everyone, and always fabulous Ruffnut," said Gruffnut as he entered the clubhouse. He then tried a hug his cousin but she simply moved out of the way.

"Yeah. Cousin Gruffnut," she said looking at him as if he was an infection.

"No one mentioned the family resemblance," said Hiccup looking at the two of them.

"It's uncanny," Ragnar agreed.

Tuffnut and Gruffnut looked at one another.

"I don't see it at all," said Tuffnut.

"No. Me neither," Gruffnut agreed.

"So, cuz, what've you been up to?" Tuffnut asked guiding him over towards the table.

"Ah, the usual," Gruffnut shrugged. "You know, winning my weight in gold. That sort of thing."

"How does one win their weight in gold, exactly?" Fishlegs asked suspiciously.

"Uh… Spear-throwing competition, of course," said Gruffnut.

"Duh," said Tuffnut.

Snotlout immediately woke up. "Whoa, that's a lot of gold. Could I see it? Maybe hold it. Caress it."

"Oh, I'm sorry, but I don't have any more," said Gruffnut apologetically.

"Oh. What a surprise," said Ruffnut sarcastically.

"Yep," said Gruffnut as if reading her mind. "Gave it all away to poor."

"Your generosity is only expressed by your adventurosity," said Tuffnut impressively.

"I have an idea, 'cuz,'" said Ruffnut making her way over towards Snotlout. "Why not show everyone your awesome spear-throwing skills that won you all that gold that you conveniently don't have anymore?"

She then kicked the spear away from Snotlout, causing him to craft the floor, and granted in midair. She then tossed it over to Gruffnut, who nearly dropped it.

"I'd be happy to put on a little expedition, except that my arm is still injured from that shipwreck, that darn shipwreck," he cursed rubbing his spear arm.

"What shipwreck?" Ruffnut asked sceptically.

"I didn't mention the saving of the sinking shipload of orphans?" said Gruffnut dramatically.

"No, you conveniently left that out," said Ragnar, who was starting to understand why Ruffnut didn't like her cousin.

"Buried believed I guess, it's 'cause you're so humble," said Tuffnut.

"The most," Gruffnut agreed. He then looked at Tuffnut. "Well, enough about me. Tuff, what have you been doing while I was out winning fortunes, saving orphans, and defeating a kraken."

"Well, uh…" Tuffnut stuttered. He then picked up Chicken. "I have a Chicken."

"Oh," said Gruffnut.

"Uh," Snotlout winced.

Tuffnut was unable to think of anything else. "Um…"

"Hey, Tuff… why don't you show Gruffnut around the base…" said Hiccup, coming to his rescue. "…Uh, around your base."

Tuffnut beam that Hiccup.

"Your base?" Gruffnut stared at his cousin. "Whoa."

"Well, it's not really 'my' base," said Tuffnut pushing Hiccup back accidentally. "I mean, I just designed it, built it, and run it. Come on, follow me." Tuffnut then began to guide his cousin out of the clubhouse. "I'll give you a grand tour."

Chicken then flew out of Tuffnut's hands and into Ruffnut's, who looked as if she was starting to wish that Gruffnut had never been born.

"Ruffnut, get this chicken into its quarters," Tuffnut ordered her.

* * *

Soon they reached the stables and Tuffnut was gesturing to everything of reverence to Gruffnut.

"The darkest down there and over there are the stables," he said gesturing to the stables in front of them.

"Oh, and that's where you keep the dragons," said Gruffnut with a smile. "Well, I bet that's well guarded."

"Not really. Who's gonna steal a dragon?" said Tuffnut shrugged dismissively. "I mean, unless you can fly one, you're not getting very far."

"Right. Of course. I hadn't thought of that," said Gruffnut frowning slightly.

"Yeah, that's why they put me in charge," said Tuffnut proudly. "I think of things."

* * *

Next they went to the dome and Hiccup and Ragnar joined them.

"I designed the arena roof to be totally detachable," said Tuffnut proudly to his cousin.

"Re-tractable," Hiccup corrected.

"That too," Tuffnut nodded. "It retractable and detachable."

"This is going to end well," said Ragnar folding his arms. He then looked at Hiccup. "Remember what happened last time he was in charge, right?"

"Believe me I'm already starting to regret it," Hiccup whispered to him.

"See? You just use this lever," said Tuffnut grabbing the lever and pulled it instead of pushing it and it snapped in his hand.

Hiccup glared at him in frustration.

"I'll get the wood and nails," said Ragnar walking off.

* * *

Next they were in Hiccup's house which was also the forge.

"And this is where I do all interventionating," said Tuffnut waving his hand dramatically.

"Is that a bed over there?" Gruffnut asked noticing Hiccup's bed upstairs.

"Yeah. I let Hiccup sleeping here," Tuffnut explained. "You know, to guard my inventions?"

Hiccup glared at him in frustration again.

"Like this one," said Tuffnut picking up Dragonfly One. "With this. I can literally fly like a dragon!" He then started putting on. "A little demonstration can't hurt."

"Tuffnut, no," Hiccup yelled.

Too late Tuffnut outstretched the wings and one of them had made a hole in Hiccup's wall making him even angrier.

After that debacle, Tuffnut pulled out Inferno. "This invention is my sword of fire!"

"That sounds magnificent," said Gruffnut impressively. "How does it work?"

"I'll show you. It just…" Unfortunately he had no idea how to operate it. "Sometimes, it needs a little shake."

"No, no, no, no, no, no!" Hiccup yelled as Tuffnut began shaking the sword.

Tuffnut ignited the sword and it went straight through the fabric around Hiccup's house.

"I've been meaning to do that, actually," said Tuffnut awkwardly as he withdrew the blade. "Because I needed better ventilation in here."

"Hey!" he said dropping Inferno. "Check this out—"

He then pulled out Hiccup's shield and that was the last straw for Hiccup.

"Yeah, yeah, actually, would you mind if I talk to my boss here for a second?" Hiccup asked grabbing Tuffnut's shoulder and looking at Gruffnut.

"Sure," said Gruffnut. "And, Tuff, don't be too hard him. Accidents happen."

Hiccup then led Tuffnut out of his house.

"It's going great. Am I right?" Tuffnut asked him.

"Uh, no," said Hiccup. "Look, I'm sorry Tuff, I was trying to help you out, but this is not working."

"What do you mean? Sure it is," he said lifting the shield.

He then accidentally activated its crossbow mode and fired an arrow. Fortunately it just missed Hiccup by an inch, but it proved his point and Tuffnut handed it back to him.

"You have to tell Gruffnut the truth," Hiccup implored him.

"Tell Gruffnut the truth about what?" Gruffnut asked looking through the hole Tuffnut created with Inferno. "Come on, no secrets. There's holes in these walls."

Tuffnut sighed, because he knew that Hiccup was right.

* * *

Later in the clubhouse he came clean with Gruffnut and Ruffnut watch the entire thing.

"Okay, fine. I don't actually run the base," Tuffnut admitted.

"Tuff, no need to embellish," said Gruffnut patting him on the shoulder. "Everywhere I go, I hear about your heroic exploits, fighting Dragon Hunters, saving islands. You don't need to lie to impress me, Tuffnut, because you already have."

Tuffnut sniffled as tears appeared in his eyes. "I wanna say, for the record, I am not crying," he said as he rushed his tears away. "I just have a bug in one of my eyes, in the same place, and it's irritating each of them equally."

Gruffnut then looked at Ruffnut. "Hey, you know what would be awesome? If the two of you heroes took for a ride on that dragon of yours."

"What?" Ruffnut stared. "No. Sorry. Pal. Look, it's sort of a two-person setup. I don't think all three of us—" Tuffnut gave her a begging look and she sighed.

* * *

A few moments later they were in the sky on Barf and Belch. Gruffnut was riding with behind Tuffnut.

"So, what do you think?" Tuffnut asked looking that their cousin.

"Incredible!" Gruffnut yelled. "And I gotta say, flying doesn't seem that hard. Basically, you just learn one way or the other."

"Yeah, that's pretty much it," Tuffnut admitted.

"Oh, sure, yeah. Not that hard at all," said Ruffnut shaking her head. "Anybody can do this."

She then quickly swerved Barf to the right and they began spinning towards the sea with Gruffnut screaming. They then quickly pulled up and he screamed even louder and then saw upwards into the air where he screamed even louder.

"Oh, my! Oh, my!" Gruffnut yelled at the top of his voice.

"Take it easy, Ruff," said Tuffnut looking at his sister.

"What do you mean 'take it easy'?" she asked. "An adventurer like cousin Gruffnut, come on, this is tame!"

They then performed a loop to loop and then flew back down towards the island. Gruffnut screamed even louder as they came flying in towards the forest. They began zigzagging their way through the trees which was very disconcerting for him. Then they were heading straight towards one of the larger trees.

"Oh, no!" he yelled covering his eyes.

Barf and Belch them from the gas and spark attack and blew the tree up.

When they eventually returned back to the Edge and dismounted, Gruffnut was holding firmly to the saddle utterly terrified much to Ruffnut's enjoyment. Then when the two of them were looking he eventually calmed down and grabbed hold of Belch's horns and guided them to the open sky.

"Hey, Tuff and Ruff," he smirked. "Thanks for the dragon."

The twins quickly turned.

"What?" Tuffnut stared.

"Huh?" said Ruffnut confused.

They then watch as he took off, but sadly he didn't seem to realise that a Hideous Zippleback needed two ride. As a result they crash landed and Gruffnut was grand of Belch.

The twins then rushed over towards him.

"What was that?" Ruffnut asked with delight. "Did you just try to steal our dragons?"

"Don't be ridiculous," said Gruffnut rushing himself down as he got up.

"You said, 'Thanks for the dragon,' and then, took off," Ruffnut pointed out.

"Yeah, because I was making a joke," he said joining Tuffnut for support.

"Yeah, Ruff, carded tell when it's a joke," said Tuffnut chuckling. "Gruff, speaking of jokes, we're always looking for fresh material on our morning show."

"That sounds magnificent," said Gruffnut.

Ruffnut glared at the two of them walked away and folded her arms. Barf and Belch place their heads on either side of the shoulders watching the two cousins walking off.

"Huh. Let's keep an eye on Cousin Gruffnut," said Ruffnut looking at the two-headed dragon behind.

Barf and Belch growled in agreement.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Ruffnut was leading Hiccup back to his house where she saw Gruffnut entering alone.

"Hiccup, I'm telling you I saw him go in there, alone," she said. "You know? By himself."

She then pulled down on the chain that opened the doors of Hiccup's house. There they saw Gruffnut, in broad daylight, sneaking his way over towards the sleeping Toothless.

"Excuse me?" said Hiccup glaring up at him.

Toothless woke up and growled at Gruffnut, who quickly backed away. The only was started by wooden pillar and stared down at Toothless, who retracted his teeth and snarled at him.

"Whoa! Okay," he yelled.

"Toothless. Easy bud," said Hiccup as he and Ruffnut made their way up the stairs. "It's okay."

"Got you!" Ruffnut smirked.

"You sure did," said Gruffnut calmly and looked down at Toothless' tailfin. "I'm sorry, but I just couldn't help taking a closer look at that magnificent tail device."

"What?" Ruffnut stared.

"Amazing workmanship, Hiccup," said Gruffnut impressively. "You know, I'm a bit of an inventor myself."

"Oh, yeah. Right," Ruffnut scoffed.

Tuffnut then chose that I do show up with two boars in each arm. "Then you are, Gruff," he said. "Come on, I've got these boars greased and the pit primed."

"Oh. Sorry, Hiccup," said Gruffnut apologetically. "Another time, perhaps?"

He then made his way down to Tuffnut and Ruffnut follow him.

"Oh, gee, Ruffnut. I only brought two boars," said Tuffnut apologetically.

"Yeah, you get bored just watching," Gruffnut joked. "Get it? 'Bored.'"

The two of them then laughed and made their way outside and Ruffnut sighed.

* * *

The next morning, the twins had awoken everyone yet again with the Thunder Ear. The only difference this time was that Ruffnut was not as enthusiastic as yesterday.

"Good morning, Dragon's Edge!" Tuffnut announced. "It's Tuff and…"

Ruffnut rolled her eyes. "Ruff and…"

It was only that wind that Tuffnut noticed that Gruffnut was nowhere to be seen.

"Wait, where's Gruffnut?" he asked.

"Gruffnut's not here?" said Ruffnut not sounding surprised. "Oh, what a shock. Oh, wait, no. No, it's not. 'Cause that's his thing. He just blows into town and before anyone can get too close, the slivers of like the snake that he is."

"No way," said Tuffnut dismissively. "We boar bonded last night. I'm sure he just overslept. I'm gonna go find Gruffnut and when I do, you're gonna owe him a big apology."

Tuffnut then walked away.

* * *

Gruffnut was in fact in the stables trying to feed Stormfly with some fish. Though he soon learned that he was having problems with Stormfly as she kept on snarling at him.

"Come on, girl. Take the yummy fishy," he said.

He then made kissing sound as he guided Stormfly out of the pen and she kept on snapping up the pitch. Unfortunately, Gruffnut was so busy with her that he failed to notice when he was walking and tripped over a bucket FULL OF FISH. He just picked himself up just in time to see Tuffnut entering the stables.

"There you are," said Tuffnut.

"Tuffnut. You're supposed to be doing your morning show right now," said Gruffnut nervously.

"We both are. Come on, let's go. I can't wait to see the look on Ruff's face when she sees that you—"

Gruffnut then coughed very harshly.

"Yeah, see," he stuttered. "I'm not feeling great this morning, so, maybe tomorrow, we could do tomorrow."

Tuffnut then noticed that this line on the floor and Stormfly eating them. "Wait, what are those fish for?" he asked. "Please tell me you're not trying to bribe Stormfly so you can ride her."

Gruffnut laughed. "Of course not." Stormfly then tossed the fish right at his helmet. He then looked at Tuffnut. "Look, I just wanted to take a quick spin. You know, I kinda got dragon fever after riding Barf and Belch. So I thought…" The only stopped when Tuffnut then turned towards him narrowing his eyes. "Oh. Neve rmind. What are we doing here, cousin? You know I'm lying. I know I'm lying."

"That's a lot of lying," said Tuffnut pointing a finger at him.

"I didn't actually win my weight in gold throwing spears," Gruffnut admitted. "So, I owed a lot of gold to some very dangerous men, Tuffnut. I need one of your dragons to pay them off."

Tuffnut looked at him hurt. "Gruffnut, I looked up to you. You were my role model. You were my hero."

"Yeah, false idols," Gruffnut agreed. "Usually disappointing. Anyway, gotta go."

He then made a run towards the door, but Tuffnut blocked his path.

"Hey. Uh-uh-uh," he said shaking his head. "I don't think so."

Gruffnut then raised his fists preparing for a fight. "Tuff, you couldn't take me when we were kids, what makes you think you can take me now?"

"You know what? Come to think of it, I don't have to," said Tuffnut. "Stormfly is not gonna let any old stranger fly her out of here, none of our dragons would."

Gruffnut lowered his fists. "You got me. Dead to rights." He then walked past Tuffnut. "I don't know what came over me. I'm just so ashamed."

He then began to cry.

"Oh. Come on," said Tuffnut as he made his way over to him. "It's not that bad. You know what they say, forgiveness is a dish best served freezing cold."

"Oh, cousin, you are one of a kind," said Gruffnut as he sniffed. "Well, almost." He then pointed straight up. "Look! A rainbow!"

Tuffnut then stupidly looked where he was pointing. "What? A rainbow?" he said excitedly.

Gruffnut then promptly knocked him across the head with a bucket and laughed insidiously.

* * *

When Tuffnut opened his eyes he found that he was tied up in a lot of rope. Apparently Gruffnut had switched his close with his.

"Gruffnut!" he yelled.

* * *

In the clubhouse, the Dragon Riders were just doing their own thing as they waited for Tuffnut.

Gruffnut then came walking inside wearing Tuffnut's clothes. "Sad news everyone, Gruffnut…" he said doing a very good Tuffnut impersonation. "Uh, Gruffnut had someplace really awesome he had to go to and so, now, he's gone for while."

"I told you," said Ruffnut smugly.

"Oh, yeah, you did," said Gruffnut with a smile. "Told me what?"

"That he would do what he always does. Show up," said Ruffnut approaching him. "Get you to worship him again, and then, disappear."

"Well, why wouldn't I…" he said almost droppings impersonation, but was able to decide a cough. "Why won't I worship him? Gruffnut is awesome."

"No, he isn't! He's a phony."

"Uh. Maybe he is a phony, but if he's smart enough to fool people, that's their fault," said Gruffnut angrily.

"What?" Hiccup stared look away from the map on the board.

"I, uh… Oh. I mean, that something Gruffnut would say," he said correcting himself. "Not me. Tuffnut. Now, you're giving me a lot to think about." He then slowly made his way to the door. "So, I… I guess, I, Tuffnut, will go think about it."

He then walked out of the clubhouse leaving quite a few of the Riders perplexed.

"Just when you thought Tuffnut couldn't get any weirder," said Fishlegs as he played cards with Ragnar.

"Personally I always found them quite weird and I always expect them to go weirder," said Ragnar place a card down the table.

Gruffnut was making his way down towards the stables, but the only one who wasn't fooled by his disguise was Chicken, who clucked at him angrily.

* * *

Tuffnut was still in the cave trying to free himself from the ropes, but they were quite tight. Instead he got to his feet and the hopes to dislocated shoulder in order to ease his way out of them.

"Okay, you can do this, Tuff," he said. Just dislocated a shoulder and you will slip right out of these ropes. One, two, three!"

He then slammed his shoulder against the rock hard wall, but all he accomplished was hurting himself.

"Ow!" he winced. That didn't work… because I need a running start."

He then jumped further and further away from the wall. "Uh. Okay, okay." He then slammed right into the wall as fast as they could, but ended up falling back on his face on the floor. "That is no good."

* * *

Gruffnut had finally made his way to the stables and was attempting to get Hookfang to ride him. To that end he was holding a bucket of fish and holding out a piece to the Monstrous Nightmare, who was asleep

"Hookfang!" Gruffnut yelled to the sleeping dragon, who then promptly woke up. "It's me, Tuffnut. Ugh." He then realised that he was using his normal voice and quickly changed to Tuffnut's. "Your old buddy. You don't mind if I take you for a little spin, do ya?

Hookfang merely snarled at him viciously, but styled when Gruffnut tossed him a fish. Hookfang uses fire to roast it and gobbled it up. Gruffnut then held out another finish and laughed insidiously knowing that he was very close to stealing a dragon.

Then at the exact moment he held the fish towards Hookfang, who began to sniff it, Chicken jumped up and started clucking like crazy. Hookfang then started to blast fire directly at Gruffnut, who then ran away screaming as Hookfang blasted him.

He managed to escape the fiery dragon, but got scorched in the process. Chicken then waddled out of the stables to witness Gruffnut running as far away as he could away from the stables.

* * *

Gruffnut then decided to try and capture a tamer dragon. To that end he was at Fishlegs' house feeding Meatlug an assortment of rocks.

"Well, I guess I'm settling with a Gronckle," he said tossing another rock to Meatlug, who gobbled it down excitedly. "Hopefully, they'll pay me by the pound."

He then climbed onto her back and then Chicken jumped up and started pecking his leg.

"Get outta here," said Gruffnut kicking her way. "No, stop it. Stop!"

It was at that point that Meatlug noticed that Gruffnut was on her saddle and started to shake him off. Gruffnut: as long as he could, but then he was shot straight off and landed face first on the floor.

He then got up and glared at Chicken. "Filthy-beaked bird," he glared.

Unfortunately before he could do anything about her, Meatlug spewed some lava at him. Knowing that he was defeated he made a run for it and as he did Meatlug glared at him growling and he and Chicken was clucking away.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tuffnut had still failed in every attempt to free himself from the ropes. So far all he had caused was more injury to himself.

"Okay," he said and next second he slammed into the wall and screamed in pain. "Nope, dislocated my hip, doesn't work either. Time for the ankles."

Unfortunately before he broke his legs, he saw a Night Terror entering the cave. He then got an idea, which was quite rare.

"Uh. Come here, little guy," he said waving his hands towards him. When then Night Terror was close enough he placed his hand on its snout. "You know Smigvarg? He and I tight. We're buddies from way back. Quick question, how are you with knots?"

* * *

Meanwhile the other Dragon Riders were gathered in the dome and they were starting to find that something unusual was going on with their dragons. Meatlug was just lying on the ground and Fishlegs discovered someone had overfed her.

"Excuse me? Has someone been feeding Meatlug feldspar again?" he asked looking at the other Riders. "You know how it bloats her."

Hiccup sighed. "Looks like we need someone to take your patrol shift. Any vol—"

Gruffnut then quickly raised his hand. "Uh. We'll do it, we'll do it."

"We what?" Ruffnut stared.

The other Riders just stared at him in bewilderment.

"Who are you and what have you done with the real Tuffnut?" Snotlout asked.

"What… What is that supposed to mean?" Gruffnut asked nervously.

"No offence. You just don't volunteer very—Well, ever."

"Yeah, you have been acting unusual for the past few hours, even for you," Ragnar agreed.

"Oh, yeah," Gruffnut stuttered nervously. "I mean, you're right. But now that that Gruffnut jerk is gone, I think Ruff and I should use a little us time." He then looked at Ruffnut. "Right, sis? I missed ya."

"You had me at 'that Gruffnut jerk,'" Ruffnut smiled. She then picked up Macy and handed him over to Gruffnut. "And, hey, what Macy comes along, too?"

"Uh… No, thanks," said Gruffnut.

Ruffnut stared at him. "Huh?"

"I mean, maybe you should get to carry Macy for a change. Right?" he said quickly.

The two of them then left the dome and Ruffnut was starting to get suspicious.

* * *

Later that day, Hiccup and Ragnar were busy fixing up Hiccup's powers after the brief moment of Tuffnut's time in charge.

"Oh, the things I do," Hiccup sighed.

"Sometimes I think you're too nice," said Ragnar.

Then suddenly they heard a Night Terror screech and the familiar cries of Tuffnut. They turned around and saw Gruffnut, who was actually Tuffnut, grabbing hold of a Night Terror and flying down towards them.

"Hiccup. Ragnar," said Tuffnut.

Hiccup and Ragnar quickly glared at him, believing him to be Gruffnut and Toothless growled at him.

"You!" they said in unison.

"Yes. Me," said Tuffnut getting to his feet. He then brushed himself down and looked at the Night Terror. "Thanks for the ride, Peggy." He then shooed it away. "Go on, get."

"What are you doing back here?" Hiccup glared.

"Haven't you cause enough trouble?" said Ragnar angrily.

"I live here and I always cause trouble," said Tuffnut confused clearly not realising that they believed him to be Gruffnut.

"Oh, no, you don't," said Hiccup.

"Though I suspect you always do cause trouble," said Ragnar.

"I don't know what you're think you've conned Tuffnut into, but no way, Gruffnut," Hiccup glared.

"Hiccup, I'm not Gruffnut. I'm Tuffnut," said Tuffnut.

"Yeah. Sure you are," said Hiccup sceptically. "You do a very good Tuffnut impression, but I think I know one of my best friends when I see him."

"You should have at least change clothes to make it look more convincing," said Ragnar folding his arms.

Tuffnut gasped and looked at Hiccup. "Hiccup? We're best friends?" He then chuckled in disbelief. "Really? Even though I almost burned down the whole island that one time and also once released a Skrill and crashed you under the bunch of logs and stones?"

Hiccup and Ragnar were taken aback, because there was no way Gruffnut would know about those things.

"Tuffnut! It really is you," said Hiccup. Horror then struck him when he realised something. "Which means that Gruffnut's out on patrol with Ruffnut, pretending to be you."

"We have to get out there," said Ragnar.

* * *

Up in the sky, Ruffnut and Gruffnut were flying Barf and Belch over the ocean, but Gruffnut was finding it very hard to control Belch and they were zigzagging all over the place.

"Whoa! Air is pretty rough, huh?" said Gruffnut looking at his cousin.

Ruffnut was starting to get suspicious and narrowed her eyes at him. Gruffnut was clearly starting to realise that she was realising the truth and looked down.

"Oh, look. Suddenly, a ship," he said pointing down at the ship in the sea.

"I don't recognise it," said Ruffnut and then she learned that Gruffnut. "Should we take a look?"

"Sure. Whatever you think," said Gruffnut.

Ruffnut looked at him. "'Whatever I think?'"

She then pulled Barf up and they came to an abrupt stop.

"Whoa! Oh, dear. Whoa!" Gruffnut yelled almost losing his balance.

"Okay, that's it," said Ruffnut glaring at him. "What are you trying to pull, Gruffnut?"

"Gruffnut?" Gruffnut stared nervously. "What are you talking about, sister?"

"The real Tuffnut never cares what I think, and while I'm at it, he wouldn't volunteered us for this mission, and he would never ever let me carry Macy!" Ruffnut yelled holding Macy up in a threatening manner.

"Well, what do you know?" said Gruffnut dropping his impersonation. "I always said he was the smartest twin."

"Flattery has no effect on me, mainly because I never hear any," said Ruffnut. "So cost the sheep dip and tell me who's on that boat down there."

"You wouldn't understand," said Gruffnut not looking her in the eye.

"It's people you owe money to, right?" Ruffnut guessed. "You wanna trade them Barf and Belch to pay off your stupid debt."

Gruffnut stared at her. "Okay. Whoa. Seriously, you are the smarter twin."

"Not gonna happen!" Ruffnut yelled.

"Don't make me do this the hard way, Ruffnut."

"I do everything the hard way!"

She then began to guide Barf and Belch up, but Gruffnut stopped by slamming Belch into Barf. Ruffnut tried to hit him with Macy, but he ducked.

"Down dragon," he siad pulling Belch downwards causing them to dive.

"No, you don't!" said Ruffnut pulled Barf upwards. Soon the two of them were in a fight to control the two-headed dragon. Soon the two of them were wrestling with one another. "You are not good enough for the Nutt name!"

At that point Hiccup and Ragnar arrived on the dragon. Tuffnut was riding with Hiccup and he saw the fight that was going on Barf and Belch.

"There they are," said Hiccup.

"Looks like we just got here just in time," said Ragnar.

"This is my fault for not listening to Ruff," said Tuffnut. "How could I be so stupid? I have to make that up to her." He then got to his feet. "It's time for Balista-Nutt!"

"What?" Hiccup and Ragnar stared.

Then before they could stop him, he jumped off Toothless and dive straight towards Barf and Belch.

"No! No, no, no," Hiccup yelled.

"Well, he's dead," said Ragnar.

"Here I come!" Tuffnut yelled as he plummeted towards Barf and Belch.

Ruffnut were still fighting control over Barf and Belch with Gruffnut which wasn't easy. Gruffnut was stronger than her and she was holding Macy which was making her lopsided. They start a brief second when they saw Tuffnut plummeting down towards them.

"Yeah!" he yelled. Unfortunately, he plummeted right past them. "No!"

"Be honest. That was hilarious," said Gruffnut trying to hold back a laugh.

Then suddenly he was tackled by Tuffnut, who had followed Hiccup's flight suit. Gruffnut landed on the back of Barf and Belch and Tuffnut landed on his feet on the back as well.

"Back in action," said Tuffnut. He then glared down at Gruffnut, who was clinging onto the back of his dragon. "Be honest. That was painful."

Gruffnut then pulled himself up.

"Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah," said Tuffnut raising his fists eagerly.

Gruffnut threw the first punch, but Tuffnut blocked it and then blocked the second punch from his cousin. He then slapped him across the face with his backhand, but Gruffnut counter-attack by kicking him in the ankle.

"Ow! My ankles, my ankles!" Tuffnut yelled hopping around.

Gruffnut then punched him across the face and he fell onto the back of Barf and Belch. He then tried to make a grab for Tuffnut, but he used the flight suit and the updraught of the wind to fly right behind him and kicked him in the back.

"You dislocated my hip," Gruffnut winced as he turned around clutching his hip. "Hurt's more than I imagined. Uh…"

He then charged at Tuffnut, but he ducked and got behind him. Gruffnut quickly turned and tried to knee him in the face, but Tuffnut blocked it. He then spun behind him and punched him across the face.

"Chinese finger move," said Gruffnut out stretching his hand, but Tuffnut quickly grabbed it.

He then twisted his arm and then head-butted him in the head. He then grabbed the flight suit and began slamming him with it.

"Flight suit! Flight suit!" Tuffnut yelled with every slam.

He then tried to slam the flight suit against him again, but Gruffnut tripped him up and made him drop the flight suit. He tried to reach for it, but Gruffnut grabbed it first and tossed it over Barf and Belch.

"No!" Tuffnut screamed as Gruffnut picked him up.

"Hey! Come on, guys! Work with me here," said Ruffnut looking back at them as they got closer and closer to the boat.

The man on the boat saw them and got a chain cannon ready and had aimed at Barf and Belch. The boat appeared to be manned by two men and appeared to be merchant by the looks of it

"Fire!" said one of the merchants.

They then fired the chain directly at Barf and Belch and it would have snacked them if Toothless had deflected it with a plasma blast. Toothless and Skull then flew around Barf and Belch as Tuffnut and Gruffnut continued fighting.

"I can't risk getting Tuffnut," said Hiccup.

"Then let's focus on making sure that ships stays where it is," said Ragnar.

Gruffnut then managed to get Tuffnut into a neck hold and then nearly tossed off Barf and Belch's back.

"I used to look up to you," said Tuffnut and then charged screaming at him with his fists raised.

He punched Gruffnut across the face, but he then punched Tuffnut even harder causing to lose his balance.

"Oh, no, no, no, no," Tuffnut yelled as he maintained his balance as another fall of the back of Barf and Belch. "Whoa! Oh!"

"Let me give you another chance," said Gruffnut about to push him off.

Ruffnut then used Macy to reflect the rays of the sun directly at Gruffnut's eyes temporarily blinding him. This gave Tuffnut enough time to regain his balance and soon the two of them with this fighting again. Tuffnut dealt a few blows to the chest, but Gruffnut caught his fist and twisted his arm and started kicking him across the face.

Tuffnut managed to knock over hand was about to deal the final blow, but Gruffnut kicked off him and he slid across Barf and Belch's left wing.

"Help!" Tuffnut yelled.

"Tuff!" Ruffnut yelled and quickly turned Barf and Belch right to get him back on the wing.

He then slid down the wing towards Gruffnut, who then placed his foot on top of him pinning him down. He then raised his fist laughing insidiously preparing to deal the final blow.

Tuffnut they quickly look at his sister. "Macy me!" he yelled.

Ruffnut then quickly toss Macy towards him and he caught her. He raised Macy just as Gruffnut swung his fist and slammed into the metal fail and he clutched his hand in pain.

"Ouch! Ow, ow, ow, ow!" he yelled.

Tuffnut then slammed Macy right into his chest and he landed on Barf and Belch's right wing and began to slid off. Ruffnut turned the two-headed dragon left causing him to fall on top of the merchant ship.

"Thanks, sis," said Tuffnut as he made his way onto Belch's saddle.

"You got it, bro," said Ruffnut.

Gruffnut landed on the ship landed on one of the merchants and the other two had weapons in each hand. They also didn't appear to very pleased with Gruffnut.

"Oh, hey, guys," said Gruffnut nervously as he backed away from them. "The dragon think, it's… It ended up being more com—Hey, how about that gold I owe you? What do you say we go double or nothing?"

The merchants did appear to lack that offer as they raise their weapons.

"Oh, no," said Gruffnut.

Then Barf and Belch appeared and grabbed him and began to flew away.

* * *

The next morning, the twins were still doing the show and this time they had Hiccup with them, who was embarrassed.

"Good morning Dragon's Edge!" said Tuffnut dramatically. "It's Tuff…"

"And Ruff…" said Ruffnut.

"And Chicken…" said Tuffnut holding out Chicken.

"In the morning, with our special guest Hiccup Haddock," Ruffnut announced.

"Hi, there," said Hiccup feeling the embarrassment eating away at him.

"Oh… Sir Talks-a-lot," said Tuffnut. "Okay, enough about you. How great were we yesterday?"

Hiccup shook his head. "Uh, you were very great. You saved Barf and Belch from being sold by Gruffnut. And I was very impressed that despite everything he did, you still rescued him."

"Well, he is family," said Ruffnut.

"And he still had my helmet," said Tuffnut gesturing to his helmet.

"That too."

"Uh, speaking of which, where is Gruffnut?" Hiccup asked curiously.

"Oh. We decided he should have a real adventure, for a change," said Ruffnut.

The two of them then shackled mischievously.

* * *

Gruffnut was in the forest only holding the spear in a forest full dragons. He quickly ran towards the cave looking wildly behind him.

"This won't be so bad," he said as he slowed him back into the cave. "At least I have some shelter."

He then slowly back into something and turned slowly to discover that the cave was home to a sleeping Catastrophic Quaken. To make things even more unfortunate the Quaken started to awoke and saw him. Gruffnut then promptly ran away screaming as the Quaken chase him down.

"There is a giant eye!" he screamed.

The Quaken then stpped at the entrance and roared loudly.


	42. Midnight Scrum

It was just a normal day exploring the nearby islands, but suddenly Hiccup found himself being chased by some very heavily armoured men.

"Come back here!"

"Get him!"

"Where'd he go?"

"Don't let him get away!"

Hiccup was running through the forest as fast as he could to heavily armoured men began firing arrows and throwing axes at him.

"We'll get him!"

"He's on the right!"

"Behind that tree!"

Hiccup kept on zigzagging across the trees to avoid the men trying to attack. The one thing that he did knew about these men was the fact that they were Dragon Hunters which begs the question why they were chasing him at all.

"Come on! We're getting closer!"

Hiccup then saw a third man jumping off a cliff with his axe held high. Hiccup quickly use the slope he was on to skid between his legs, but found that he wasn't able to stop himself and went down the hill screaming and grunting.

Meanwhile elsewhere in the forest, Astrid and Ragnar were strapping on their positions they got from the island. Toothless was with was holding a bucket of apples and all they were doing now was waiting for Hiccup.

"Toothless!" Hiccup's voice yelled in the distance.

"That can't be good," said Ragnar.

Hiccup was now running down the hill as fast as his legs could carry him as the three armoured men chased after him.

"Toothless!" Hiccup yelled again.

Hiccup skidded across the ground and then heard the familiar cry of a Night Fury. Following close behind him was also Astrid and Ragnar on their dragons. Toothless jump so that he was in between Hiccup and the armoured men and fired a plasma blast at them.

That's not one of the men away and cause the other two to be scattered.

"Get 'em, Stormfly!" Astrid ordered.

"Show them who's boss, Skull," said Ragnar.

Stormfly fired several spines down at the men tripping one of them up and causing him to drop a piece of paper. Skull then roared loudly that knocked the man backwards. Knowing there were outmatched the three men started running towards the hills.

"Yeah, that's right, keep running!" Astrid yelled.

"And don't come back!" Ragnar added.

The two of them then landed on the ground next to Hiccup and dismounted.

"You okay?" Astrid asked.

"Yeah, I think so," said Hiccup tiredly.

Toothless then gave him a massive lick across the face. "I'm all right, bud," said Hiccup brushing the saliva of his face.

"Who were those guys?" Astrid asked as Hiccup got to his feet. "They didn't look like Dragon Hunters."

"They didn't seem to know about the dragon either," said Ragnar crossing his arms.

"You know, I don't know," said Hiccup honestly. "With all the flying axes and tumbling down hills, I forgot to ask."

Then they saw Hiccup playing with a piece of parchment that one men left behind.

"Hey. What you got there, Toothless?" Hiccup asked as they approached him.

Toothless had managed to unroll the parchment and they instantly realised what was going on upon looking at it.

"I think I know who those guys were," said Astrid.

"And why they knew nothing about dragons," Ragnar added.

* * *

They soon returned to the Edge and show the parchment to the others. The parchment was actually a wanted poster with Hiccup's face on it and a large price.

Upon seeing it Snotlout laughed uncontrollably. "No way! Viggo put a price on Hiccup's head? Oh, man! Every bounty hunter from here to the archipelago is gonna be looking for you."

Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar merely narrow their eyes at him.

"Thank you, Snotlout, for your undying support," said Hiccup sarcastically.

"No, thank you, Hiccup," said Snotlout proudly.

"Hmm. I wonder if Viggo's pain the bounty with Berk's gold?" Fishlegs pondered.

"That much irony should be illegal," said Tuffnut he then took the poster from Snotlout. "Let me say that." He then looked over it from all sides. "Wait a minute, there's no mention of us at all."

"It's all about, Hiccup," Ruffnut frowned.

"Typical," Tuffnut scoffed. "Spiderman that a bounty be placed on us immediately and that the hounds be released."

"I'll put a bounty on us," said Ruffnut.

"Thanks, sister. I knew I could count on you. All right, we'll need flattering pictures for our flyers, a creepy alias, mine will be Nutte Tuff."

"All right, enough about the bounty," said Hiccup. "Mine and yours. We have other things to do."

"I hate to say it, Hiccup, but it might be a good idea to lie low for a while, until this cools off," said Heather.

"No way," said Hiccup firmly. "That's playing into Viggo's hands.

Astrid turned on him. "Wait, you can't still be planning on going to the party?"

"It's Berk's 400 year anniversary," Hiccup reminded. "You know my dad would do if I missed it?"

"And he's finally gonna near you for losing all of Berk's gold," Snotlout laughed. "It's gonna be epic."

"We're not kids any more, Snotlout. He's not gonna 'nail me,'" said Hiccup.

"I don't know, Hiccup," said Fishlegs troublingly. "A crowded, public event is the perfect place for bounty hunters to slip in undetected."

"Not to mention without Berk's hold, Stoick can't really close the gates when people want to enter," Ragnar pointed out.

"Ragnar, Fishlegs, I appreciate your concerns, but no, I'm not hiding from anyone," said Hiccup firmly. "We're going to the party."

* * *

The next day at Berk, the people of Berk were setting up the decorations. Sadly it wasn't as grand as it normally would have been due to the small fact they didn't have any gold left. Despite this they were certainly going to put every effort into making it spectacular.

"Can you believe it, Stoick? Four hundred years," said Gobber breathlessly. "Makes ya proud to be a Berkian."

"Yes, it does," said Stoick patting him on the shoulder.

Gobber cleaned his throat and pulled out a piece of parchment. "Now, what else do we need on my list?" he said and the list reached to the ground.

Stoick sighed. "I don't have to remind you, do I, that Berk's gold was lost to Viggo?"

"No, Chief. I was there," Gobber reminded.

They then heard the sound of dragons and turned to see the Riders had reached Berk. His eyes immediately fell onto Hiccup and they automatically narrowed.

"Don't be too hard on him about the gold, Chief," Gobber advised. "It wasn't all his fault. We were lucky to get off that island in one piece."

Stoick then made his way over to Hiccup, who had dismounted Toothless and was barely able to look at him in the eyes.

Stoick sighed. "How's life at the Great Beyond, Son?" he asked.

Before Hiccup could answer, Snotlout rushed forwards and leaned on Hiccup shoulders. "Ha! Funny you should ask, Chief. There's actually a—"

Hiccup then shoved him off and covered his mouth. "Yeah, it's great, Dad. How could it not the great? It's the Great Beyond. Right, guys?"

The other Riders quickly nodded in agreement, knowing that he was deflecting the topic about the bounty hunters.

Hiccup then looked at his father. "So, how are things here?"

"They've been better," Stoick admitted.

Hiccup knew what he was implying. "Yeah, about that. Uh, listen, Dad—"

"We can discuss it later, Son," Stoick promised. "Always remember, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

"Yeah. Got it. Loud and clear," Hiccup nodded.

"Now, go enjoy yourselves. A party like this happen only once in 400 years."

Hiccup sighed with great relief.

"That's it?" Snotlout stared as if he had been cheated and walked off in a huff. "What a rip-off!"

"Okay, you heard the man," said Tuffnut following him.

"The party is one!" said Ruffnut following him.

Astrid then approached Hiccup. "Aren't you gonna tell about the bounty?" she asked.

"No. I'm not," said Hiccup and then he walked off. "He has enough to deal with right now."

"This is going to end badly, I just know it," said Ragnar.

Astrid couldn't help, but nod in agreement.

* * *

Later that night, the party was in full swing. Children were walking down the street holding flags with Vikings for many tribes cheering as they walked past.

"Let's hear it for the wee ones!" said Gobber, who was wearing blue and green facepaint. The spectators cheered. "We Berkians have come a long way in 400 years. For a long time, we were at war with the dragons, hunting them, killing them. But that all change one day when some of our youngest Berkians had the guts to step up and take a stand. Ladies and Vikings, the time has come to look towards the future of Berk. I give you Hiccup and the Dragon Riders!"

The spectators cheered as the Dragon Riders appeared above them with the dragons lighting their flames in their mouths. The Riders, minus Heather, were all wearing facepaint that they wore during the Dragon Races.

"All right, guys. Let's give 'em a show to remember," said Hiccup looking back at them.

Astrid and Heather then flew into position charging at one another and standing on their dragons. They then jumped at the same time and their metal braces slammed in each other releasing sparks. They then landed back on their dragons landing perfectly on their feet.

"Yes!" Astrid cheered.

The spectators cheered even louder.

"Comin' in hot!" Snotlout yelled as he blew down with a flaming Hookfang and lit the bonfires that had been set up in the Plaza.

The spectators cheered once more.

The twins were flying up into the air releasing gas.

"You're making the nose to big," Ruffnut glared at her brother.

"Everyone loves a strong, authoritative nose," said Tuffnut as he guided their dragon.

They then flew back down releasing even more gas.

"Light it up, Belch!" Tuffnut ordered.

Belch releases sparks igniting the gas and creating a massive explosion that took the form of Stoick's face. The entire crowd cheered upon seeing it.

Ragnar and Fishlegs then made their way towards the eyes.

"Suck it in Meatlug," said Fishlegs.

"Wings in, Skull," said Ragnar.

Skull tucked in his wings and Ragnar and Fishlegs flew into the two eyes of Stoick the Vast. Ragnar got out completely unscathed, but the wings on Fishlegs' helmet were on fire.

"Whoo! Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, Fishlegs!" Fishlegs cheered.

"That sounds how you do it!" Ragnar yelled raising his hands in the air.

The spectators cheered even louder at the spectacle.

Then they heard the sound of Toothless, who came flying down into the village. As they flew over the spectators, Hiccup looked down at them and then saw a group of Vikings talking to one another with suspicious looks, he didn't recognise.

"Bounty hunters," he said to himself.

He then made a quick U-turn around the bonfire Snotlout had created and landed in front of the three men.

"Who are you?" Hiccup demanded.

"Please don't hurt them, Hiccup," said Silent Sven rushing towards him.

"Wait, you know these guys?" Hiccup blinked.

"Sure, they're my uncles. Whispering Waldo, Mute Marvin, and Soft Spoken Sam," he said gesturing to his uncles

"Hi!" said Soft Spoken Sam very quietly.

Hiccup had to admit that he saw the family resemblance. "They're just ship-lagged from their long journey," Sven explained as Astrid joined them on top of Stormfly.

"Sorry, Sven," said Hiccup apologetically then looked at his uncles. "And you too Whispering Waldo, Mute Marvin, and…" He can remember the last one's name. "Never mind. Welcome to Berk."

Hiccup then took off into the air with Astrid, but as they did another's mysterious figure was in the crowd and saw Hiccup. In his hand he was holding the wanted poster and then he was soon joined by a second thuggish-looking person.

* * *

After the party, Astrid and Ragnar wanted to have a few words with Hiccup in the Great Hall.

"All right, I admit it. Living with a bounty on my head is more stressful than I thought," Hiccup admitted to the two of them. "First Viggo gets our gold, now this. I just think I should—"

"Tell Stoick," said Astrid placing a hand over his. "He's the chief and he's your dad."

"It would be a good idea to get this off your chest," Ragnar added.

"No, like he said, 'The needs of the many outweigh those of the few,'" said Hiccup firmly.

"That was before he realised that you had a bounty on your head," Ragnar pointed out.

"Good night, guys. I'll see you two in the morning," said Hiccup getting up and walking out of the Great Hall.

"He's just too stubborn for his own good," said Ragnar shaking his head.

"Do you think we should tell Stoick?" Astrid asked.

Ragnar shook his head. "No, he should tell his Dad otherwise he'll be in even more trouble. Which is why we need to keep on convincing him to tell him."

* * *

Later that night, Astrid was sleeping in her bed in her parents' house which had been rebuilt after Dagur's attack.

"Hiccup!" Stoick's voice yelled.

Astrid's eyes shot up.

Outside Stoick and Toothless were looking around the village for any sign of Hiccup.

"Has anyone seen Hiccup?" Stoick yelled as looked in a dark street. "Hiccup!" Astrid soon left the house and approached the chief, who noticed her. "Have you seen Hiccup?"

Astrid had a very bad feeling about this and shook her head.

* * *

Hiccup soon opened his eyes and noted that he had a very large lump on its head. The also appear to be in the hull of a ship. The ship didn't look anything special mostly filled with empty crates and barrels.

"Where am I?" he said as he took in his new surroundings.

He then noticed that his hands and legs were bound. It soon dawned on him that bounty hunters that somehow caught him and he was in the ship. He tried to break free from the bonds, but the knots were too tight.

"There's got to be something sharp," said Hiccup looking around.

He then saw a bent nail not too far way and started to make his way towards it. It was an easy with having both his legs and hands bound, but eventually he reached the nail. He then started to use the sharp edges the cut the ropes around his hands.

"Come on. Come on. Come on," he repeated as he moved his hands up and down.

He then heard footsteps and saw two shadows walking above on the deck. He then moved his hands up and down faster, but stopped when he heard footsteps landing on the wooden floorboards in front of him.

They were to thuggish-looking pictures and judging from the way they looked and smelled they were too brightly.

"He's awake!" said one of them. "Quick, Berthel, knock him out again."

Berthel then started to make his way over towards Hiccup in a threatening manner.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said Hiccup.

"Why not?"

"Because you might accidentally kill me and Viggo wants me alive."

"Is that true?" Berthel asked looking at the bounty hunter.

"Well, what does the post to say?" the bounty hunter asked.

"I lost the poster, said Berthel looking ashamed.

"Berthel, you had one thing to do, hold the poster!" the bounty hunter yelled furiously.

Berthel held out his hand which revealed to be hooks. "Holding things is not my strong suit. You know that."

The bounty hunter then looked at Hiccup. "Maybe we'll knock you out later."

"You know, if I were you two, I'd release me," Hiccup advised. "My friends will be here any minute, with their dragons. Their fire-breathing dragons."

"He's bluffin'," said the bounty hunter.

Suddenly there was large footsteps above deck.

"What's that? Dragons?" Berthel asked nervously.

They quickly ran up the steps and Hiccup continue to cut the ropes with the nail. He finally managed to cut the ropes and then removed the rope around his ankles. He then heard the sound of struggles above deck and assume that it was the other Riders and then he heard the two bounty hunters being thrown off deck.

"I'm down here!" Hiccup yelled running to the steps.

Unfortunately his rescuer was not the Riders, it was Savage and he was smiling menacingly. "Yes. I know you are," he said with a smirk.

"Savage," Hiccup stared.

Savage made his way down the steps laughing and then swung his axe at Hiccup. Hiccup rolled out of the way and grabbed the rope. He then held it out in time to block the handle on Savage's axe as he brought it down. He then used his strength to get up and use the rope to tie up the axe and disarm Savage, he then uses metal like to trip him up and tossed him onto the floor.

He then climbed his way back on deck, but found himself completely surrounded by ocean water.

"Oh, Thro!" Hiccup groaned.

Savage then tackled him while his back was turned and pinned him to the floor.

"Slippery one, aren't you?" said Savage as he put him into an arm hold.

"Wait, Savage, you don't want to do this," said Hiccup as he struggled to free himself.

Savage then tied him up and tossed him onto his ship. "For once in my life, I know exactly what I want to do," he said and then jumped on board.

He then guided the ship away from the bounty hunters'. The bounty hunters were still in the water and Savage smirked at them as he sailed past.

"Thanks for getting him off Berk, muttonheads," he said.

"Hold me, Amos," Berthel begged as he can't swim due to his disability.

* * *

Meanwhile at this time, Stoick, who was riding Toothless, was leading the Dragon Hunters on the hunt for the bounty hunters ship. Astrid and informed Stoick of the bounty that had been placed on Hiccup's head and he wasn't too pleased and Hiccup hadn't informed him of this.

"Since Viggo's island is due north, the bounty hunters should be heading in this direction," said Fishlegs.

Toothless growled clearly worried about Hiccup.

"We'll find him, boy. Don't you worry," Stoick assured patting him on the head.

"The Deep Sea Channel is calm this time of year and cuts right through Viggo's island," Heather informed them.

"We'll follow the channel and hope he's on it," said Astrid.

"Let's just hope we get there in time before they reach the island," said Ragnar.

"Why wouldn't he tell me about the bounty," said Stoick shaking his head in disbelief. "It's because of what I said, isn't it?"

"He's Hiccup, sometimes his pride's bigger than his brain," said Astrid.

"It also doesn't help that he's quite stubborn," Ragnar added.

"In the interest of full disclosure, Chief, Ruff and I have a price on our heads as well," said Tuffnut holding out a wanted poster which was clearly home-made.

"We've even dropped these all over the archipelago," said Ruffnut tossing more copies of the poster into the winds.

"Ha!" Snotlout laughed. Then suddenly one of the poster slammed into his face. "Hey! Hey!" Hookfang did the dragon equivalent of a laughter as Snotlout remove the poster and glared up at the twins. "And after we get Hiccup back I'm going to collect your bounty."

"There it is," said Stoick noticing the bounty hunters' ship in the distance. "We got 'em now." Stoick landed on the ship and looked at the other Riders. "Search the rest of the ship. Leave no stone unturned."

The Riders and dismounted their dragons and landing on the ship and began searching the place from top to bottom. Sadly they found no trace of Hiccup for the bounty hunters.

Stoick groaned and looked at the worried Toothless. "It's all right, he assured."

They then heard sounds on the side of the ship and made their way towards the side and saw two men climbing onto the ship. Stoick naturally assume that these were the bounty hunters that took his son.

"Push me up, Berthel! Amos ordered.

"How can I push you when I'm pullin' me?" Berthel asked.

Amos then kicked him across the face and eventually the bounty hunters manager climbed themselves onto this ship.

"Finally, we made it," Amos sighed with relief.

Then they looked up and saw Stoick towering above them with his axe at the ready. "Where is Hiccup?" he demanded.

Toothless then approached him and growled angrily.

"We don't have him anymore," said Amos fearfully.

Stoick grabbed the two of them by their throats and lifted them off their feet. Astrid, Ragnar and Heather and soon emerged from the ship's hold.

"We search below deck. He's not here," said Astrid.

"But it looked as if the was some sort of struggle," Ragnar added.

"See, we told you," said Berthel ghastly for breath. "Savage took him."

Stoick then released the two of them and they quickly rubbed their throats. The twins then approached the two of them.

"I see you found some of our posters," said Tuffnut holding out one of their home-made posters.

"But why are they on a roll in the outhouse?" Ruffnut asked glaring at them.

"The soft, two-ply parchment is soothing," Berthel explained as he scratched his rear.

"You picked up on," said Tuffnut lowering the poster. "Very observant."

"And absorbent," Ruffnut added. She then looked to her brother. "See what I did there?"

"Yes. Let's sit down and negotiate a deal for the surrender of one Ruffnut and one Tuffnut Thorston," said Tuffnut.

Stoick then walked past and approached the two bounty hunters and instantly they whimpered. He then grabbed them and tossed overboard.

"We'll have our people Terror Mail your people," said Ruffnut leaning over the side of the ship.

* * *

Meanwhile, Savage was tying Hiccup up and pressing him against the mast.

"That'll hold you," Savage smirked.

"Savage, think about what you're doing," said Hiccup. "I'm the only one standing between Viggo and his rule. Once you hand me over—"

Savage then threatened him with his axe. "Quiet! I've been disrespected my whole life, but now, I'll be a Viking of legend."

"Viggo will never respect you," said Hiccup. "He's playing you for a fool."

"At least I'll be a rick fool," Savage smirked.

"If gold is what you want, Berk has more gold then you can imagine," Hiccup lied. "Stoick will pay you double what Viggo is offering."

Savage laughed. "Nice try, Hiccup. Berk has no gold. Everyone knows that." He laughed as he leaned towards Hiccup. "Who's the fool now?"

Savage then turned his back on him and Hiccup use this as an opportunity to kick in the heel. Savage then fell face first onto the floor. Hiccup then ran to the side of the ship, but the boy could jump Savage grabbed him and pulled him back and tossed him back onto the ship.

"Gonna swim home with your hands tied?" Savage asked as he walked towards him and then removed his leg. "Now, you can't run either."

Savage then laughed and suddenly he collapsed.

Hiccup then, to his bewilderment, saw Throk standing there with a blowgun in his hand. Clearly he just by the dart at Savage knocking him out cold for while. He chuckled softly as he approached Hiccup and for a terrible thought Hiccup thought he was chronicling the bounty.

"Throk!" Hiccup stared.

"I've been looking all over for you," he said as he drew a dagger.

"No, wait," Hiccup yelled.

Hiccup then closes eyes as Throk raised the dagger preparing for the end. Instead however he felt the ropes around his waist following our and saw that Throk had cut the ropes. Hiccup sighed with relief as he got up.

"Mala heard about the bounty. She sent me to rescue you," Throk explained. Hiccup grabbed his leg and tied itied back onto his stumps. "This way. Come on."

They were making their way back towards the ship.

"We gotta get to the Edge. There are bounty hunters everywhere," said Hiccup.

"Not to worry, Hiccup Haddock. You're safe now," Throk assured.

Then suddenly a cloaked figure appeared out of nowhere and drew his axe. Throk barely had time to block with his own axe and skidded across the ship's hull.

"Is anyone not after me?" Hiccup yelled.

Throk and the cloaked figure then started to trade blows. Throk managed to lower the figures weapon long enough to punch him across the face and was about to deal the final blow, but the cloaked figure blocked it gracefully. The two of them continue trading blows until the cloaked figure backed himself into the mast.

The cloaked figure then raised his axe up was causing Throk to jump backwards and swung it at his feet. Throk jumped in time, but the cloaked figure managed to get behind him and elbow him in the head. Throk quickly turned around and the trading blows with one another yet again.

Throk was back towards the side of the ship and the cloaked figure almost liked his head of the happened leaned back far enough. Throk then started pushing the cloaked figure back towards the opposite side of the ship, but after trading another blow with him he was disarmed.

The cloaked figure then back towards the mast and swung his axe. Throk diet and managed to get behind him and tackled him into the mast. He then swung his fist at his opponent's face, but the cloaked figure backed away in time but was unable to block Throk's kick and he slammed into the mast knocking him out cold.

"Now, you're safe," said Throk turning back to Hiccup.

Then suddenly he went limp and collapsed. It turned out the cloaked figure had been knocked out cold, but had grabbed Throk blowgun and struck in with one of his own darts knocking him out cold. He then fired a dart at Hiccup and then everything went black.

* * *

An hour later, Stoick in the Dragon Riders arrived at Savage's ship to find both Savage and Throk unconscious.

"Where is he taking my son?" Stoick demanded threatening Savage with his axe and Toothless bared his teeth.

"I don't know where he is," Savage panicked. "One minute I was holding his leg, and the next, I woke up and he was gone. I swear it."

"A masked Viking surprised me," said Throk as Ragnar and Snotlout helped him up. "He must have Hiccup Haddock."

"You let some random guy beat you?" Snotlout stared.

Throk narrowed his eyes. "He was very skilled."

"We should be surprised," said Ragnar. "Viggo has played quite a big bounty on his head."

"Where is he taking Hiccup?" Stoick demanded looking down at Savage.

Stoick then raised his axe and everyone gasped in horror feeling he was about to kill Savage.

"Wait! Wait! Sleipnir Island," said Savage quickly. "Ryker is waiting there with the gold. I don't know what they're gonna do to Hiccup."

Reluctantly, Stoick and Toothless backed away from Savage.

"It is our own fault he got grabbed, not mine," said Savage.

Stoick then turned back to face him and raised his axe this time really going to kill him. Fortunately for Savage, Toothless placed himself between him and Stoick and gave him a look. It took a few seconds, but eventually Stoick lowered his axe and turned his back on Savage.

Toothless ran towards him giving him the same look and he sighed. "Your right," he said.

The twins then showed Savage one of their posters.

"I'm sure you've heard about the Thorston bounty," said Tuffnut. "We're accepting offers, but you can expect a bidding war."

"Uh-huh," Ruffnut nodded.

"Riders, mount up!" Stoick ordered.

They soon mounted their dragons and took off towards Sleipnir Island. Throk watched as they flew off into the distance.

"Thor be with you, Dragon Riders," he said.

* * *

The cloaked figure had finally reached Sleipnir Island with Hiccup in tow. They had sailed from Savages ship on a small dinghy.

As they made their way through the forest Hiccup and look around for possible escape route and saw one. Immediately he broke free of his captures grip and made a run for it. He didn't get very far, because it capture then wrap the chain around his neck dragging him towards him.

"Don't do that again," he advised looking down on Hiccup.

They soon found themselves in the clearing and standing there was Ryker holding a large bag in his hand. He turned around when he heard the sound of bushes rustling and saw Hiccup and his captor making their way towards him. He then forced Hiccup to move in front of him so that Ryker could see him.

Ryker laughed. "Finally. Hiccup Haddock. No dragon to save you, no friends to save you. All alone."

He was about to grab Hiccup, but Hiccup captor then pulled him back and looked at Ryker.

"The gold," he said marching up to Ryker.

"Your eyes look familiar, masked man," Ryker frowned. "Do I know you?"

The masked man raised his hand. "The gold."

"You did good," said Ryker holding the bag out. The masked man was about to grab it, but Ryker released it and it revealed to be full of rocks. "But they'll be no gold for this one-legged fool."

Ryker began to laugh.

"Then there will be no prize," said the masked man.

Ryker then drew his blade. "Hunters!"

Then suddenly appearing out of the bushes were Dragon Hunters and they started charging towards the masked man and Hiccup. The masked man then ran towards where the Dragon Hunters were weakest with Hiccup in tow.

He drew his axe and disarmed the first of the Hunters and then knocked him aside with the handle of axe. He then jumped another Hunter, who raised his shield, and pushed him backwards and turnaround in time to see a second Hunter charging towards him. He simply knocked him aside with the back of his axe and then blocked the attack from the Hunter he was previously fighting in a split second, but the Hunter disarmed him.

He glared at the Hunter and then punched him across the face knocking him out cold and then punched the second Hunter. He then jumped into the air and ground his axe, which was still spinning in the air somersaulted and landed on the ground perfectly.

Three Hunters then surrounded him with arrows and soon he engaged them. At this point Hiccup chose this opportunity to free himself from the bounds around his wrists and made a run for the words.

Ryker laughed and looked at the two Hunters next. "Come with me."

They then began to chase after Hiccup.

Hiccup had managed to remove the bounds around his wrists and the chain and was now running through the forest as quickly as he could.

"There's got to be something on this island," he said to himself. "A dragon. Anything."

He then ran into a field which was completely dominated by sheep.

"That's not exactly what I had in mind," he said.

Ryker and his Hunters followed Hiccup trail through the forest.

"Hurry up! He can't get far!" said Ryker.

They soon reached the clearing and then came to an abrupt stop, because a stampede of sheep were heading straight towards them. They quickly ran in the opposite direction screaming as Hiccup use a flaming Inferno to scare the sheep.

"Sheep," he said to himself and was about to make his getaway, but then he was tackled by the masked man.

They tumbled and before Hiccup could strike with his sword the man disarmed him with his axe and then pinned him to the ground.

"I'll take you to Viggo go myself," the masked man glared.

Shepard began to struggle trying to fend him off and removed his mask. Hiccup then recognised him immediately as the man that tried to buy Toothless in Viggo's dragon auction.

"Wait. I know you," Hiccup stared. "You were at Viggo's auction."

Hiccup then kicked him off him and try to make a run for it, but the man grabbed him and they tumbled off the cliff. Hiccup managed to grab hold of the ledge and the man grabbed his waist. Hiccup was finding it very difficult to hold on due to their combined weight and then saw the man slip and grabbed hold of his leg.

"Pull me up," he said.

Hiccup tried to pull them up, but their weight was far too heavy for him and he felt his grip slipping. He then reached down to the rope that was connecting his leg to his stump.

"What are you going?" the man yelled.

Hiccup untired the rope and began to knock his foot off with his good leg.

"No! No!" the man yelled and the leg felt the stump.

He then fell down the cliff towards the large lake at the bottom.

Unfortunately, Hiccup might be joining him as he was losing his grip, but when he did someone grabbed him. He looked up and groaned, because his saviour was Ryker.

"Oh, I'd love to drop you, but Viggo wants to kill you himself," said Ryker and then tossed him back onto the cliff.

"That's very considerate," said Hiccup.

He then saw that he was completely surrounded by Dragon Hunters, weaponless and legless. Ryker pulled him up and forced him to move which was difficult with only one leg. Then suddenly out of nowhere plasma blast fired knocking two of the Hunters backwards.

They turned and saw Stoick leading the Dragon Rider towards them with his axe held high.

"Got after Hiccup," said Astrid flying beside Stoick. "We'll clear the hunters."

They then flew down towards Hiccup and the Hunters.

Ryker then punched Hiccup hard in the gut knocking him out cold. He then placed him on his shoulder and began to make a run for it. The Hunters covered his retreat with their Dragon Root arrows.

Astrid managed to dodge them and they just bounced off Skull's armour as the two of them flew down towards them. The two of them then unleashed a stream of fire down upon the Hunters causing them to jump out of the way.

"Blast em' Hookfang. Yeah!" Snotlout yelled as they created a wall of fire.

Fishlegs then fired several lava blast and Heather flew down towards the Hunters, who fired more arrows at them. She managed to dodge them and fly in low using Windshear's sharp tail to cut through the trunks of several trees which landed on top of the Hunters.

Stoick meanwhile was still chasing Ryker, who was still trying to escape. Toothless then fired a plasma blast right at Ryker's feet knocking him to the ground. Ryker managed to remain on his feet, but he dropped Hiccup and turned just as Toothless landed.

Stoick immediately dismounted and then pointed his axe at him. "You get him, Toothless," he ordered.

Toothless then charged at Ryker, but Ryker grabbed Hiccup, who had regained consciousness, and he drew his blade. Toothless fired a plasma blast which not the blade out of Ryker's hand and Hiccup chose this opportunity to hop away. Toothless then fired even more plasma blast removing his armour and causing him to fall.

Toothless then landed in front of him preparing to fire final plasma blast.

"No, don't," Ryker whimpered.

"It's all right, Toothless, we got him," said Stoick placing a hand on his head.

Toothless stood down reluctantly, but didn't stop him from growling at Ryker angrily. Toothless then Hiccup's moans and then rushed towards him rubbing his snout against Hiccup affectionately.

"Good to see you, too, bud," said Hiccup.

Ryker got to his feet and rubbed his wounds and then saw Stoick marching up towards him. He then grabbed him by the helm of his shirt and lifted him off his feet with a murderous look on his face.

"I want you to deliver a message to Viggo," he said. "You put a bounty on one of us, you get all of us." He then punched him across the face knocking him out cold. "Well, that felt good."

Stoick then made his way over towards his son and soon the other Riders joined them.

"Hiccup, your leg," said Astrid noticing his prosthetic was gone. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay. Let's just go home," said Hiccup.

Astrid and Ragnar then helped him up and they began to make their leave.

Unfortunately, Ryker regained consciousness at that point. He drew his dagger from his belt secretly and was about to throw it when something hit him on the head knocking him out cold. Everyone quickly turned and saw that someone had thrown Hiccup's leg at him.

Then they saw him, the masked man that captured Hiccup standing on the cliff's edge. He looked at all them and clearly he knew that the odds were against him and with a small chuckle he somersaulted over the cliff. They quickly rushed towards the edge of the cliff, but saw no signs of him.

"Okay, if that was a bounty hunter, I'm rescinding my bounty, effectively immediately," said Tuffnut tearing up the posters he and his sister made.

* * *

Soon they were all on their dragons flying back to Berk. Stoick was riding with his son and the two of them were having an awkward moment.

"You know, I don't think I've ever seen you that mad, and that's saying something," said Hiccup.

"Nobody messes with a Haddock without paying the price," said Stoick. "Now, about Berk's gold, that was my fault too, son. We both learned a lesson. But, Hiccup—"

"I know what you're gonna say," said Hiccup. "And you're right. I should've told you about the bounty. After all, I'm your son."

"Yes, but it's more than that. We're allies, peers. The people of Berk depend on us to keep them safe. And if we're gonna do that, we can have no secrets between us." Hiccup looked at him. "But that a conversation for another day. I'm just glad to have you back." Toothless growled. "We both are."

They then flew into the sunset heading back home and for that moment on Hiccup never get anything from his


	43. Not Lout

Hiccup in the Dragon Riders were making their way to an unknown island. Spitelout had finally created another storehouse on a different island and the people of Berk were celebrating his achievement.

"Pretty good turnout," said Hiccup.

"Of course it's a good turnout, Hiccup," said Snotlout as if he hadn't expected anything less. "The people love the Jorgensons."

"I think the love is too strong a word," said Ragnar.

They soon landed on the island enjoys the crowd of people that were surrounding the new storehouse.

"Look at that!" said Snotlout smugly. "All of Berk has come out to admire the Jorgensons' handiwork!"

"Nah. Everyone's just here for the free food," said Tuffnut

"Nobody comes to these things to admire any," said Ruffnut as she poured a large amount of meat into her helmet.

Stoick then cleaned his throat as he addressed the crowd. "In every Viking's life, there comes a time when you have to take a chance. Risk everything. Today, we celebrate a man who took the initiative. We now have a new off-Berk storehouse, thanks to—"

Suddenly the doors burst open knocking Stoick back and Spitelout emerged with his hands raised dramatically

Spitelout Jorgenson, of the great Jorgensons!" Spitleout yelled.

The entire crowd cheered and Snotlout cheered the loudest. "Spitelout, Spitelout, oy, oy, oy!"

Spitelout made his way through the crowd laughing as they clapped and cheered.

"Hey, coming through!" said Snotlout pushing through the crowd to join his father.

"Drink it in, friends," said Spitelout.

"We finally showed 'em all what it means to be a Jorgenson!" said Snotlout.

Spitelout narrowed his eyes. "Hey! We didn't show them anything, boyo. I did." He then approached his son and pointed him towards the other Riders where they were laughing and hanging out with one another. "Look at 'em. All clamouring for Hiccup's approval. Workin' every angle. A Jorgenson doesn't ask permission to be great. That's the only reason we have this storehouse."

"Dad, I think they're just having fun," said Snotlout, though he did sound sure.

"Oh, fun? A bit of a silly time?" said Spitelout turning him towards him. "Sharpen up, boyo! They're kissin' their way up the ladder. Thor only knows what they're sayin' about you."

Snotlout turned back towards them and began to imagine that they were saying negative things about him.

"Look at him over there," said Astrid.

"Who is he kidding, huh? He's ridiculous! Snotlout," said Hiccup. "Look at that. Who does he think he is? What name is that anyway?"

"Snotlout," said Tuffnut.

"Snotlout?" Astrid scoffed.

"Snotlout," said Ragnar.

"Astrid? A Hofferson!" said Spitelout. "I wouldn't trust her to sharpen my axe. Ragnar, he's been by Hiccup's side always like waiting for this chance. Or that Fishlegs, he and Hiccup are as thick as thieves. And those devilish twins. Nothing stings more than a dagger between the shoulder blades."

Tuffnut appear to be doing something quite funny causing all the other Riders laugh.

"Right in there!" he said.

"You wanna be like your old man?" Spitelout asked pulling him towards him. "A great leader takes what's rightfully his. And if he doesn't, he'll be left in the dust. Do ya understand what I'm trying to tell ya?"

* * *

Later that night on the Edge, Snotlout was having a very bad dream. He could hear Hiccup and Astrid laughing and heard footsteps running behind.

" _Who's he kidding, huh?_ " said Hiccup's voice. " _He's ridiculous_."

Snotlout removed his blanket. "You mock me? Do you know who I am?" he yelled.

He then discovered that his entire house was gone and that he was all alone with only his clothes on his back and his blanket.

"I used to be a Dragon Rider," he said covering himself with the blanket.

Then someone dropped a coin in his helmet and he looked up to see Astrid. "Snotlout?"

Fishlegs sighed as he joined. "Poor little Snotlout."

"He had such much promise," said Astrid.

Ragnar then appeared. "How the mighty are fallen."

Heather then appeared. "Ugh. You know, I even secretly wanted to marry. But now? Ew!"

They all laughed and then left Snotlout.

The twins standing in a cart with a golden sheep inside it which was being pulled by Barf and Belch looking down at Snotlout.

"Look there, Sister. It's Snotlout," said Tuffnut. "Shall we stop and say hello?

"No, I'd rather polish golden sheep," said Ruffnut.

"Onward, Sir Barf and Belch!" Tuffnut ordered. "And try and splash a little bit of dirt in Snotlout's face."

"Goodbye, peasant," said Ruffnut.

Snotlout then watched as Barf and Belch carried them away and dirt landed in Snotlout face. He coughed and spluttered and then he saw Hiccup and Toothless approaching him.

"I always thought you'd become the leader of the Dragon Riders, but you never had what it took," said Hiccup. "So, I found someone better."

Then to Snotlout's horror Gustav appeared riding Hookfang.

"A-Gustav! And guess what?" he said with a smirk. "Hookfang's mine now!"

Gustav then laughed.

Snotlout woke with a start and sat up right taking deep breaths.

"No," he said.

* * *

The next morning, Hiccup and the other Riders were making their way to a known area where the Dragon Hunter ships have been seen. Snotlout was still remembering what his father had said yesterday and the dream from last night and was looking at everyone with suspicion.

"All right, gang, stay sharp," said Hiccup looking at them all. "There's been a lot of Hunter activity in this area."

"Maybe we should spread out, cover more ground," Astrid suggested.

"Yeah, good idea," Hiccup nodded.

There were about to move out when Snotlout made his presence known.

"Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Now, Astrid's making all the decisions?" he said with a small chuckle. "When did that happen?"

"Uh, guys?" said Fishlegs.

"If Astrid is making all the decisions, we want to build a second story on our crib, you know?" said Tuffnut. "Add square footage and enhance the curb appeal."

"Why do they get a better hut?" Snotlout asked indignantly.

"Nobody's getting a better hut!" said Hiccup in bewilderment. "And Astrid is not making all the decisions."

"Guys!" Ragnar, Fishlegs and Heather yelled.

"Hunter ships, get ahead," said Heather.

They then notice below them were three Hunter ships.

"All right, spread out in the formation. Prepare for a surprise attack," Hiccup ordered.

"I voted attack!" said Snotlout and flew down towards the ships.

"No, Snotlout! No!" Hiccup yelled and follow him.

The Hunters were now aware of their presence and their arches got ready and fired Dragon Root arrows directly at them.

* * *

A few minutes later the Riders returned to the Edge.

"Incoming!" Tuffnut yelled.

Seconds later he, Ruffnut and Astrid crash landed on the Edge with Dragon Root arrows embedded in the dragons.

"Is everyone okay?" Hiccup asked as he landed.

"Could be worse," said Tuffnut as he got up.

"Speak for yourself," said Ruffnut, who was right underneath Barf's head.

Heather helped Astrid up, who was clutching her chest. "You okay?"

Fishlegs removed the arrows from the dragons and Ragnar was rushing around grabbing the Dragon Root antidote for all the dragons that need it.

"Here you go," he said pouring the antidote into Stormfly's mouth. "Here's the antidote."

Snotlout then landed with a face that said victory. "Whoo! Now, that's how you lead a mission. Am I right?" he said looking at the others.

"By almost getting your team killed?" Astrid glared.

"Totally uncool," said Tuffnut.

"So not cool!" said Ruffnut's muffled voice.

"Opposite of cool."

"Little help?" Ruffnut groaned.

"No, thanks. I'm good," said Tuffnut. "You help yourself."

"Okay, fine, maybe it was a little messy," Snotlout admitted. "But everyone, let's face it, I'm the reason we won."

Everyone just glared at him.

"That's not exactly what happened, Snotlout," said Hiccup.

Astrid and Snotlout were flying side-by-side around one Hunter ships.

" _You were supposed to cover our wing, blasting arrows, while we made a pass_ ," said Astrid. " _But you peeled off_."

Snotlout flew down towards the ship leaving Astrid completely vulnerable to the archers which fired a volley of Dragon Root arrows at her.

" _And Meatlug was lining up a perfectly good blast when you came out of nowhere to take the shot_ ," Fishlegs added.

Fishlegs was manoeuvring Meatlug into a perfect position for a lava blast, but then out of nowhere Snotlout appeared and shot him out of the way taking the shot.

"Out of my way!" Snotlout yelled.

"Snotlout!" Heather yelled and she and Windshear got slammed by an outer controlled Fishlegs and Meatlug.

Next second of Dragon Hunters net captured them.

"Oh, Thor!" Fishlegs whimpered.

" _And we were about to spark our new move when you used us as a diversion_ ," said Tuffnut.

The twins were flying up the gas perfectly for then you surprise attack, but Snotlout blocked their path leaving them vulnerable to the archers on deck and at the mercy of the Dragon Root arrows.

" _This meant that I had to divert from my own attack in order to cover our retreat_ ," said Ragnar.

Ragnar could see the entire mission was a debacle and quickly took the initiative to create a distraction for them to escape. He had Skull uses tails slam to move one of the Dragon Hunter ships into one another. This caused a bit of confusion which Hiccup used to free Fishlegs and Heather and together they were able to retrieve Astrid and the twins before making a hasty retreat.

"Hey, it's not my fault I had to cover for you guys," said Snotlout.

"Snotlout, we almost lost the battle because of you," said Fishlegs. "If Ragnar had cause a diversion by causing one of the ships to collide with one another we would have escaped."

"It's called, 'initiative' Fishface," said Snotlout dismissively. "You know that word, from your books?"

"You could have ruined something again!" Fishlegs yelled

"You don't know what initiative is!" Astrid yelled.

"All right. All right. All right," said Hiccup trying to act as the voice of reason. He then looked at Snotlout. "Snotlout, why don't you gather up all the Dragon Root arrows, take them as far away as possible and burn them. We don't want the dragons anywhere near them."

"What? Now?" Snotlout stared. "Fine."

Snotlout then dismounted Hookfang and began to gather the Dragon Root arrows. He then made his way away from the Edge and the moment he was gone everyone turned to Hiccup.

"I know. I know. I'll talk to him, okay?" Hiccup promised. "But right now, I'm much more concerned with the Hunters' supply of Dragon Root. They've obviously increased production."

"And we're running out of antidote," said Ragnar gesturing to his empty jar. "You know how long it takes me to greeting you back to antidote for Dragon Root."

"Well, hopefully, this'll help," said Hiccup pulling out a map. "I pulled this chart off a ship. Might lead us to the source of Dragon Root."

Astrid, Ragnar and Fishlegs then moved over to look at the map.

* * *

Meanwhile, Snotlout and Hookfang were making their way through the forest with the Dragon Root arrows.

"Hurry up, Hookfang," said Snotlout. "You saw their faces. The moment we're gone, they're gonna jump all over me." They soon reached the edge of a cliff. "Forge, cliff, what's the difference?"

He then tossed the arrows down the cliff expecting them to hit the water, but instead they hit a small crevice and he left without even noticing.

* * *

Later that night, everyone was gathered around a Mace and Talons game board as Tuffnut and Fishlegs were facing each other with again.

"Come on, man. Come on, you got this," said Ruffnut excitedly as she rubbed her brother's shoulders. "You can do this. You got this."

"Oh, not like there," said Tuffnut as he relaxed with the massage. "Harder, right there."

Hiccup and Toothless then arrived and then he approached the game board. "Ah. Maces and Talons."

"Epic marathon," said Heather. "But Fishlegs is about to win it for us."

"Any luck with the chart you pulled from the Hunters?" Astrid asked.

"Yeah, I have a good idea what chain of islands they're coming from," said Hiccup. "Toothless and I will do some recon tomorrow and search for the Dragon Root." He then noticed that they were one Dragon Riders short. "Wait. Where's Snotlout? He loves Maces and Talons."

"I thought you invited him," said Heather.

"I thought Fishlegs invited him," said Ragnar.

"Uh, I thought the twins invited him," said Fishlegs.

"We thought Astrid invited him," said Ruffnut.

"I never invited him," said Astrid plainly.

"The Edge is under attack! Hunters are everywhere!" Snotlout yelled as he ran into the clubhouse.

At once all of them ran towards the door as quickly as they could, but all of them ended up being waged within the door frame unable to move. It took them a few struggles but eventually they were able to free themselves and they quickly mounted their dragons. However, when they got into the air they found that the sea was completely calm and there was no sign of any Dragon Hunters.

They all looked at each other in confusion.

"It's called a 'drill'! Hello?" said Snotlout from the clubhouse. "I was seeing how'd you all react in crisis. And you will fail! Miserably." He then looked at Hiccup. "Well, Hiccup, obviously there are followers then and there are leaders. Guess we know which ones we are. Don't wait?"

He then made his way back to the club and everyone looked at Hiccup.

* * *

Hiccup made his way to his hut and soon Snotlout joined him as he looked over the map.

"Did you find anything on the chart?" he asked. "Where are we attacking?"

"Snotlout! What is going on with you?" Hiccup demanded. "First, you were ruin the battle. Then you play a prank that could have hurt someone."

Snotlout then turned towards him. "Listen, Hiccup. It's past time you realise how important I am."

"What? What are you talking about?" Hiccup asked confused.

"I'm not gonna end up a beggar in the streets, eating diet and watching Ruff and Tuff passing their golden sheep," said Snotlout firmly. "I'm just as good, if not better than the other guys. I want to leave the Dragon Riders when Stoick makes you chief."

Hiccup rubbed his head getting a huge migraine. "Okay, but Snotlout, you can't just force your way into a leadership position. It doesn't work that way. You have… things you need to work on. Like, uh… you need to sharpen your battle tactics, like Astrid. You need to be open-minded and resourceful Ragnar. Uh, you need approved you can be trusted like Heather. And you need to be thoughtful and strategic, like Fishlegs. Do you know what I'm saying?"

"Yeah. You're saying I can't do it," said Snotlout narrowing his eyes. "Well, guess what! We Jorhensons don't ask permission to be great."

He then exited the hut in a huff and Hiccup looked at Toothless having a feeling that this was going to end badly.

* * *

The next day Astrid was practising her still skills with Stormfly. She was planning to sneak up on a herd of Terrible Terrors and round them up.

"There they are," she said looking through a bush.

Suddenly she heard rustling behind and saw Snotlout appearing out of nowhere. Somehow he had convinced Astrid to allow him to tag along to learn.

"There who are?" he asked standing up straight.

Astrid quickly pulled him down. "Shh. The Terrible Terrors," she whispered.

"Oh, right. Why are we whispering?" he asked.

"Because we're practising stealth and infiltration," she explained slowly. "If those dragons don't know we're here, Hunters never will."

"Battle tactics. I like it," he said.

Astrid and Stormfly then made their way through the bushes to get a better position in order to surprise the Terrible Terrors. Snotlout and Hookfang began to follow her, but their footsteps were far heavier than hers.

She quickly turned on them are placed a finger on her mouth. "Shh!"

Snotlout then turned on Hookfang. "Yeah, Hookfang! Shh!"

Hookfang snorted with surprise, because it was him that was causing all the noise.

Eventually they reached an ideal position to launch a sneak attack.

"All right, if we can just—" Astrid began.

Snotlout then jumped out of the brushes screaming and charged at the Terrible Terrors and Hoofkang followed him. Naturally, this mad the Terrible Terrors aware of their presence and they quickly took off.

Snotlout, however, was able to grab one of them. "Don't fight it! It only makes it worse," he said. Astrid glared at him as he turned towards a triumphantly. "Nailed it."

The Terrible Terror then slapped him across the face with its tail.

"You mean, you destroyed it," said Astrid. "The exercise isn't about surprising one, Snotlout. It about tricking all of them."

Snotlout looks slightly crestfallen and to make matters worse they Terrible Terrors returned and were flying down towards him in an angry range. He quickly released the Terrible Terror and he and Hookfang made a run for it with the angry flock of Terrible Terrors directly behind them.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup was doing a bit of recon on the islands for any trace of the Dragon Root supply chain. He was using his spyglass and saw several ships leaving an island.

"Now, there are some Hunter ships down there, bud, but I don't see any…" Hiccup stopped when he saw some sort of structure on the island. "Wait a minute."

He zoomed in closer and saw Hunter hacking a piece of Dragon Root and a bowling pot with Dragon Root in it. He then saw a Hunter placing several arrows inside the pot and laid them out on a table which was covered with Dragon Root arrows and then saw dozens of crates with hundreds of Dragon Root arrows in them.

"They have a turn of arrows, where's all the Dragon Root?" Hiccup frowned.

Hiccup began to look around the island through his spyglass and then saw a green tarps so that he can blend in with the forest.

"Nice try, Viggo," Hiccup smirked.

* * *

Ragnar was busy going through his ingredients within his hut in order to make more antidote for the Dragon Root when Snotlout appeared.

"Hey, Raggy," he said loudly.

This caught Ragnar completely by surprise and he fell off his ladder. He rubbed his head and saw Snotlout.

"Would you want, Snotlout?" he asked narrowing his eyes.

"Just wondering what you were doing?"

"If you must know I'm trying to make more antidote for our dragons since our last battle resorted in us losing almost all of our cure for Dragon Root," he glared.

Snotlout scratches had not sure what he was trying to get at. "I still don't know how you come up with that stuff?"

"Trial and error, trust me it took me a long time to come up with it and I had to use stuff I would never dream of," said Ragnar.

Snotlout scoffed. "I bet I can do that."

Ragnar raised an eyebrow. "Then be my guest."

Snotlout blinked and slowly made his way towards Ragnar's desk. "Uh," he said as he looked at all the different ingredients on it. "It's simple you just have to add a bit of this." He placed a bit of grass in a jar. "Some of that." Putting a treatment in. "A pinch of this." And in some strange looking with. "And a whole lot of this."

Ragnar noticed that Snotlout was about to add something he shouldn't. "Not that it's—"

Too late, Snotlout added some green liquid into the concoction he was creating and seconds later there was a large explosion.

"Monstrous Nightmare gel," Ragnar coughed through the smoke.

"You really should have a list of labelled," Snotlout coughed as the smoke cleared.

Ragnar held out the jar and pointed at the label on it. "It is labelled."

"Well, you should make it much clearer," said Snotlout.

Ragnar glared at him.

* * *

Once Snotlout had cleaned himself up he saw Heather walking and holding some flowers in her hand.

"Heather. What are you up to?" he said approaching her.

"Nothing. Why?" she said coldly.

"I just say you're heading towards my hut," said Snotlout. "With flowers no less."

"Don't get excited. They're for Astrid as a thank you for letting me borrow her axe," she said holding out Astrid axe threateningly.

"She loaned you your axe?" he stared. "She sleeps with that thing under her pillow."

"That's what friends do," said Heather bluntly.

"Man, nobody loaned me anything," said Snotlout chuckling.

Heather narrowed her eyes. "Well, maybe because nobody trusts you to bring stuff back."

She made her way towards Astrid's hut, leaving behind a bewildering looking Snotlout.

"Building trust," he said with a smile.

* * *

Moments later, at the twins exited from the heart and found Snotlout standing outside and saw that he was holding a crate of their stuff and some dead flowers.

"Snotlout," Ruffnut stared.

"I'm here to return everything I've ever borrowed from you guys," he said. "Hurray!"

The twins took a closer look at the crate and recognise the stuff in it.

"Hey! My favourite mug! My favourite pillow?" Tuffnut stared. "And wait a second, this is my favourite crate!"

"Fluffers!" Ruffnut cried grabbing the stuffed animal. She then glared at Snotlout. "You didn't borrow any of this, you stole it!"

"Hey, you say 'stole,' I sayI say 'borrow,'" Snotlout shrugged chuckling. "You guys trust me now, right?"

Gimmi that!" they said grabbing the crate and dead flowers.

"Trust is a delicate bird with feathers of silk," Tuffnut glared. "And yours is dead."

They then slammed the door shut on him much to Snotlout's surprise.

Inside the hut the twins looked at one another.

"So, should we give back the stuff we stole from him?" Tuffnut asked looking at the large crate of Snotlout's things.

Ruffnut shook her head. "Nah, our bird's dead, too."

"Yeah," Tuffnut nodded.

* * *

Fishlegs returned to his hut and gasped in horror, because someone had pulled every single flower out of his garden.

"Someone ripped out all of my flowers," he said and looked at Meatlug as he grabbed the now ruined stems. "Who would do such a thing, Meatlug?"

Meatlug was unable to answer, because she was fast asleep and drooling. "Oh, don't over-water it, girl."

"Fishy! Hello!" said Snotlout waving. "Playing in the dirt again, I say."

Fishlegs now realised who dug up all his flowers and glared at him. "You!"

Snotlout looked around expecting to see someone behind him. "Me?" he asked pointing at himself.

"You know anything about my missing flowers?" Fishlegs asked trying to keep his anger in check.

"Nope. Can't say that I do," said Snotlout. "Oh, I did say Heather with some flowers earlier. Suspicious?"

"Now, I have to replant the whole area," said Fishlegs angrily. "The Zen is totally out of balance."

"I could… help… you," Snotlout offered as if each word it was extremely painful.

Fishlegs scoffed and laughed. "You want to help me fix my garden?" He then gave him a suspicious look. "Why?"

"I'm just trying to be, you know, more thoughtful and strategic," said Snotlout placing a hand on his shoulder. "Truthfully, I've always respected your work, Fishlegs, and I really like… plants." He then placed his hands behind his back and gave him an innocent look.

"Oh, well, in that case, let's get started," said Fishlegs. "Your two basic types are ornamentals and edibles." He then chuckled slightly. "You don't want to mix those up, believe me. Then you have your floriculture—"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it, okay," said Snotlout holding his hand out. He then grabbed one of the dead flowers. "Let's take this one over there."

"Oh, no, no, no, no," said Fishlegs quickly. "You have to be strategic in your planting. This type of topiary only grows in the sun. You see, some plans like sun, some like shade, some like partial sun, some like partial shade."

"Oh, my Thor!" Snotlout yelled. "Okay, how do you know what it likes? They don't talk."

"Hey. Snotlout gave us those flowers and they totally died," said Tuffnut as he and his sister approached Fishlegs.

"Yeah, can your magical garden bring them back to life?" Ruffnut asked as her brother handed the dead flowers to Fishlegs.

Fishlegs growled angrily and marched up towards Snotlout, who quickly ran for his life.

"Snotlout!" Fishlegs roared.

* * *

Later that day the rest of the Dragon Riders were complaining to Hiccup, who had just returned from his recon mission, about Snotlout's antics.

"He totally ruined my training exercise," said Astrid.

"He totally ruined my lab," said Ragnar.

"And he totally ruined my serenity garden," Fishlegs added.

"And let's not forget, he almost got us killed," Heather pointed out.

The twins were the only ones among them who didn't have any complaints and just gave them dull looks.

"We're mainly here to watch the drama unfold," said Tuffnut.

"You have to do something, Hiccup," said Astrid.

"Look, Snotlout is clearly going through something right now, and we need to be there for him," said Hiccup. "As hard as that can seem sometimes. We're a team. He's one of us."

Fishlegs sighed. "Hiccup's right, guys. While flowers can be replanted, fractured team can take years to fix."

"The only question is how we're going to fix it," said Ragnar with his hands on his hips. "I mean this is Snotlout we're talking about."

"Just so we're clear, the tides have turned," said Tuffnut. "There's not gonna be any banishing of anyone?"

"No banishments, Tuff," said Hiccup.

"I should have stayed in bed," Ruffnut grumbled.

"I should have stayed under that bed," Tuffnut grumbled.

"Okay. I agree that Snotlout's a member of the team," said Astrid. "But we have a mission to destroy the Dragon Root and, as Ragnar has just said, this is Snotlout we're dealing with. How are you gonna him snap out of it?

Hiccup had to think on this.

* * *

Moments later, Hiccup was giving them the briefing of the island where the Dragon Root was being harvest and how they were going to take it out. He had pulled out a board and had already marked the island with chalk.

"Now, Viggo's growing the Dragon Root in these fields underneath camouflage tarps," said Hiccup marking the location on the board. He then guided towards another location on the board of the island. "They make the arrows over here. And this is their stockpile. The island is heavily fortified."

"Sounds complicated," said Astrid.

"If by 'complicated' you mean 'impossible,' and if you mean by 'impossible' you mean 'not possible,' then I—I actually… I'm lost now," said Tuffnut confusing himself.

Fishlegs chuckled lightly. "Nothing's impossible. I'm sure Hiccup has a great plan."

"We're gonna do a practice run, here at the Edge, just to make sure we're perfect," said Hiccup. "And Snotlout's gonna lead the mission."

"Me? Now?" Snotlout stared in surprise.

"Yes, you. Now," said Hiccup.

The other Riders had not been expecting this and were now giving grim expressions. Snotlout was also taken surprised by this motion and was been a nervous.

"All right," he said trying to look confident. "Right, okay, I'm the leader. So…" He then looked at Hiccup for help.

"So, that means you have to pick who dropped the barrel of Monstrous Nightmare gel on the arrows stockpile," said Hiccup pointing at the board. "It has to be a precise drop, so Toothless can blast it."

The twins immediately raise their hands excitedly.

"Please! Pick us!" Ruffnut begged.

"Let us do it! Monstrous Nightmare gel!" Tuffnut pleaded.

"I'll do it. I'll do it," said Snotlout.

The twins groaned in disappointment.

"You sure?" Hiccup asked.

"Do I not look sure?" Snotlout asked.

Hiccup rolled his eyes and with that they went their separate ways.

Astrid then approached Hiccup with a slightly concerned look.

"Are you positive about this?" she asked.

"He needs a confidence boost. This'll be good for him," said Hiccup as he got Toothless ready.

"Yeah, but Hiccup—"

Hiccup then mounted Toothless. "That's why we're doing a training run," he said as if he could read Astrid's mind. "I'll be right there in case something happens."

They turned and saw Snotlout punching the air as he got his muscles ready. He then head-butted Hookfang and after the two of them overcame the headache they got he mounted him.

Astrid gave Hiccup and look before making a way to Stormfly and seconds later he and Toothlessg took off.

* * *

A few seconds later the Dragon Riders were all in the air preparing to do the practice run. Hookfang was carrying a barrel of Monstrous Nightmare gel and Snotlout was leading in the front.

"All right, Riders," he said looking at them. "Astrid, Ragnar, Heather and the twins, take out the catapults." The four dragons then made their way down towards where the catapults were located. He then turned to Fishlegs. "Fishfa…legs, focus on the farm." Fishlegs nodded and flew down. "Hiccup and Toothless, get into position to blast the barrel and burn the fields!"

Hiccup nodded and moved into position.

Astrid then her group down towards where they had set up practice dummies to shoot at.

"Spineshot!" Astrid yelled.

"Fire!" Ragnar and Heather yelled.

Stormfly fired several spikes at the dummies and Skull and Windshear last of the dummies with their fire breath attacks. The twins then came flying down unleashing a gas and spark attack annihilating the dummies.

Fishlegs was charging down at the makeshift farm they had created and was screaming like a berserker. Meatlug then fired several lava blast at the makeshift farm destroying it.

Snotlout was leading Hookfang towards the target they had placed within the forest with Hiccup and Toothless directly behind.

"All right, bud. Get ready," said Hiccup.

"Can't mess this up, Hooky," said Snotlout looking down at his dragon. "We gotta be perfect."

Snotlout slowly began to descend towards the target, but as he did so his nerves began to act up. Astrid and the others soon rejoined Hiccup and noticed that Snotlout was acting a bit unusual.

"What's wrong with Snotlout?" Astrid asked.

"I dunno," said Hiccup now looking concerned.

Snotlout and Hookfang were flying all over the place and appear to be unable to stay within a straight line.

"Straighten out, Hookfang. This is our shot," said Snotlout as he tried to keep Hookfang steady. He looked the target, but his nerves were shot and he was unable to focus. "We cannot mess this up."

Suddenly the nightmare he had before was starting to eat away at his psyche.

"He had such promise," said Astrid's voice.

Snotlout shook his head try to shake the thought out of his head.

"He's all over the place," said Heather.

"Hiccup, I think we might have to abort the training exercise," said Ragnar.

No matter what Snotlout did he couldn't seem to get the nightmare out of his head and as a result he was flying all over the place unable to keep a straight line.

"I always hoped you'd become the leader of the Dragon Riders, but you never had what it takes. Did you?" said Hiccup's voice.

"Drop it. No, don't drop it, Hookfang!" said Snotlout panicking.

Confused by these orders Hookfang was now flying out of control and Snotlout began to his father's voice in his head.

"You wanna be like your old man?" said his father's voice. "A great leader takes what's rightfully his."

"Droop it now, Hookfang!" Snotlout ordered.

"Look out!" Hiccup yelled.

Hookfang then released the barrel and it came straight towards them. Toothless was about to blast him with a plasma blast, but at that close range it would have annihilated them both. Fortunately, Fishlegs arrived in time and shot the barrel with a lava blast.

Snotlout then saw the disappointed looks on everyone and realise that he had failed.

* * *

Later at the Edge, everyone was still recovering from the failed training exercise. Hiccup and Toothless soon landed after having a talk with Snotlout.

"So, how's Snotlout?" Fishlegs asked.

"Not good," said Hiccup. "He's not going on the mission. He's grounded himself, indefinitely."

Everyone was quite shocked by this.

* * *

Snotlout was wondering around the Edge and soon reached the cliffs. He had a blanket and a rucksack on a stick and sat down and watched as the wind blew dust on his face.

"Might as well get used to sleeping in the dirt," he said.

He then noticed the other Riders were leaving the island to attack the Dragon Root production island. He could see that Meatlug was the one that was carrying the barrel of Monstrous Nightmare gel.

Hookfang then appeared and gave him a gentle nudge telling him to get over it. "Knock it off, Hookfang," he said.

Hookfang then gave a really hard nudge telling him to get on his saddle.

Snotlout glared at him. "Stop it. I'm not going, Hookfang. Just leave me alone," he said and began to walk off.

Hookfang growled angrily and swatted Snotlout with his tail.

Snotlout got back onto his feet and glared at him. "I said I'm not going and there's nothing you can do that will change my mind," he yelled.

He then turned his head to Hookfang and saw that the dragon was charging at him with his mouth wide open. He screamed and next second Hookfang had grabbed hold of his leg and was hanging upside down over the cliff.

"It's not happening," said Snotlout stubbornly. "And get used to the fact that we're beggars. And stay away from Gustav. He's nothing but trouble." Hookfang still didn't release Snotlout. "Enough with the act, Hookfang. We both know you're not gonna—" Hookfang then released Snotlout and he felt screaming. "Hookfang!"

Fortunately, he landed a small ledge, the same ledge where he tossed the Dragon Root arrows over.

"Ow!" he said in a muffled voice. He then rolled over grateful that he landed on something not remotely painful. "Oh, my Thor. Grass. Nice, soft grass."

He then noticed the Dragon Root arrows embedded in the grass and noticed that Dragon Root sprouts were growing.

"Ha, look at that," he said as he got up. "Little baby Dragon Root. Guess you guys like growing in the sun." He then realised something almost immediately. "Wait a second." He then pulled out one of the Dragon Root sprouts. "If Dragon Root grows in the sun, then the Hunters must be hiding something else underneath those camouflage tarps."

He then dropped the Dragon's ground and looked up at the cliff. "Hookfang!" he yelled.

* * *

It was late in the evening when, Hiccup and the other Riders approached the island unaware that they were falling into a trap. They were soon spotted by the Dragon Hunters on the island

"Dragon Riders! Approaching from the south," said a Hunter pointing his sword at them.

The Hunters and their arrows and catapults ready.

"Diamond formation, gang. Stay low to avoid the catapults," Hiccup ordered. "Fishlegs, ready the barrel."

"Ready," said Fishlegs as he and Meatlug flew into position.

Hiccup looked down at Toothless. "All right, bud. Let's do it."

They then charged down towards the island.

"Loose!" the Hunter ordered.

The Hunters then fired their arrows at them and they quickly scattered.

"Focus on the catapults," Astrid ordered.

"Right with you, Astrid," said Heather.

"Let's do this," said Ragnar.

They three all then then flew down towards the catapults and unleash their dragon breath attack destroying them. The twins then moved in position to confuse the archers.

"Hit the gas!" Ruffnut yelled.

Barf unleashed the gas that began to surround not only the archers but also the farms. Two of the hunters retreated into the farmhouse, but the twins just kept on following them still unleashing gas in all directions. They soon flew out of the back door and took up a position over the farmhouse.

"Do it, Sparky!" Ruffnut yelled.

"Spark it, Belch! Spark it, boy!" said Tuffnut.

Belch sparked the gas and seconds later there was a huge explosion which took out the entire farm and the archers.

With Astrid and the other distracting the defences Hiccup and Fishlegs moved into position towards Dragon Root arrow stockpile.

"Wait for it. Wait for it," said Fishlegs. "Now!"

Meatlug dropped the barrel.

"Hit it, bud!" Hiccup yelled.

Toothless then fired a plasma blast directly at the barrel which landed directly in the middle of the Dragon Root arrow stockpile. There was a huge explosion and yells from the Hunters at the stockpile exploded.

"Nice shootin', Toothless," said Hiccup rubbing his dragon on the head. "Now, let's though some Dragon Root and go home."

Hiccup then guided Toothless down towards the tarp unaware that he was buying directly into a trap. For underneath the tarp were Hunters manning a ballista and a minute directly at Hiccup and Toothless.

"Steady," said the Hunter manning the ballista. "I've got the Night Fury dead to rights."

Once Hiccup and Toothless were in position, he fired the ballista. The bolt sored up into the air heading straight towards Hiccup and Toothless and would have killed the both of them if Snotlout and Hookfang haven't appeared in last-second and pushed them out of the way.

"Snotlout?" Hiccup stared.

"It's a trap!" Snotlout warned.

Then to prove his point the Hunter fired another bolt at them, but thankfully it missed them.

"Evasive action!" Hiccup ordered.

"Circle back around!" Astrid yelled as they scattered.

Hiccup spun in the air and fired a plasma blast at the tarp burning it away revealing the ballista. Snotlout then flew down towards it.

"Wait, Snotlout!" Astrid yelled.

Snotlout avoided the bolts that were being fired directly at him and had Hookfang ignite. They then flew down over the other tarps and burnt them to a crisp revealing even more ballistae.

"Now we can mow the field," he said flying next to Hiccup. He then flew up to the twins. "Follow me. I'll draw their fire."

"You got it!" Ruffnut yelled as they follow him.

"We'll flag 'em," said Astrid leading the others.

The Hunters focus their efforts on Snotlout and the twins, but now that they could see the ballistae they could avoid the bolts. The twins then used their gas and spark attack on one of them blowing it up.

"Watch it, bud," said Hiccup as they approached a ballista that was taking aim at them.

They then dived and fired a plasma blast destroying it and then did the same to a second.

Astrid and the others made their way towards another batch of ballistae and unleashed dragon fire upon them.

"Snotlout, peel off and help Hiccup," Astrid ordered, who noticed that Hiccup was under fire.

"No way," said Snotlout remembering the last time he peeled off from Astrid.

"Go! I'll be all right!" Astrid assured.

"I'm not leaving your wing!" said Snotlout stubbornly.

"Go! Now!" Astrid ordered.

A Hunter manning a ballista was taking very good aim at Hiccup and Snotlout realise this in the last second. The Hunter fired just as Snotlout peeled off to help Hiccup and took the full brunt of the bolt.

"We're hit!" Snotlout yelled as Hookfang lost control.

They crash landed on the ground and Snotlout was knocked unconscious with several Hunters surrounding him. Hiccup then headed down towards them to back him up and fired several plasma blast that the Hunters who scattered instantly.

The Hunter manning the ballista quickly aimed directly towards them, but Hiccup and Toothless turn towards them a little too quickly for his liking.

"Now, finish it," Hiccup commanded.

They flew down and fired a plasma blast taking out the ballista.

With the ballistae finally destroyed the other Riders quickly landed ground as Hookfang turned over the unconscious Snotlout. Ragnar approached him the moment he dismounted and grabbed his medical kit.

"Ragnar, how bad is he?" Heather asked.

"It took quite a bit of a hit," said Ragnar as he started to examine him.

"Snotlout?" said Astrid breathlessly.

Fishlegs looked at Hiccup. "Hiccup?"

"I'll do everything I can," Ragnar promised in the first thing he did was placed his ear against his chest. "He's got a heartbeat."

Upon that news everyone relaxed and then Snotlout coughed and sat up.

"Did we win?" he asked looking at everyone.

"That was some move, Jorgenson," said Astrid crossing her arms with a smile.

"Yeah, it could've killed you," said Ragnar as he and Hiccup helped him up.

"You saved my life," said Hiccup looking at him.

"Yeah, two times," said Snotlout holding out two his fingers.

"That if the Dragon Root crops aren't here, where are they?" Fishlegs frowned.

Snotlout thought for a moment and then the setting sun. He then followed its rays down upon a mountain in the distance and realised where they were.

* * *

Snotlout lead the Dragon Riders towards the base of the mountain where they saw an entire crop of Dragon Root. Upon arriving the twins began to unleash their gas upon the area and the other Riders ignited it burning the Dragon Root crops to a crisp.

"You see, Hiccup, some plants grow in the sun, and some in the shade, and some in the, some…the partial something, and some and the almost partial… the something," said Snotlout trying to remember what Fishlegs had told him.

Fishlegs merely just facepalmed himself.

"You know, I gotta say, I'm pretty proud of you, Snotlout," said Hiccup. "But who really knows what the future holds for any of us?" Ragnar coughed. "Well, some of us."

"Yeah, I've been thinking," said Snotlout. "Whatever greatness I end up doing, and trust me, it will be great, it's gotta be what I want to do. Not what my dad wants me to do."

"You know, we maybe not so different, after all," said Hiccup.

On that note the Riders started to make their way home and Snotlout began to realise what it meant to be a leader. Leaders lead by example not by pushing others aside and doing whatever they want.


	44. Saving Shattermaster

Mala and Throk were in the Northern Markets to buy more weapons for the Defenders. Soon they approached one of the iron masons and examined the weapons he had on display.

Throk examined the creative weapons and nodded approvingly. "This batch will be acceptable if you'll be so kind as to box them up for us," he said looking at the mason.

"I'm sorry, but those weapons are spoken for," said the iron mason, who didn't look at them as he was busy sharpening an axe.

"All right, then we'll take these," said Throk gesturing to another crate.

"As I said, spoken for."

Throk was now starting to get annoyed.

"Spoken for by who, Iron Mason?" Mala asked curiously.

"Pay him," said a voice behind them. The two of them turned and a Hunter grabbing the crates much to their surprise. "Or don't. Doesn't matter."

The Hunter was about to leave, but Throk placed himself in front of him and narrowed his eyes. The Hunter growled and dropped the correct and drew one of the sword inside pointing it at Throk. Throk in retaliation drew his axe and Mala drew her and instantly the Hunters in the surrounding area drew their weapons as well.

"Hunters," said a cloaked figure who approached them. "Have you all taken leave your senses?" He then took a bludgeon from the crate. "On your knees before Queen Mala."

He then whacked the Hunter, who taken the crate, with a bludgeon in the knee forcing him onto his knees. Mala and Throk were surprised by this gesture instead of the cloaked figure.

"My apologies," he said looking at the two of them. "They are simple Hunters. Not known for their strength of mind." He then looked at the Hunter he struck. "Now go before you get us killed." The Hunters began to leave reluctantly and Mala and Throk stared at the cloaked figure. "You're lucky I came along when I did. This is no longer safe place for you."

The cloaked figure then turned around the corner and vanished leaving the two of them completely bewildered.

* * *

A few days later, Mala had brought the Riders to the island to inform them of the incident.

"So, this hooded stranger, he risked his own life to save you?" said Hiccup.

"If it weren't for him, who knows what would've happened," said Mala scratching Toothless on the head.

"And you've bought weapons on this island before?" Hiccup asked.

Mala nodded. "Yes, for many years."

"It never used to be like that," Heather frowned. "That island was always a peaceful place to trade."

"She's right," Ragnar nodded. "But Alvin says the Northern Markets have become far more dangerous of late."

"Ragnar, Heather, we should go see what those Hunters are up to," said Hiccup. He then turned to Mala. "Thank you for fillin' us in, Mala. It was good you sent for us."

"Actually, I summon you for another reason completely," Mala said honestly.

Then suddenly the twins came rushing out of the bushes.

"Hiccup. You are not gonna believe this," said Tuffnut panting. He then looked up at Mala. "Hiya, Queen. Looking good. Black is definitely working for you."

Mala merely narrowed her eyes.

"This may be the greatest day ever," said Ruffnut excitedly.

"No, it is the greatest day ever," said Tuffnut. "I mean, except for the first time I wrestled with a boar. Whoa! That was spectacular, or the second time I wrestled with a boar."

"All right, out with it," said Astrid impatiently.

"Easy, A. This is too good to just blurt out," said Tuffnut. He then took in a deep breath. "The village is setting up for some big crazy looking to-do."

"So?"

"We asked a couple of the natives, 'What's the deal?'" said Ruffnut. "And you know what they said?"

"Probably something like 'It's none of your business,'" Hiccup guessed.

"Many of them said that, at first," Tuffnut admitted. "But then, they said it was for…" He then waved his hand dramatically. "The Trials."

"The what?" Heather stared.

"Oh, come on," Tuffnut groaned. "We have to explain everything? It's a series of tests to choose a new king. They are totally impossible, and they involve, fire, poisonous reptiles, volcanoes. Basically, any cool thing that causes a grisly, painful death."

"How lucky are we?" said Ruffnut barely to contain her excitement.

"So, Mala, who is the sucker?" Tuffnut asked.

Snotlout then emerge out of the bushes looking utterly terrified. "Hiccup. We have to get out of here. Pronto… Oh!" He stopped when he saw Mala and laughed nervously. "Hey, babe. How's it going? I was just thinking of you. Looking forward to watching me die a horrible gruesome death?" He then looked at Hiccup. "Did you know about this?"

Hiccup looked at Mala. "Mala, will you please excuse us?"

"Of course," she nodded and left them.

Snotlout looked at Hiccup. "I'm not swimming across some lava pool just so I can become a king."

"No, no, no. It's not just a lava pool anymore," said Tuffnut.

"It's not?" Snotlout blinked.

"No. It's way better," said Tuffnut placing a hand on his shoulder. "You see, there's no way Snotlout could survive what they've got planned. He simply doesn't possess any of the physical or mental prowess to successfully complete these trials. In fact, I don't even think he knows what prowess means."

Snotlout glared at him. "Oh, yeah, really? Is that what you think?"

"Oh, it's fact," said Ruffnut. "We've done the calculations. And they all add up to you looking like this."

She then pulled out of parchment with an image of Snotlout's dismounted body which clearly the twins had drawn.

"All right, that's it!" said Snotlout furiously. "We're staying. You all better start practising your bow. 'Cause you're looking at the future king, baby."

Snotlout then walked off towards the direction of the village.

"Great," Hiccup groaned. "All right, look. Ragnar, Heather and I have to go check on something in the Northern Markets. I need the rest of you to stay here and help Astrid make sure Snotlout doesn't get himself killed."

The three of them are mounted their dragons and took off.

"What'd he say?" Ruffnut frowned.

"Make sure Snotlout gets killed," said Tuffnut.

"Copy that."

* * *

Hiccup, Ragnar and Heather soon reached the Northern Markets and got changed into outfits the Defenders of the Wing led them. They were wearing the same black clothing and masks the Defenders of the Wing wore, but their dragons looked concerned.

"Perfect. No one'll know it's you," said Heather as they pulled on their masks and hoods.

"Let's just hope they don't look at your leg," said Ragnar.

They then started to make their way down towards the markets, but Toothless started to follow them.

"No, bud," said Hiccup holding his hands out. "Three strangers with hoods is one thing. But you strangers with hoods and a Night Fury, a Bonenapper and a Razorwhip, that might not be so stealthy."

Their dragons then seem too happy with the plan, but reluctantly stayed.

Soon the three of them reached the market and found the place crawling with Hunters.

"That a lot of Hunters," said Hiccup. "Whoever that hooded stranger was, he's right. It's not safe here."

"Then how about we try not to draw too much attention," said Ragnar noticing the Hunters were eyeing them.

"Whoa, whoa, wait," said Hiccup coming to a stop. He then pointed out a stand. "There. That must be the iron mason Mala was talking about."

They started to make their way over towards the stand and examined the weapons within the crates. Then a Hunter approached them and snagged the arrow Hiccup was holding.

"These weapons are spoken for," he said threateningly.

"Okay, yeah, well, I was just browsing, so, uh, no problem," said Hiccup.

The Hunter then looked down at his leg and recognise the design.

Heather had noticed that gesture and grabbed Hiccup. "Let's go. Clearly none of these are for sale."

"Let's try and find another iron mason," said Ragnar as they walked off.

The Hunter then looked at two of his men and nodded at them. They then started to make their way towards the three young Dragon Riders, but just as the Hunters drew their weapons a plasma blast shot out of the bushes and struck and applecart. The explosion knocked the Hunters back and Hiccup and the others noted the Hunters.

Hiccup turned around and saw Toothless' head sticking out of the bushes and everyone in the market was running away screaming.

"We need to get out of here before someone sees our dragons," said Hiccup looking at Ragnar and Heather.

They then heard groans and turned in time to see hunters pushing their way across the screaming crowd towards them with their weapons drawn.

"I think it's time for us to leave," said Ragnar.

The three of them then made a dash towards the bushes and Toothless provide another plasma blast knocking them backwards. The Hunter leader looked around for the three of them, but could only see muscles in the bushes and knew that they had got away and plunged his sword into an apple in anger.

* * *

Hiccup and the others managed to reach the outskirts of the market and were panting hard.

"You okay?" Hiccup asked looking at the two of them.

They both nodded.

They started to make their way around the edge and that's when Heather noticed a hooded figure talking to several Hunters.

"Did you hear the one about the hunter and his dull axe?" said the hooded figure.

Heather took a closer look at the hooded figure and saw several markings on his outstretched forearm and recognise them. They were clearly names with one of them scratched out by a red line.

Hiccup and Ragnar noticed and approached her.

"What's the matter?" Hiccup asked.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," said Ragnar.

Heather sugar head and looked at the two of them. "Nothing, I thought I'd just—"

They then heard a very familiar crackling laughter which had a hint of crazy about it. They looked down at the port and saw the hooded figure removing his hood and revealed himself to be none other than Dagur the Deranged. He then pushed one of the Hunters overboard and they laughed maniacally.

Hiccup couldn't believe his eyes. "That's impossible. We-we all saw—"

"We thought the same about Alvin remember," Ragnar reminded. "Like I always say don't count someone get until you see the body right in front of your eyes."

"Ragnar is right, Hiccup," said Heather. "Dagur is standing right there in front of us."

"And, from the looks of it, he's working with the Dragon Hunters," Hiccup noted.

They watched as Dagur outstretched hand to the Hunter he pushed overboard, but quickly removed his hand causing the under the ball back into the water and making the Hunters laugh.

The three of them had removed the hood and Heather was looking utterly furious as she drew her axe.

"I should have trusted my instincts," she snarled. "Dagur will always be a dirty, disgusting, lying—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on," said Hiccup. "Uh, Heather, I can't let you do this."

Heather stared at him. "Hiccup, I—"

"Would you just listen to me, please?" Hiccup pleaded. "Dagur risked his own life to save ours. All of ours. Why would he do that? Just go right back to the Dragon Hunters?"

"He's got a point," said Ragnar folding his arms. "It doesn't make sense, he betrayed them three times already. Plus the fact that Viggo would kill him if he ever laid eyes on him."

"He's Dagur," said Heather looking at the two of them. "Since when does anything he does make sense?"

"Yeah, okay, rarely," Hiccup admitted. "But, if you attack him now you expose both of us and our dragons. Is that what you want?"

"We still need to know why the Hunters are here as well," said Ragnar. "But I'm willing to bet he's the cloaked figure that saved Mala and Throk. Why would he do that?"

Heather groaned in annoyance knowing the two of them were right.

"Look, we both want to get to the bottom of this, as much as you do, minus the 'death by double-headed axe' part," said Hiccup. "We need to get Dagur alone and find out what he's doing here. There has to be some kind of explanation."

"All right. I'll play it your way from now," said Heather.

"Thank you, Heather. I know this isn't easy."

"I can vouch for that," said Ragnar remembering how many times you want to kill Alvin.

With that the three of them left the area as they began to plan the next move,

* * *

Meanwhile, on the Defender of the Wing's island everyone was gathered around the lava pool for Snotlout's first trial. He was stretching his legs preparing to run across the lava which in itself was suicide and Throk appeared with the Eruptodon.

"Wow," said Ruffnut in amazement. "I guess even dragons love a good fiery demise."

"I don't think he's here to watch," said Astrid.

She was right the Eruptodon fired several lava blast into the lava which quickly solidified. Now Snotlout had a path of rocks covered with lava to cross.

"That's his first test," Astrid continued.

"There's no way Snotlout can eat all those rocks," said Tuffnut.

"No," Ruffnut agreed.

"He's not gonna eat them," said Fishlegs. "He's gonna walk across them."

"Oh, totally different death, but entertaining nonetheless," said Tuffnut.

"The minute he starts to scream, you two and Barf and Belch pull him out or Snotlout's fiery demise is on your heads," Astrid ordered.

"Eh, I'm good with that," said Tuffnut as he and his sister mounted their dragons. "Are you, sister?"

"I'll work through it," said Ruffnut. They then flew up into the air. "Gustav is always a good backup."

The twins position themselves over the lava pool and Snotlout prepared to do his run.

"All right. You guys ready for some hot coal action?" he said stretching his muscles. "Well here it comes. Snotlout!"

Snotlout then rushed onto the hot, lava covered rocks. Astrid and Fishlegs winced as the can only imagine the pain he was suffering. Spectacularly, he somehow managed to cross the rocks, but the souls of its boots had been completely burned away revealing his toes.

The Defenders of the Wing cheered at his success and Mala smiled at him. The twins then landed behind him completely amazed.

"Wow. Snotters," said Tuffnut openmouthed. "Tell me that was as painful as it looked."

"Didn't feel a thing," said Snotlout smiling.

Though he was wincing at his burnt souls.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Northern Market, Hiccup and the others were trying to figure out what Dagur was up to. Unfortunately, they were having a tough time trying to find any sign of him and met up in an alley.

"Any sign of him?" Hiccup asked.

"No," said Ragnar and Heather shaking their heads.

"I should've taken Kelvin when I had the chance," Heather growled angrily.

"Oh, I have to disagree with you there," said Hiccup.

"How can you say that, when Dagur has something that makes him even more dangerous?" Heather asked.

Hiccup frowned. "More dangerous? What could possibly…" He stopped when he realised what Heather was getting at. "Oh, his own dragon. Right."

"We still don't know what happened after the battle," said Ragnar. "I suggest that we don't jump to conclusions until we find out what really is going on."

Then they heard a growl behind them.

"Whoa. What the…" Hiccup stared. Then they saw their dragons turning round the corner and Toothless was dragging Dagur, who was wearing rags, with them.

"What are you doing?" Dagur yelled as Toothless place him in front of them.

"Good job, bud," said Hiccup. "We got it from here."

Toothless released Dagur and Heather angrily marched up towards him.

"All right, out with it," she said shaking him. "What are you doing here? Why didn't you come back to the Edge?"

"Help! Robbery!" Dagur yelled. He then looked at him pleadingly. "Please. I have no money. I'm back a poor vagrant, living off the scraps of kind warriors such as yourselves."

Heather turned to Hiccup and Ragnar in bewilderment. "Is he serious?" She then glared at Dagur. "Are you serious?"

"Maybe he really doesn't who he is," said Hiccup.

"If he was dealt a serious blow to the head he could lost his memory," said Ragnar scratching his chin. "I mean we saw what happened down at the shipyard—"

"Come on. It's just a lame trick," said Heather stubbornly. She then glared back at him. "Isn't it brother?"

"Please? Please, please. I have nothing. Let me go," Dagur begged. "Please. Help! Anyone. Anyone."

"Dragon Riders," said a voice behind them. The three of them turned and saw Hunter entering the alleyway. "Grab them and their dragons. Especially the Night fury."

"You really wanna do this? Now?" said Hiccup narrowing his eyes at them.

"What better time?" said the Hunter as he pulled out his bow and arrow.

"Toothless, if you would, plasma blast."

Toothless then fired a plasma blast at a bunch of barrels and they slammed right into the Hunters. Then they saw Hunters charging down the opposite end of the alleyway. However, Skull and Windshear was them into the building with their tails.

The three of them looked down at Dagur and found that he had vanished. He then looked at one another and wondered what to do next.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Defender of the Wing island, Snotlout was about to take part in his second trial.

"This will be your second of the three trials, Snotlout Jorgenson," said Throk.

The trial seem to be some sort of maze filled with shallow water which was filled with eels. Seeing these eels, Snotlout starting to get a little nervous.

"Uh, silly question. But, those wouldn't happen to be friendly eels, would they?" Snotlout asked hopefully. "Like, the kind that make, uh, nice pets?"

"If you enjoy keeping deadly poisonous eels as pets, then yes," said Throk with a small smirk.

"They actually do make excellent company, Snotlout," said Tuffnut. "But as infants, they bite hard, but as adults, they bite harder."

"Thanks, Tuffnut. I got it," said Snotlout.

"No worries. I'm just here to help."

"If you like, you may take a weapon into the maze," said Throk gesturing to the weapons rack.

"Awesome," said Snotlout grabbing a mace. "Will it help my chances?"

Throk laughed. "No."

Slightly disappointed, Snotlout made his way towards the ladder that led him into the maze.

"Get ready to get him out over there," said Astrid looking at Fishlegs.

"We're on it, Astrid," said Fishlegs, who had already mounted on Meatlug.

Fishlegs and Meatlug then flew up to take up the position above the maze.

Snotlout soon entered into the maze and Throk pulled up the ladder. Almost instantly an eel pounced at him, but he was able to dodge it.

"Okay, eels, just relax," said Snotlout confidently. "This will be over before you can blink."

"Uh, Snotlout, eels don't blink," said Tuffnut.

"Shut up, Tuffnut," Snotlout yelled.

"I can't-I can't hear you," said Tuffnut. "They don't have eyelids. Figure that might be useful information."

Snotlout rolled his eyes and started to make his way through the maze. As he made his way through the water the eels started to bite on his legs, but thankfully the leather on his boots prevented them from reaching his skin.

"Don't let them bite you," said Tuffnut as Snotlout began dodging eels that jumped out of the water. "That's where the poison is. In their mouths."

"Oh, they're so gross. They're so gross," said Snotlout as he began to panic. "Thor, they're so gross."

Astrid was standing with Mala and the two of them looked slightly concerned.

Snotlout turned round the corner and found that the water level had dropped leaving only leaving small sand dunes.

"All right, this looks easy. Easy peasy," said Snotlout and began to make his way. "Easy peasy lemon squeezy."

Unfortunately, there are holes in the walls and the eels jumped out of and straight at Snotlout. One even managed to bite him on the arm and soon others did the same.

"Come on. What'd I do to you?" Snotlout moaned as more began to bite him on the legs as well. "I love poisonous eels. Ask anyone."

Snotlout tossed the eels off and ran as quickly as he could as more eels shot out. He then turned round the corner and to his relief he saw the ladder that led out of the maze.

"The exit," he said with relief and pulled the eel off that attached itself to his helmet. "I'm free! I'm free!"

Then he noticed eel was delivering towards him on the water's edge.

"Do you think Hookfang'll miss him?" Tuffnut asked.

"Quite, you two," Astrid hissed. She then heard Snotlout screaming. "The mace! Use the mace!"

Snotlout pulled out his mace and began shouting and screaming. He ran across the wall knocking eels back as they launched at him with the mace.

"Snotlout! Oh, yeah!" Snotlout yelled before he skidded into the water.

Astrid facepalmed herself and the twins looked immensely amused.

Snotlout stood up and began making his way towards the ladder. "I'm gonna make it. I'm gonna make it," he said swatting more eels aside with his mace. Then suddenly a giant eel emerge out of the water and roared at him. "I'm not gonna make it!"

Fishlegs then flew down extended his hand. "Quick. Get on."

"Get out of here, Fishface. I got this," said Snotlout stubbornly.

The eel then roared at Meatlug, who quickly scampered off and Fishlegs fell off his saddle and landed in the water next to Snotlout.

"No. You definitely do not got this," said Fishlegs pointing.

Snotlout turned and saw two more giant eels emerging out of the water and swimming towards them.

"Oh, Thor!" Fishlegs screamed.

"Okay, that's it," said Snotlout holding his mace firmly in hand. "I am so sick of these freaking eels in this freaking maze. Snotlout!"

The eels then pounced him and Astrid and the twins winced as he disappeared below the water surface. Mala mouth fell open and Throk just stood there smugly as if he didn't expected anything else.

However, a few seconds later Throk's mouth fell open and Mala smiled, because somehow Snotlout bending of the eels and was now climbing a ladder with Fishlegs on his shoulder. The moment he exited from the maze the entire crowd cheered.

"What just happened?" Tuffnut asked looking at his sister.

"The impossible," Ruffnut stared.

* * *

Meanwhile the Northern Markets, it was late in the evening and Dagur was at the porters Dragon Hunter ships were approaching.

"Well, it's about time," he said.

Up in the cliffs, Hiccup, Ragnar and Heather were watching. Heather in particular was looking quite furious and had a murderous look on her face.

"He's alone. This may be my only chance," she said as she drew her axe.

Let she then jumped up the cliff before either Hiccup or Ragnar could stop her.

"Wait, no!" Hiccup yelled.

"Guess were going with the direct approach," said Ragnar.

Heather was charging at the port towards Dagur. "The less you move, Dagur, the less painful this will be."

Dagur turned and screamed and jumped just in time before Heather swung her axe. She then tried to plunge her axe towards him, but he jumped out of the way just in time and landed behind her. She then quickly turned and swung her axe barely missing his gut and swung at his head and would have cut it off if he hadn't ducked in time.

"Come on! Fight back!" Heather yelled.

Dagur then turned and made a run for it, but Windshear flew down and fire a blast at him. Dagur quickly jumped over some barrels which the blast destroyed. He then quickly rolled to avoid another blast and hid behind some crates.

He then turned and saw Toothless in front of him preparing to fire a plasma blast and quickly ducked in time to avoid it.

"Okay. We'll do it your way," he said.

He then stood up and waved his hand that Heather, who prepared to fire another blast and quickly rolled over to the blast headed towards Toothless. Toothless quickly took off just in time and Dagur use the opportunity to run away.

Toothless was about to find a plasma blast, but Hiccup closed his mouth in time. "Toothless, no! Stop firing, bud."

"Fire!" a voice yelled.

Then suddenly some Dragon Root arrows flew past them. They turned and saw that the Hunters were now in range of them and fired another wave of arrows.

"Start firing, bud. Start firing!" Hiccup yelled.

Toothless fired another plasma blast and destroyed the arrows. Then a second wave appeared, but Ragnar and Skull appeared and blocked it with Skull's armour.

"I think we've overstayed are welcome," said Ragnar.

Heather took off and Toothless fired another plasma blast as the Hunters made their way of the gangplank. Hiccup looked up and saw Dagur making his way up the pathway.

"We can't stay here, Hiccup," said Ragnar as Skull fired a stream of fire to halt the Hunters advance.

"Heather, we do get him outta here," said Hiccup looking up at Heather. "We'll question him back on the Edge."

Heather then flew down towards Dagur, who was running as quickly as he could. "Windshear. Tail," Heather ordered.

Windshear quickly extended her tail and wrapped it around Dagur's foot and knocked into the floor knocking him unconscious.

* * *

When Dagur regained consciousness he found that he was saying upside down in the air with Windshear's tail around his foot.

"You have to put me down. Take me back to the island," said Dagur. "Hiccup. Ragnar. Heather."

"I thought you didn't know us," Heather glared. "Weird getting your memory back now."

"I never lost my memory," Dagur admitted. "I had to disguise my identity. It would all be ruined otherwise."

"What? What would be ruined?" Hiccup asked.

"I am working for the Hunters, Hiccup."

"I knew it," Heather growled.

"But only because they have Shattermaster," said Dagur quickly. The three of them looked at one another. "He's with a large shipment of Gronckles that I headed to port. I was just trying to save my dragon, Hiccup. And now, it's too late. I'll never see Shattermaster again."

"Well, this is one for the books," said Ragnar.

* * *

Moments later they landed on a sea stack and watched as Dagur stared into the distance. Heather was just watching him suspiciously with her arms folded and narrowing her eyes.

"So, this was all to save his dragon," said Hiccup as he and Ragnar approached.

"And we messed it up," said Ragnar.

Hiccup looked at Heather. "He's not really working for the Hunters. That—there's anything you wanna say to Dagur, or—"

"Like what?" she said looking at him.

"I don't know, something apologetic followed by something sisterly?" Hiccup suggested.

"It's not important, Heather," said Dagur without looking at them. "What's done is done. I wouldn't have trust me either." He then approached towards Heather and placed his arms around. "I know the guilt weighs heavy on you. I can see it in your eyes. A brother knows."

Heather then promptly slapped his hand away. "Okay, too much."

"Yeah, yeah. I felt myself pushing a bit, too," Dagur admitted. "Okay, so let's talk about how you three are gonna make this up to me."

Hiccup facepalmed himself.

"Way to be diplomatic," said Ragnar shaking his head.

"Make this up to you? Are you serious?" Heather yelled furiously.

Heather was about to punch a brother in the face, but Hiccup and Ragnar quickly grabbed her arms.

"Easy there," said Ragnar. "Let's not do anything we might regret."

Heather then promptly elbowed him in the chest. "Speak for yourself."

"Uh, hey, uh, Dagur, we are happy to help you find your dragon," said Hiccup. He then looked at Heather, who had her arms folded. "Aren't we Heather?"

Heather then elbowed him in the chest. "Sure. Right after I get some answers."

"My dear, sweet Heather, I promise I'll tell you everything later," Dagur promised. "Shattermaster must take precedence in these dark times." He then turned to Hiccup and placed an arm around his shoulders and guided him away from Heather. "Now, please tell me you've got one of your 'Hiccuppy' plan to get my dragon back."

"There are a lot of Viggo's ships out there, guys," said Hiccup.

"I've been watching them like a hawk," said Dagur. "I know what ships the Gronckles are on. We just have to get aboard without being seen and grabbed my dragon. They'll never know we were there. Although, he is the most handsome Gronckle of the group. I mean, they might know he's missing—"

"I think the best thing to do is split up," said Hiccup as he mounted Toothless. "We'll meet on the cliff overlooking the docks."

Hiccup then took off and Ragnar and Skull followed suit. This left Heather and she wasn't exactly pleased to have Dagur as a passenger. Reluctantly, she gestured him to get on and he climbed on and placed his hand on her shoulders. Then they took off after Hiccup and Ragnar.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the Defender of the Wing island, everyone was enjoying the feast the Defenders had provided and the twins were stuffing themselves with chicken legs and Snotlout was leaning back in his chair holding a nice tankard of mead to Mala, who returned the gesture.

Throk clearly couldn't believe that Snotlout got this far, but remained quiet. Astrid and Fishlegs then approached Snotlout hoping to knock some sense into him.

"Snotlout, you cannot do this," said Astrid. "You've been lucky so far."

"Incredibly lucky," said Fishlegs. "In fact, I've never seen a run of luck like this. Ever. It's inexplicable."

Snotlout narrowed his eyes at the two of them. "Lucky. Really? That would use two non-believers think? You are so not supportive." He then snapped his fingers and a Defender appeared. "Um, excuse me. Escort them back to their tents. They aren't feeling well."

"Snotlout, don't do this," Astrid warned as the defender pulled both she and Fishlegs away.

Snotlout then sat back in his seat and enjoys the feast in his honour. "And bring me some more of this yummy meet. I'm not sure what it is, but it's juicy and delicious, and I love it so much."

"More hyena gizzards for our hero," said the Defender.

Snotlout blinked. "Did he just say 'hyena gizzards'?"

"'Tis a delicacy that comes along but once in a lifetime," said Tuffnut as he and his sister were eating the same meet. "Savour it, young Snotlout. Savour it."

Snotlout looked at the hyena gizzards with a look of disgust.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup soon joined Ragnar, Heather and Dagur after the search every single ship that was entering the docks.

"All the ships I checked were filled with brand new weapons," said Hiccup looking at them.

"Like this?" Heather asked pulling out a mace.

"Like that," Hiccup nodded.

"I have examined them and they seem to be top of the range and made of Gronckle Iron," said Ragnar grimly. "It although ships carrying the sort of weapons were facing against one very heavily armed Dragon Hunter army."

"Where are the Gronckles then?" Dagur asked.

"I have a theory," said Hiccup. "Follow me."

Hiccup then led them over the open sea.

"Those weapons were all brand new. What if Viggo traded the Gronckles to the iron masons for the weapons?" said Hiccup looking at the others.

"That would explain a large presence of Hunters in the area and why the iron masons gave Mala the cold shoulder," said Ragnar.

"But why?" Dagur asked. "Not that Gronckles aren't the coolest, most of them dragon ever, but—"

Heather looked at him in bewilderment. "I never thought I'd hear Dagur sounding exactly like Fishlegs."

"Well, this day has been a day of surprises," Ragnar shrugged.

"Dagur, what would iron mason do with a bunch of Gronckles?" Hiccup asked.

Dagur had a thing on that for a bit.

"Come on, brother," said Heather as Dagur himself in the head.

"Iron! They're melting it," said Dagur as realisation dawned on him.

"And making Gronckle Iron, too," Heather added.

"If we find the masons—"

"We find Shattermaster," Heather finished.

"Look at you two getting along," Ragnar noted and Heather immediately blushed.

"The masons' last ship left port headed east," said Hiccup. "We'll follow it and hope it leads us to their main foundry."

They soon caught up with the iron mason ship and followed it towards their main foundry. They soon hovered over the island and they pulled out their spyglasses. They saw that the hunters were present on the island as they were guiding the Gronckles to their cages and saw the iron masons forging new weapons for them.

Dagur then spotted his dragon. "Shattermaster, there he is!"

"Are you sure?" Heather asked lowering her spyglass.

"A man knows his dragon," said Dagur and looked at Hiccup. "Am I right, bother?"

Hiccup stroke Toothless. "I have to agree."

Dagur hopped off Windshear. "I almost feel bad for those Hunters. They have no idea what's coming. Let's show them what four angry Dragon Riders can do."

"Whoa, whoa," said Hiccup. "Uh, let's hold on a minute. First of all, Dagur, you're not a—"

"Hold on!" Dagur yelled as he ran towards the foundry. "Daddy's coming for you, Shattermaster."

"… Dragon Rider," Hiccup finished.

Ragnar then looked at Heather. "Guess it runs in the family."

Heather merely shrugged looking slightly embarrassed.

Hiccup then looked at Heather. "So, shall we go rescue our brother?"

"I'm gonna kill him," Heather growled.

"That's the spirit," said Ragnar.

The three of them then took off towards the foundry.

Dagur was running through the foundry and grabbed a mace and sword from a weapons rack. "I'm coming, baby, hold on."

Two Hunters quickly dropped the crates they were carrying into their weapons. "Stand back. I only want my dragon and I'll leave you in peace."

Shattermaster then saw Dagur and growled happily.

"I think you mean 'pieces,'" a Hunter smirked.

Two more Hunters were making their way towards him, but there were quickly knocked aside by a plasma blast fired by Toothless. Dagur laughter maniacally in charge at the two Hunters.

Several Hunter arches through their bows and prepare to strike at the dragons overhead, but Toothless and Windshear were too manoeuvrable and the arrows just bounced off Skull.

"I'm gonna draw their fire away from Dagur," said Heather.

"I'm coming with you," said Ragnar.

"Just be careful," said Hiccup as the two of them broke off formation and fired another plasma blast at the ground.

Dagur was busy engaging the Hunters and not one aside with his mace and spun around to hit the one behind him. A Hunter then came charging towards him, but was quickly blown back by a fire attack from Windshear. A second Hunter was about to take aim at Dagur, but Skull landed on top of him pinning him to the ground.

Dagur smiled at the two of them then charged again laughing maniacally. He blocked the sword of another Hunter disarmed him and then kicked him back at the same time he blocked the second Hunter's sword with both his weapons. He then used his strength to knock the hunter off balance and kicked him in the chest.

"That feels so good, reminds me of my youth," he said.

Behind a Hunter with an axe was laughing charge towards them, but Shattermaster merely raised his leg and the hunter was caught in his chain and was flung backwards into the water.

"Shattermaster!" Dagur yelled happily tossing his weapons aside and hugging his dragon. He then bent down to prepare to remove the shackles on his legs.

"You're not going anywhere, with or without that dragon," said a voice behind him.

Dagur turned and saw that it was the Hunter from the Northern Market standing behind him with an axe in hand.

"Then you'll have to kill me," said Dagur facing him with his fists raised.

"Oh, that's a given," said the Hunter raising his axe up high.

He then charged at Dagur and slammed his axe down upon him. Dagur was able to roll out of the way, but the Hunter kicked him in the side. Dagur quickly picked up a sword just in time to block the Hunter's axe, but when he tried to get out the Hunter kicked him back down.

The Hunter raised his axe preparing to deal the final blow, but then Windshear used her tail too pull his axe right out of his hands. Then she swatted him away with her tail and he crashed right into a tree and held in place by some of her barbs.

"Hey, sis," Dagur smiled nervously. "So, how much trouble am I in?"

"What's the most troubled there id?" Heather asked.

The two of them then laughed.

Dagur eventually Shattermaster but cutting his shackles with a sword.

"Good to see you, boy," said Dagur as he climbed on. "Let's get out of here."

Hiccup then flew overhead and fired a plasma blast at the cage freeing the Gronckles. They soon let the foundry with the Gronckles in tow and made their way towards a sea stack.

Dagur then looked at Hiccup. "All right, Hiccup, before you start yelling—"

"I'm not gonna yell," said Hiccup as he landed.

"You're not?" said Dagur surprised. "I had such a great speech planned."

"You don't need to explain yourself to us. We all know what you are trying to do," said Ragnar.

"You were trying to save your dragon. We all would have done the same," said Heather.

"We all have done the same. Many times," said Hiccup.

"Uh, Hiccup," said Heather pointing.

"We might have a problem," said Ragnar.

Hiccup looked up and saw a fleet of ships heading towards the foundry.

"The rest of Viggo's fleet," said Hiccup. "Okay, we need to move. We'll never be able to keep these Gronckles in formation and get them to safety of the spot us."

"They won't spot you," said Dagur placing a hand on Heather's shoulder. "They'll be too busy chasing me. I'll lead them away, and you guys get the Gronckles out of here."

Heather stared at him. "Dagur. No. I…"

"I promise to return to you, sister," Dagur promised grasping her hand. "To reveal everything, answer all your questions." He then did some sort of gesture. "This handshake seals the Berserkers promise. A promise that cannot now, or ever, be broken."

Heather looked at him in silence unable to think what to say. She then watched as he mounted Shattermaster and made his way towards the Dragon Hunter fleet.

She then felt a hand on her shoulder and saw Ragnar looking at her. "He'll be back," he assured.

* * *

It was dawn when they started to make their way back to the Defender of the Wing island, but Heather was still silent.

"Are you okay?" Hiccup asked.

"He'll be back," Ragnar assured.

Hiccup nodded. "He's right, that berserkers wrist thing, that's serious business."

Then they heard the volcano shaking.

"Ugh, it's coming from the volcano," said Heather grateful for the change of subject.

"So that's not good," said Hiccup.

"Who wants to bet that it the source has something to do with Snotlout," said Ragnar.

They soon landed in the village and approached Astrid.

"Hiccup. Thank Thor," she said with relief.

"Please tell me Snotlout is still alive," said Hiccup.

"Oh, he's alive. And, if he passes his next trial, he'll be king."

"I thought you guys were supposed to make sure—"

"We were, but Snotlout's ego for the kink in our plans," said Astrid.

Hiccup stared at her. "What does that mean?"

That's when they noticed that the twins and Fishlegs were pampering Snotlout.

"Chop. Chop it," said Ruffnut as she gave him a massage. "Chop, chop, chop, chop. Come on."

Fishlegs then gave him drink of water which is spat out and then performed a few exercises.

"All right, Throkie. What do ya got?" said Snotlout. "Man-eating killer Boars? Spiders? Whispering Death? Screaming Death? Whatever it is, I'm ready."

"Nothing so treacherous, Snotlout Jorgenson," said Throk as he pulled out a bow and then came the arrow at Mala, who was sitting on her throne.

"Uh, you really think it's smart to be pointing that thing at the queen?" Snotlout asked. "I mean, it's gonna look really bad if you slip up and let go of the arrow."

"That's why you'll be taking the arrow for her," said Throk with a smile. "Your final test. Race to Queen Mala and allow this arrow to pierce your flesh instead of hers. If you survive, you will be her king." Then two Defenders pushed him forward. "If not…"

"Thought?" Hiccup asked looking at the others.

"His luck is about to run out?" said Astrid.

Snotlout was then placed upon the throne next to Mala and he was starting to get very nervous.

"You've come this far. You've got this, Snotlout," he breathed. "What's one little arrow gonna do? Snotlout, Snotlout. Oi, oi, oi."

"Come on. Let's get on with it, please," said Tuffnut. "I must say something soon."

Throk pulled back on the bow and ready to fire. Snotlout then jumped placing himself between the arrow and Mala. Toothless then fired at plasma blast at the Eruptodon, who was watching, and roared.

This throw Throk's aim off as he just released the arrow and it missed Snotlout. Fortunately, Mala was able to catch the arrow with her hand and Hiccup sighed with relief.

"Nice shot, bud," said Hiccup rubbing Toothless on the head.

Snotlout picked himself up and began to feel his body for the arrow. "Wh—what happened?"

"It's over," said Mala.

"Did I win?" Snotlout asked.

"No, Snotlout, unfortunately not," said Mala holding out the arrow.

"So, am I king? I mean, that wasn't my fault. He's a lousy shot," he said pointing at Throk earning him a glare from him.

"We do not take in the account of the reason of failure, only that it occurred."

"What? You mean, I walked on lava, fought giant eels and I lost because this guy can't shoot straight?" said Snotlout furiously gesturing to Throk.

Throk growled at him angrily.

"Yes," said Mala approaching him. Snotlout groaned with disappointment and Mala placed a hand on his shoulder. "If it's any consolation, I am as equally as crestfallen."

"I guess that helps a little bit," Snotlout shrugged.

"Come, Snotlout. For your bravery and valour, tonight will be my guest of honour," said Mala.

"Hmm. King for a day. Not bad, Snotlout," said Fishlegs.

"Off with his head," Snotlout commanded. Fishlegs whimpered. "I'm kidding. Or am I? Who knows? Let's eat!"

With that they all made their way towards the feast.


	45. Dire Straits

On an island the Hunters were preparing to transport the dragons they had captured.

A Hunter then slammed his axe against the cage containing a Gronckle. "Get back your filthy lizard!" He then turned to his men. "Hey, you there, keep those cages moving!"

They started to bring the cages onto this ship, but then the Dragon Riders appeared out of the night sky.

"Dragon Riders. Take cover!" a Hunter yelled.

Providers then started to attack the ship and began freeing the dragons are Hunters had captured with their dragon fire. The moment the dragons were fully they flew away from the Hunters and then Hiccup fired a plasma blast onto the ship destroying it.

* * *

A few hours later, at his base, Viggo was looking over a map which shows the locations of his Dragon Hunter outposts. A majority of them had been crossed indicating the Dragon Riders had destroyed them.

He then heard the flap open and Ryker entered.

"Well don't just stand there gawking. Come in, brother," Viggo ordered.

"News from our partners in the east," said Ryker. "Hiccup and his Riders have disrupted organisations, again."

"How much of a disruption?" Viggo asked.

Ryker remained silent, but Viggo knew what it meant. He snapped his pencil out in rage. "These attacks are becoming bad for business."

He then turned to the map.

Ryker approached him. "It won't stop until every dragon we capture is freed and our operations are no more." Viggo grabbed another pencil and circled and crossed out another one of his outposts. "The resistance is growing, Viggo."

"Well, then, Ryker, maybe we need to change the method of how we deal with resistance," said Viggo grabbing another map. The map showed the general area of Berk. "Perhaps it's time we capture a dragon that not even Hiccup Haddock can free."

He then looked down at a red symbol of a Scauldron.

* * *

Johann and several merchants were making their way through the Straits of Baldur. The Straits of Baldur was the entryway into the Barbaric Archipelago for ships and it was basically a large underwater mountains with only one now passageway large enough for ships to enter.

"Good day, my fellow seafaring merchant brethren," said Johann looking at them all. "What a pleasant day to ply our trade and hawk our wares." He then turned to one of the merchants. "Ah! Trader Derrick, you are looking well. Love the bead."

Trader Derrick had a Viking within enormously long blond beard. It was so long that it touched the floor and wrapped around his feet several times. He waved back at Johhan.

"Wouldn't be caught dead with that on my face," he said to himself. He then noticed some bubbles erupting close by. "What is this?"

He sniffed the air and smelled a very foul odour and pinched his nose. "Oh, dear! That foul odour, it's one I have not smelt for many a moon. Not since that time I ventured to the Isle of Manos across the Sea of Toglia." He then remembered what created that smell and then looked to the merchants. "My brothers. Reverse your sales! Exit here at once! At once! Oh!"

They all screamed at a whirlpool appeared out of nowhere and began to suck the ships in. Johan used all his strength to turn his ship about and managed to escape its current.

He wiped his brow with relief, but then noticed that the other merchants weren't as lucky. "My brothers?"

* * *

A few weeks later on the Edge, Hiccup and Ragnar were on their dragons as Fishlegs was about to demonstrate a new tricky taught the Night Terrors. He was somehow using a whistle in order to command the Night Terrors.

"Nice work, Fishlegs," said Hiccup in amazement.

"Very nice work," said Ragnar.

"Thank you!" said Fishlegs proudly. "I've discovered that the Night Terrors respond bond quite nicely to whistle commands."

He then blew the whistle again in the Night Terrors took on a formation.

"Hey! Impressive!" said Hiccup.

"I've got to say you've outdone yourself, Fishlegs," said Ragnar.

"Oh! That's a new formation," said Fishlegs looking at the Night Terrors. "Nice Rumbehorn, you guys."

"Uh, that's no formation, Fishlegs," said Hiccup.

He was right, because flying towards them was Stoick on top of Skullcrusher. He flew directly into the Night Terrors and instantly they scattered.

"Ah! Blasted dragons! I'm a chief!" he yelled at them.

* * *

Moments later they were in Hiccup's hut and he explained why he showed up over a nice stiff drink of mead.

"And no trade ships have come to Berk in weeks?" Hiccup frowned.

"And no sign of Johann, either," said Stoick.

"Strange," Hiccup frowned.

"Hardly anything stop him from reaching Berk," said Ragnar.

"We've sent scouting boats to the Straits of Baldur to investigate, but none have returned," said Stoick.

"Well that route has been known to be a hotbed of Scauldrons," said Fishlegs.

"Accept that the Auxiliary Riders have scouted the area as well, and say the seas are empty and quiet."

"I'm not sure what could be keeping the trade ship away, but something definitely isn't right out there," said Hiccup.

"The Straits of Baldur of the entry point to the archipelago which means that it won't just be a suffering, but every Viking tribe in the archipelago," said Ragnar. "We need to investigate this and fast."

* * *

The next day, Hiccup and the Riders reached the Straits of Baldur, but they saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"Uh, I hate to be the one who points out the obvious, but you do realise we're just staring at water, right," said Snotlout looking at Hiccup, who was looking through his spyglass.

"No sign of any wild dragons or Hunter ships," Hiccup frowned. "So what's keeping these merchant away?"

"Hiccup, look!" Astrid pointed.

They looked down and saw a Scauldron lifting its head above the water.

"Adolescent male. About two ship lengths," said Fishlegs making his hypothesis. "Whoo! He's a big boy for sure."

"That could be our culprit," said Astrid.

"Okay, we'll head to Berk and grab some nets. It's just a routine Scauldron extraction and relocation," said Hiccup.

Then they saw some bubbles erupting in the water surface.

"Wait, looks like he might have a friend," said Astrid.

They sniffed the air and then discovered a very foul odour.

"What is that stink?" said Ruffnut covering her mouth and trying not to be sick.

"Yeesh!" said Tuffnut pinching his nose. "Hey, Snotlout, kinda smells like the trail to your hut after last year's Mutton Fest. No _bueno_."

"Hey, back off," Snotlout glared. "It isn't me. And that was a very trying time by the way."

Ruffnut laughed. "Well, remember what wise old Uncle Hagelin used to say. 'Who has hath smelt it, hath dealt it.'"

"'And if it was more than just gas, he will hath belted in his pants,'" Tuffnut finished.

"Ah, he was a brilliant man."

"It isn't me!" Snotlout yelled.

Fishlegs looked at Hiccup. "Hiccup, if it wasn't Snotlout you think that could mean—"

"Everyone, clearly area! Now!" Hiccup yelled.

Then they saw a massive whirlpool appearing in the middle of the ocean. The Dragon Riders quickly pulled away from the whirlpool as it was creating a vacuum sucking air in.

"What is that thing?"

"There's only one thing I know who can create whirlpool out of thin air," said Ragnar.

"What's that?" Heather asked.

"No time to explain," said Hiccup. "We need to move!"

"Hiccup, the Scauldron!" Fishlegs yelled.

Hiccup turned and saw the Scauldron being sucked into the whirlpool. It was trying to free itself, but the current was far too strong.

"I see it," said Hiccup. "Fishlegs, follow me."

They flew down towards the Scauldron and Toothless fired a plasma blast right into the whirlpool. Unfortunately the Dragon Riders were finding themselves being pulled into the vacuum it was creating.

"Hold on, girl!" Astrid yelled. She then looked at Hiccup. "Hiccup, it's pulling us in!"

"Fly against it. Push harder!" Hiccup ordered.

They began flying as hard as they could out of the vacuum.

"Oh, this keeps getting better by the second!" said Snotlout angrily and then suddenly Hookfang shot back.

Unfortunately at that time, Fishlegs was behind him and the sudden jerk caused them to collide. Fishlegs and Meatlug were now heading down towards the whirlpool.

"Fishlegs!" Heather yelled.

"Hold on, we're coming!" Ragnar yelled.

The two of them flew down towards Fishlegs, who was being sucked in deep into the vacuum of the whirlpool. Meatlug tried desperately to fly out of it, but with a small wingspan that was impossible.

"Oh, Thor. Oh, Thor," Fishlegs panicked.

"Ragnar! Heather!" Fishlegs yelled.

They tried to get in deeper to rescue them, but the vacuum was far too strong and they had to pull out.

"Hiccup, we can't get in there," said Heather.

"Okay, we only have one hope," said Hiccup. "Concentrate our fire. Everyone, blast into the mouth. Now!"

Every single one of the Riders fired their fire attacks right into the mouth of the whirlpool. The resulting explosion freed both Fishlegs and Scauldron and the whirlpool began to vanish.

"You know, now I think about it, I would hypothesise that the dragon/man-eating whirlpool is probably what scared those merchant away," said Tuffnut.

"I would concur with such hypothesis, brother Nut," Ruffnut nodded. "No boat could withstand such a display of natural force."

"Except that was no natural force," said Ragnar. "Something created that whirlpool."

"What could create that? A sea monster?" Astrid asked.

"Not a sea monster," said Hiccup shaking his head. "A powerful Tidal Class dragon, the Submaripper. I've only read about them in the _Book of Dragons_. Much scarier in person."

"But why would a Submaripper take hold in a narrow area?" Fishlegs frowned. "They prefer deeper, open water. And they're typically very reclusive."

"I don't know," said Hiccup. "What I do know is that we have an extremely territorial and dangerous dragon on our hands."

* * *

At Berk supplies were running thin, especially food and medicine. Stoick was hovering about town noticing the hungry people of his tribe. The Riders soon returned and approached him.

"Dad, what happen here?" Hiccup asked.

"With the trade routes closed, we've had no way to get provisions. Without any gold, we have no means to purchase them either," Stoick frowned.

They flew past Goth, who was out of medicine, much to the disappointment of the patient she was caring for.

"Son, if the routes aren't open soon, the reserves will run out. And when it does, we won't be able to feed our people," Stoick warned.

"Heather, Ruff, Tuff, help the Auxiliary gather more provisions," Hiccup ordered. Heather and the twins then took off. "Fishlegs, help feed the village." Fishlegs then flew down towards the village. "Astrid, Ragnar and Snotlout, come with me. We're going back to the Straits. We have a Submaripper to remove."

Hiccup then led the others towards the Straits of Baldur.

* * *

A few hours later, they reached the Straits of Baldur.

"Here, take these," said Hiccup coughing each of them a pair of goggles. "We're gonna need 'em."

"Death Song amber goggles?" Astrid frowned.

"They should help us see underwater," said Hiccup. "Once we dive down, we'll drive the Submaripper out to open water, away from the trade routes."

"Hiccup, I hate pointed out, but battling a Tidal Class dragon in its own territory is going to be risky," said Ragnar's place the goggle on. "Especially a dragon like the Submaripper."

"We don't have any choice," said Hiccup as he placed his goggles on.

"Come on, admit it," said Snotlout putting the goggles on. "I totally rocking this look."

Astrid rolled her eyes behind her goggles as she groaned with disgust.

"What do you think, Hooky?" Snotlout asked looking down at his dragon. Hookfang answered by whacking him against the head with one of his horns. Snotlout glared at him. "Hookfang!"

They then dived into the ocean and held their breath. The goggles might be able to allow them to see underwater, but it didn't help them to breathe underwater. They then began looking around for their territorial dragon, but finding it was like finding a needle in a haystack.

Then Hiccup saw it. It was a very large dragon, that could be best describe as being similar in appearance to an eel with legs. It had various wattles and kelp-like structures that line its back and hang off its legs and sides and its scales were sea green.

He then looked at the others and gestured for them to attack. The dragons unleash their dragon fire, but it was less effective underwater. However, their attack did cause the Submaripper to wake and its eyes turn towards them.

They then flew down towards it, but it quickly turned on them and opened its mouth. At once it created a massive vacuum of water and they scattered quickly. Astrid was the first to recover and then saw the Submaripper try to take a bite out of her.

Fortunately she was able to move Stormfly out of the way just in time. Hiccup then moved in and then noticed an underwater sea stack just above it. He commanded Toothless to fire at it and he fired a plasma blast at the sea stack. The blast caused the sea stack to fall on top of the Submaripper.

This gave them an opportunity to escape, but as they left Hiccup noticed that there were dragon- proof chains attached to its legs and tail. This told him that the Submaripper wasn't in here by choice, someone purposely placed it there.

The fourth of them then emerged out of the water and gasped for fresh air. In the battle somehow Snotlout had fallen off Hookfang, who grabbed him by his claws and lifted him up.

"Well, that was fantastic," said Snotlout looking at Hiccup. "And I'm really glad you gave us these goggles. It really helped me to see how clearly we nearly came to getting killed!"

Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar remove their goggles and breathed deeply. Astrid then noticed something was bothering Hiccup.

"What is it, Hiccup?" she asked.

"That dragon didn't wander into the Straits. It was chain there," said Hiccup.

"Chained?" Astrid stared.

"With dragon-proof chains. And there's only one person capable of that."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Ragnar asked.

* * *

They returned to Berk and informed Fishlegs on what they saw. Hiccup then told them that his theory of the person who placed the Submaripper in the trade routes.

"Viggo?" Fishlegs stared. "But—"

"I'm not sure how, but this is a message," said Hiccup. He then grabbed the apple Snotlout was about to eat. "He's telling me to back off. Or Berk will face the consequences."

"Not to mention anyone else in the archipelago," said Ragnar. "They may not suffer the same as we do, but it will harm them in the long run."

He then gave the apple to a small ball way, who smiled at him.

Hiccup sighed. "This is my fault."

Fishlegs frowned at him. "Hiccup, I don't—"

"He knows Berk has no more gold and needs trade to survive," said Hiccup.

"He's just bitter that we're damaging his operations and all this cruising that we are succeeding in disrupting them," said Ragnar.

Then suddenly to Vikings ran past them as the twins arrived carrying containers of food. They then handed them a few potatoes and Snotlout approached them. Tuffnut narrowed his eyes and gave him a potato.

"That's it?" Snotlout frowned. "One lousy potato?"

"Why not attended an apple?" Tuffnut suggested.

Snotlout grumbled as he walked away.

"Thank Thor, they came with food. I was starving," said one of the Vikings.

Hiccup sighed. "Maybe it's time to call off the strikes on the Hunters."

"Or free the Submaripper," Fishlegs suggested.

"I say that we do try to free," said Ragnar. "Besides even if we stop attacking the Hunters there is no guarantee that Viggo will release it and allow trade to continue."

"We can't down there long enough," said Hiccup looking at the two of them. "Even if we could, how could we get through those chains?"

"Let me and Ragnar worry about getting through those chains," said Fishlegs as he and Ragnar walked off. "You worry about getting deeper."

Hiccup looked as the Riders give the villages more food, he knew that it was only a matter of time before they ran out of provisions.

* * *

Hiccup was still blaming himself later that day as he and Astrid were serving food for the villages.

"Um, Hiccup?" said Astrid.

Hiccup was brought out of his thoughts. "Oh, uh, sorry. Yeah?" he said giving some soup to a Viking.

"Hiccup, we have something," said Fishlegs as he and Ragnar approached them.

"We might be able to free the Submaripper after all," said Ragnar.

* * *

Moments later, Ragnar and Fishlegs placed a dragon-proof chain in a bucket of water and held out a jar filled with Changewing acid. Fishlegs poured the acid into the bucket and the moment it touched the chain it dissolved the metal.

"Good old Changewing acid," said Fishlegs holding out the chains.

"How?" Hiccup asked.

"Simple, really," said Ruffnut.

"Yes. Simple indeed," said Tuffnut. "It's simply a matter of viscosity. Whereas Monstrous Nightmare gel dissolves in water, Changewing acid remains intact."

"Science!"

"They're actually right," said Fishlegs slightly surprised by this revelation.

"Of course we are," said Tuffnut. "There was doubt?"

Everyone remained silent.

"The only problem is we only have a limited supply of Changewing acid," said Ragnar. "We were only able to collect enough for one jar. We'll only get one shot."

"How goes the free-diving?" Fishlegs asked looking at Hiccup.

"Well, no matter what I do, I just can't hold my breath long enough," said Hiccup.

"Hmm," said Tuffnut. "It would appear that you need a means of submerging yourself without having to hold your breath. Something that would keep the air in."

"But, said water out," said Ruffnut putting a cauldron over her head.

Tuffnut then grabbed a ladle and began hitting against the cauldron while having his sister in a headlock. "Oh, come and get!"

"I'm fine," said Ruffnut as her brother continued to hit the cauldron continuously.

"I do love doing that," said Tuffnut. He then continued his sister again and began singing. " _Hooligan tribe, Won't you come out tonight. Come out tonight, come out tonight._ _Hooligan tribe, Won't you come out tonight._ _Come out tonight, come out tonight._ "

As Tuffnut knocked seven bells into his sister, Hiccup looked at Gobber's old smelting cauldron and got an idea surprisingly from the twins.

* * *

A few hours later, Hiccup and Ragnar had completely modified the smelting cauldron with a window and three legs. They also attached it to a fully and had placed it near the large lake protesting.

"That's Gobber's old smelting cauldron?" said Fishlegs.

"Essentially," said Hiccup.

"We've made a few improvements," said Ragnar.

"We added Gronckle Iron reinforcement and a window hatch made of Death Song amber to keep the water out and the air in," said Hiccup as he and Ragnar showed Fishlegs their handiwork. "I exit out there when I reached the bottom."

"Remarkable!" said Fishlegs.

"Well, don't comment as yet, Fishlegs," said Hiccup as he grabbed a pair of goggles. "We still don't know if it works."

"Hiccup I don't know how much air there will be inside this cauldron when we lowered into the water," said Ragnar. "Though I imagine that you have enough as long as you take shallow breaths."

Hiccup was about to make his way inside, but Toothless stop him.

"Hey, don't worry, bud. I'll be fine," Hiccup assured.

Hiccup then climbed his way into the Diving Bell and placed on the goggles. Toothless stood on his hind legs to look at him through the window.

"One target on the chain means I've reached the bottom," said Hiccup as he pulled the chain and the bell rang. "Two tugs means there's something wrong, bring me up."

"One tug, good. Two, tugs, bad. Got it," said Fishlegs.

"Don't worry we'll be here if anything goes wrong," Ragnar assured.

They then move the winch so that the Diving Bell was above the lake and then lowered into the water.

As he got deeper Hiccup heard the metal creaking which was a bit unnerving, but it was holding. "Okay, so far, so good."

Then he heard the sound of glass cracking and then the window shattered. Water began to rush into the Diving Bell

"Okay, not good!" Hiccup yelled. He then began to pull the chain ferociously. "Two tugs, Ragnar! Two tugs, Fishlegs!"

On the surface, Ragnar and Fishlegs saw the bell ringing more than just twice and they realise something was wrong.

"Hiccup's in trouble!" Fishlegs panicked.

"Well, let's get him back up here," said Ragnar.

They quickly grabbed the winch and the winch began to pull the Diving Bell backup. The Diving Bell emerged out of the water and they fell on its side on the platform they made. The moment it was out, Toothless pulled Hiccup out, who spluttered water out of his mouth.

"Guys, it… uh… it needs some tweaking," said Hiccup as he spluttered.

"You don't say," said Ragnar.

Toothless granted with disappointment and walked off.

"Oh, don't be so harsh," said Hiccup.

* * *

Later that night, Hiccup began to improve the Diving Bell. They started to make a new window out of Death Song amber. Ragnar and Fishlegs watched as he poured out the new mixture and was it cold down they fitted the window onto the Diving Bell.

"There, triple-reinforced," said Hiccup as he placed his hammer on the table.

"Hopefully that does it," said Ragnar.

Astrid then approached them. "Hiccup, I just send the Auxiliary to Storehouse Island for the last of the rations," she said.

"And how long will that last?" Hiccup asked.

"I'm not sure," said Astrid.

"Uh, still need to take this to Lars Lake for one final test," said Hiccup. He then heard the sounds of covering and sputtering in the distance and watch as the villagers were both sick and hungry. "It looks like there's no time for tests. Gather the Riders, we leave immediately."

* * *

The next morning, the Riders, minus Heather went with the Auxiliary team, were carrying a longboat with the Diving Bell and winch towards the Straits of Baldur.

"We have to stay far away from the Submaripper as possible. It is able to sense movement within the waters," said Ragnar.

"This should be far enough," said Hiccup. He then looked at the Riders as they began to lower the longboat. "Gently. Gently."

Once it was down, Hiccup, Toothless and the other Riders were on the boat. Hiccup was holding one of Toothless' spare tailfins in his hand and began to go over the plan.

"Okay. We need to act fast," said Hiccup. "I need to get down there and free the Ripper before it notices we're here."

"And how is Toothless' tail supposed to help?" Snotlout asked gesturing to the tailfin in his hand.

"Well, contrary to popular opinion, I'm not much of a swimmer," said Hiccup.

"Oh, sure, that will work," said Snotlout sceptically. "Nice knowing ya'."

"I still say that I should be the one that swims down there," said Ragnar. "You haven't been swimming since you lost your leg and I'm the best swimmer out of all of us."

"No," said Hiccup stubbornly. "I cause this I need to fix it." He then grabbed the jar of change wing acid and the helmet he designed to help him underwater from Fishlegs. "Okay, don't bring me up unless I tug the chain twice, no matter what."

He then climbed his way into the Diving Bell and once he got his helmet on, which was basically covered his face, had a pair of horns and a window made of Death Song amber, and placed removed his prosthetic in exchange for Toothless' tailfin to assist swimming underwater.

Once they got the Diving Bell into position they began to lower it into the sea. Hiccup sat on the wooden beam as he slowly began to descend towards the sea floor.

"Come on. Come on, now. Stay together," he said encouragingly.

He turned his attention onto the window which was still holding and then suddenly there was a massive shake. It only took a few seconds to realise that he had finally reached the sea floor.

He laughed. "It worked!"

Back on the water surface, the Riders had the bell ring.

"Oh, thank Thor," said Fishlegs with relief. "That one tug. He made it to the ocean floor."

"Yeah, but now comes the hard part," said Ragnar.

Hiccup dive into the water with the jar strapped to his belt. He then started to swim towards the Submaripper holding his breath. He approached the first chain and was relieved to see that the Submaripper was asleep. He then poured the Changewing acid over the chain and it dissolved upon contact.

He looked at the Submaripper and saw that he had awoken it. He then started to make his way back to the Diving Bell to grab the next jar of Changewing acid and to inform the Riders of his success.

* * *

On the ocean surface the Riders had the bell ring indicating that Hiccup had removed one of the chains.

"Yes! One chain is done," said Fishlegs.

Astrid then saw something emerging out of the Straits of Baldur which gave her great concern.

"Uh, guys," she said.

They all turned and then saw a Dragon Hunter ship emerging out of the Straits.

"Viggo," said Fishlegs.

"He must have been here the entire time and knew that we would try and free the Submaripper," Ragnar cursed.

"No, no, no," said Fishlegs. "The vibrations from his ship and the Submaripper.

"We'll take care of Viggo," said Astrid. "He won't get into the Straits. Come on!"

Astrid and the other Riders, minus Fishlegs jumped off the boat and on to their dragons. They then made their way towards the Hunter ship which started the fire boulders from its catapults at them. However, they didn't seem to be aiming at the Riders directly, but at the ocean.

"Ha! Look at those dopes, they can't even shoot straight," Ruffnut mocked. "Their boulders are nowhere near us."

"That's because they're not trying to hit us!" said Astrid, as she and Ragnar realised what they were attempting to do.

"Well, that seems counter-productive, don't you think?" Tuffnut frowned.

"Not if they're trying to rile up the Submaripper instead," said Astrid.

"The Submaripper is able to sense vibrations within the water that's how it hunts," said Ragnar.

"We need to get back to Fishlegs and get Hiccup out right now!" said Astrid.

They quickly turned around and headed back towards the ship, but the hunters were still firing at the ocean in the attempts to awaken the Submaripper.

* * *

Down on the ocean floor, Hiccup was making his way to cut the next chain. He was certainly unaware of what was going on above and he didn't notice the boulders landing on the seafloor either.

He was just reaching the Submaripper's left leg when he saw the boulders and a few seconds later the Submaripper awoke. It then noticed Hiccup and growled angrily, Hiccup barely had enough time to avoid getting eaten.

He quickly swam around it onto the other side, but the Submaripper turned its head back towards him. It then roared and began to suck Hiccup in, but dumb luck was in his favour, because a boulder just landed in front of him and he grabbed hold. Unfortunately the vacuum was very strong and Hiccup filled his hand slipping off the boulder.

* * *

On the surface, Fishlegs and Toothless notice the whirlpool emerging close by. Toothless roared at Fishlegs, who quickly made his way towards the rudder.

"Oh, no!" he said and desperately tried to pull the ship away from the whirlpool.

Unfortunately the covenant of the whirlpool was too strong and they were starting to to be pulled in.

* * *

Underwater things were a lot worse as Hiccup's grip was about to fail him. Dunlop then appeared to be on his side yet again, because he saw the Diving Bell slamming into one sunken ships and headed straight towards him.

He quickly released the boulder and slammed against an underwater rock formation. He ducked in time to avoid the ship which headed straight towards the Submaripper's mouth. The ship wedged itself in its mouth stopping it from creating its vacuum.

Hiccup then took this as an opportunity to make his way towards the second chain. He approached the second chain and poured the Changwing acid on top of it and the metal dissolved. He then quickly swam back towards the Diving Bell to grab the last of the acid.

He took a deep breath and climbed onto the wooden beam. "Okay. Only one more chain."

He pulled the chain to signal the others that he dealt with the second chain. He then took a deep breath and jump right back into the water.

* * *

Back on the water surface, Astrid and the others arrived just in time to save Fishlegs and began to pull the ship away from the whirlpool.

Astrid then quickly landed on the deck and Ragnar jumped off Skull and the two of them approached Fishlegs.

"How's he going down there?" Ragnar asked.

"He's only got one more chain to go," said Fishlegs.

"We can't wait," said Astrid. "We have to pull him up now."

"But it's too early. What about—" Toothless and growled angrily at him. "Right, right. Meatlug, winch!"

Meatlug approached the winch and pulled on it. Toothless made his way towards the side of the ship as he watched the winch pulling the Diving Bell back up.

Unfortunately, Hiccup was no longer in the Diving Bell as he was making his way to the Submaripper to get rid of the last chain. Of course that was easier said than done, due to the fact of the boulders now slamming down onto the seafloor.

Fortunately it cause a nice little distraction for the Submaripper, who didn't know where to turn. Unfortunately, one of the boulder struck its head and it turned and saw Hiccup swimming towards it and began to suck him in again.

Hiccup found himself clutching onto one of the boulders again and held on as tightly as he could. Unfortunately his grip failed him and he found himself being sucked into the Submaripper, but the last second he was able to break out of its vacuum and swam over its head.

He then began to swim over its body towards the tail and the final chain. He quickly open the jar and pour the last of the Changewing acid on the chain and it dissolved. However, before he could make his getaway the Submaripper slammed its tail and sent Hiccup flying.

Unfortunately he was sent flying towards the Diving Bell and he finally noticed that it was making its way back towards the surface. Then the Submaripper slammed its tail onto the seafloor and the shockwave sent him straight up towards the Diving Bell.

He was able to swim inside it and soon climbed onto the beam, but there was very little air left now. Also the Submaripper was now aware of its presence and slammed its tail as it. This caused the metal legs to bend sealing the Diving Bell and weakening its fortification.

Hiccup removed his helmet. "Just a little more. Just stay together little longer," he pleaded hoping and praying that the gods could hear him.

* * *

Back on the surface, the Riders notice the whirlpool was vanishing and they could only be one explanation.

"Guys, look!" he pointed.

They took a closer look and saw the bubbles vanishing indicating that the Submaripper had left the waters. The Riders cheered as they landed onto the deck of the boat.

"He did it! He did it!" Fishlegs cheered.

"Now we just need to get them back on dry land," said Ragnar.

Astrid nodded. "Okay. Everyone, pull!"

However, before any of them got a chance to pull on the ropes a boulder from the Hunter ship headed straight towards them. It struck the winch and it broke and the chain connecting to the Diving Bell began to skid across the deck towards the ocean. Toothless grabbed the chain, but was quickly pulled in.

"No!" Astrid yelled.

Toothless did his best to pull the Diving Bell back towards the surface, but it was far too heavy. He then hit the seafloor hard and what began to sink through the cracks within the window inside.

Hiccup wasn't even able to escape through bottom since the metal legs were bent so badly that he was unable to slip through them and even if he could all that was below him was sand. Hiccup looked through the window and saw Toothless looking at helplessly.

Toothless by plasma blast that the base of the Diving Bell in a desperate attempt to free Hiccup, but no such luck. He then tried to lift the Diving Bell backup, but again it was far too heavy for him. He swam back around firing another plasma blast, but still nothing.

He then looked at Hiccup and growled with despairing growl.

"Toothless! Go! Save yourself!" Hiccup ordered as he placed a hand on the glass.

Toothless nuzzled his snout against the glass as if he expected to feel Hiccup's palm. He then looked at him with a sad face and no doubt wishing he could do more. He, however, refused to leave Hiccup alone.

"I know, bud," said Hiccup as if he could read his mind. The water level was now rising even faster and soon it reached his neck. "I wouldn't leave you either."

Hiccup then took one last breath as the water fill the entire Diving Bell. He then looked at Toothless knowing that he only little time before he would drown and placed his hand against the glass. Toothless grabbed his snout against the glass affectionately.

Then Hiccup saw the Submaripper approaching behind him.

"Toothless!" he yelled forgetting about the water.

Toothless turned and saw the Submaripper and growled angrily. He then fired a plasma blast at it, but it didn't even phase it. He then grabbed the Diving Bell and began to swim towards the surface and Hiccup found everything going dark and floated in the water motionlessly.

The other Riders were looking over the edge trying to think of what they could do when the Submaripper shot out of the water from out of nowhere. They all stared at it with their mouths wide open thinking that it was going to attack them.

However, it nearly dropped the Diving Bell onto the deck. Astrid quickly ran towards the window and saw Hiccup laid their unconscious.

"We need to get him out of there," she said.

"How? It's dragon-proof," Fishlegs reminded.

Toothless then emerge out of the water and jumped on deck and roared.

"We got this!" Tuffnut yelled and stocky metal rod into the bent legs. "Barf! Belch!"

The two-headed dragon twisted its heads together and press down the metal rod removing one of the legs.

"Quick get him out of there!" Ragnar ordered.

He and Astrid quickly pulled Hiccup out of the Diving Bell and onto the deck. Ragnar then quickly progressed his ear against his chest.

"His heart's not beating!" he yelled. He then started a press down his chest hoping to get his heart pumping again.

"Oh, no, Hiccup!" Astrid cried. "Please, breathe. Please, breathe."

Toothless then knocked Ragnar out of the way and began to lick Hiccup's face. Somehow that woke up him up and he spat water out of his mouth and took in deep breath.

"No, I'm…" he said panting as he rubbed Toothless' face. "Okay, bud."

Astrid then placed a hand on his shoulder and he placed his hand over her ensuring her that he was all right. Toothless then roared at the Submaripper saying thank you and it roared back at him before it sank back beneath the waves.

Ragnar and Fishlegs helped Hiccup back onto his feet, who was still a bit shaky. "What… happened?" he asked as he rubbed Toothless' head.

"Viggo happened," said Snotlout.

"Viggo," said Hiccup narrowing his eyes. "No, no, he can't escape." He then attempted to get onto Toothless, but he was still winded after his experience of nearly drowning.

"Easy, Hiccup. I got you," said Fishlegs holding him steady.

"Don't worry," said Astrid she and the others mounted their dragons. "He won't get far."

They then took off and made their way towards Viggo's ship.

* * *

Viggo had been on deck the entire time and was now looking at his men.

"Reverse the oars. We go back and fight," he ordered. The hunters just stood there whimpering and then he grabbed one by the scruff of his shirt. "I said, reverse the oars!"

He was about to draw his blade when Ryker stopped him. "No, we can't," he said.

"Turn this ship around!" he ordered angrily. "Do not retreat! We will finish him!"

"Riders advancing from the north," said Ryder pointing upwards. Viggo growled with rage. "Here, I have something to show you."

* * *

Astrid and the others were almost in range.

"Okay, let's wrap this up!" said Astrid.

Then a hatch door opened at the back of the ship and a small boat emerged with both Viggo and Ryker on board.

"What the… Dinghy?" said Tuffnut in bewilderment.

"Why would they just leave themselves exposed like this?" Astrid frowned.

"Viggo is way smarter than that and Ryker wouldn't do something so stupid," Ragnar agreed.

"No time for questions," said Snotlout. "Let's hit 'em with everything we got."

The dragons were about to fire down on them, but then they saw Ryker pulled dragon-proof chains in the hand and emerging out of the water were two Seashockers. He then guided them down towards the Straits and the two-headed dragons guided them away.

"Seashockers?" said Astrid with her eyes widened. She then turned to the others. "Hold your fire! We can't risk hitting those dragons."

"Great, now using dragons as shields," Ragnar growled as they watched as the two brothers made their escape down the Straits.

* * *

Later that evening, the trade ships were finally reaching and dropping off their cargo. Stoick and Hiccup were overseen the cargo being offloaded.

"Let's get those ships unloaded now. Quickly," Stoick ordered.

"This never would have happened if Viggo wasn't trying to get me," Hiccup frowned.

"And Berk never would've been saved if it wasn't for you," Stoick added. Hiccup looked at him still feeling slightly guilty. "Hiccup, your phone revealed his true colours. Only a coward endangers innocent women and children as means of intimidation. This is a dangerous game, son. But I'm confident, bravery will always triumph over cowardice."

Stoick then made his way to assist the villages offloading the cargo. Hiccup then heard Johann's voice and saw that he was talking to the other Riders.

"This reminds me of the time I was attacked by a flock of rabid…"

"Johann, welcome back," said Hiccup as he approached them.

Johann smiled at him. "Ah! Master Hiccup, I was just telling the young Riders of Berk here my harrowing experience with a ferocious Submaripper. As it were, I was sailing the Straits of Baldur when I smell the foulest odours. Worse than the time I was trapped in the Dung Pits of Pel."

Hiccup smiled as he listened to Johann's story and promised to himself that he would stop Viggo no matter what he did guided him or Berk.


	46. The Longest Day

On an unknown island, a band of Hunters had landed as they were creating a new outpost on the island. Then they notice a wounded dragon on the shore, one that they have not seen before.

It was a medium-sized dragons with iridescent blue and purple scales and wings, as well as light undersides. It had a round head and triangular fin-like spines on its backs and tails, while its feet are armed with long, black claws.

Seen an easy capture the Hunters grab their weapons on the net and started to approach to the wounded dragon.

"What have we here?" said a Hunter.

"Never seen one of these before," a second Hunter said.

It then cried in pain and looked as if it had broken one of its wings, which was lucky for them.

"Relax, little one," said the first Hunter. "We just want to introduce you to our friend Viggo. You're going to love."

Then they heard movement within the bushes and turned and seconds later they screamed as something pounced on them.

* * *

Meanwhile, on Berk, the villagers were very busy with offloading ships and doing farm work. Strangely technically it was the middle of the night, but the sun was still shining.

It was a bizarre phenomenon that happened once every year. The Vikings could not explain it, but somehow the sun shines during the night for about two weeks. Of course this meant that the Vikings could get very little sleep, but also meant that they could get a lot of work done at the same time.

"Hard to believe it's the middle of the night," said Hiccup looking up at the sun.

"I love the Midnight Sun. Confidence sunlight for two weeks," Stoick smiled. "Our most productive time of the year."

"You're in my way," said an angry villager.

"No, you're in my way," said another angry villager.

They turned and saw two villages arguing holding sacked under each arm.

"Aye, for the first week," said Gobber as Stoick made his way to sort it out. "But we're in day eight, when things can start to get a wee bit crazy."

The two villages were now practically kissing as they glared at each other in the eye.

"Are you calling me a liar?"

"Yeah, I'm calling you a liar."

"I've had enough of this," said villager and pushed him back with his stomach.

The villager glared at him and kicked him in the stomach and then drew his sword. Fortunately, Stoick chose that time to show up and grab the blade.

"Hey. All right, you two," he said. "Back to work. We've got a lot of catchin' up to do now that the trade lanes are open again."

Stoick then placed the village's sword onto the weapons rack in Gobber's shop.

"Lack of sleep. It gets to everyone eventually," said Gobber. "Poor Gothi, she's been babbling for days now."

Hiccup turned and saw that Gothi's eyes were wide open and she had written what looked like an entire book in the Plaza.

"Yeah. I can see what you mean," Hiccup nodded.

"And Sven's one-out half his flock on the dance floor," said Gobber pointing.

Hiccup turned and saw that Sven was actually dancing with his sheep and was doing a rather nice tango.

"The lad is pretty normal for him, though," Hiccup pointed out.

"Yeah, you're right," Gobber nodded. "Bad example. Nice move. But lack of sleep gets to us all eventually. Even you young'uns."

"That's why I Astrid and the others back to the Edge to do the simplest job possible. Wash their dragons," he said proudly. "There's no way they could screw that up."

* * *

Unfortunately, Hiccup was quite wrong in that regard. On the Edge, the Riders were suffering from lack of sleep which was proven when Heather ran towards Windshear and toppled over dropping the bucket of water she carried.

"No!" she yelled as she fell.

Windshear managed to capture, but ended up completely soaked and the bucket struck her head.

The twins were watching the spectacle with great intrigue.

"Uh, been trying to wash that dragon all day," said Tuffnut. "Poor thing."

"So tired, she can't see straight," Ruffnut nodded as he scribbled something down in her notebook.

Then Astrid came zooming around and shouting excitedly. She was moving so fast that he almost hit the twins and then landed at the dome spectacularly still screaming excitedly.

"Ah, hello, everyone," she said as he jumped off Stormfly and began dancing around. "What a glorious day to groom our amazing dragons."

"Technically, I think it's night," said Fishlegs as he was giving Meatlug a manicure.

"Well, then what a glorious night," she said stretching her arms with a large smile on her face.

Snotlout gave her a concerned look as he approached her. "What's going on with her? She's not this nice, ever," he said as she danced around.

"Sleep-deprivation," said Ragnar simply.

"He's right," said Tuffnut. "She's suffering uncontrollable euphoria. It's a classic sleep-deprivation symptom."

"And you know this how?" Fishlegs asked rather surprised.

"Uncle Gorstagg," said Tuffnut simply. "He had insomnia for 27 years."

"Yeah, we're experts on the field," said Ruffnut.

"Surely Ragnar is more qualified than you," said Fishlegs.

He then turned around and saw that Ragnar was wandering around and looking at a rock, of all things.

"Look at this rock," he said as he looked at the rock with great intrigue.

"What's up with him?" he asked looking at the twins.

"Lack of concentration, yet another symptom of insomnia," said Tuffnut.

"Very fascinating," said Ruffnut making a note in her notebook.

Fishlegs then looked at both Astrid and Ragnar. "Have you two slept recently?"

Ragnar was so fascinated with the rock that he didn't hear Fishlegs.

"Nope. Not a wink," said Astrid joyously. "But I feel so amazing. It's like I have wings." She then started to flap her arms as if they were wings. "I feel so good. I feel so good!"

She then began jumping around around the dome wrapping her arms as if she was trying to take off. Fishlegs looked at Ragnar, who had finally turned his attention away from, but then was examining a stick.

"Look at this stick," he said as he started to examine it.

Fishlegs looked at the twins. "We're not all gonna get all like this, are we?" he asked.

"Hello. Oh, you're so cute," said Astrid and started to make kissing sounds that he fell face first into the ground. She then rolled on her back and began making snow angels, except without the snow. "Ooh, I love dirt. I love dirt."

"Sleep deprivation is a multifaceted disorder," Tuffnut explained.

"Multifaceted, lots of facets, why array of symptoms," said Ruffnut.

"Yeah, take Heather," said Tuffnut gesturing to Heather, who was having problems with moving. "For her, it's a lack of coordination." Heather gave a confident look an outstretched leg, but then she soon toppled over face first.

"Yup, there she goes. Verdict could be anything from mood swings to complete catatonia, you know, cold ankles. A rash around your neck that extends down your back to your buttocks."

Snotlout was busy brushing down Hookfang, but then suddenly he tossed the brush away began to hug him. "I love you, Hooky. You're my everything. You're the reason my heart beats." He then shot up. "Do you hear that? That's all you." He then began to laugh uncontrollably and then started crying uncontrollably. "I want my mummy."

"Like I said, mood swings," said Tuffnut. "Now, there are other symptoms."

"Uncle Gorstaag. He got totally paranoid," said Ruffnut.

"Really? Paranoid?" said Fishlegs suspiciously. The twins gave him a look. "Why are you all looking at me like that? Don't look at me." He then began to walk away nervously. "There's nothing to see here. Walk away. Walk away. Just walk away."

Ruffnut wrote that in her notebook. "Hmm, could've predicted that one."

"Yeah, still gonna be fun to watch though," said Tuffnut folding his arms.

"Luckily, out Thorston constitution makes us immune."

Tuffnut laughed smugly. "Suckers."

* * *

Meanwhile at Berk, Hiccup was having dinner with his father and he too was suffering from from sleep deprivation. As the two of them aged Toothless lay down and try to get some sleep.

"Dad, I need to talk to you about something," said Hiccup.

"All right. What's on your mind, son?" Stoick asked as he ate.

"I need to borrow the Auxiliary Dragon Riders. I'll have them back before you even know they're gone."

"Is that right?" Stoick asked after taking a stiff drink. "And, uh, why would you need to borrow my A-team?"

Hiccup placed his mug down. "Oh! Well, I just wanna get them turned up, you know, checking on their training."

"Uh-huh. I see," said Stoick sounding unconvinced.

Hiccup then stretched his arms tiredly. "Okay, great, thanks."

Hiccup then got up and woke Toothless up.

"Uh, just one wee little thing, son," said Stoick.

"Um, okay," said Hiccup nervously turning towards him.

"First of all, let me just say, you're a terrible liar."

Hiccup frowned. "I'm not sure I follow."

"Oh, I think you follow. I think you follow me just fine," said Stoick as he cut a piece of meat of chicken. "We both know you want to after Viggo."

Toothless looked between Hiccup and Stoick and was starting to look very nervous with the tension in the room. He then decided that it was probably best to stay out of it and tried to sleep again.

"Okay, let's say I did. Could you blame me?" Hiccup asked. "I mean he didn't just attacked me and the Riders. He went after Berk, after innocent people, Dad. He needs to pay for that."

"Okay, let's say I agree. Let's hear your plan," said Stoick.

"My plan? Simple. Wipe him and his dragon-hunting psychopaths off the face of the Earth. Kaboom!" he yelled.

Stoick continue to eat his meal. "Kaboom, huh? Interestin'. Not many movin' parts, are there? Not much plannin' in your plan."

Hiccup shrugged. "Who needs planning? We have dragons."

Toothless just lifted his head, clearly not liking the plan.

Stoick looked at his son. "So this basically boils down to revenge?"

"See? I knew you'd understand," said Hiccup smiling.

He then was about to make his way to the door, but Stoick coughed. "Hiccup," he said just as he opened the door. He then rose to his feet and placed his hands on the table. "There will be no revenge against Viggo Grimborn."

Hiccup closed the door and turned to face him. "What? What are you mean?" he frowned. "You love revenge. Revenge is your thing. Weren't they going you going to name you Stoick the vindictive before…" He stopped himself and gestured to his stomach. "Well, you know."

"Keep my weight out of this," Stoick warned.

"Look, all I'm saying is if anyone deserves it, Viggo does. And we're the only ones that can exact it."

"Perhaps," said Stoick as he approached his son. "But what comes after that? Viggo's revenge? Then our revenge on his revenge? It's pointless, Hiccup. Trust me. I know."

"Dad, since Viggo has had the Dragon Eye, he's used it to enslave hundreds of dragons, to attack me and the Riders, time and time again," said Hiccup frustratingly. "It has to end. I need to get it back."

"Ah! So it's the Dragon Eye you want," said Stoick nodding as if he finally understood what was eating away at his son.

"Yeah, I guess it is. But a little revenge would go a long way to—"

Stoick stopped him there and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I won't lie to you, Son. A good measure of vengeance can go down a treat." He then chuckled. "I mean, there have been times that I…"

"Uh, Dad?" Hiccup pressed.

Oh, oh, right," said Stoick realising that he loved the conversation to wonder. "But that feeling is short-lived. And the violence only gets worse. So, I agree. We must reclaim the Dragon Eye, but come back to me with a plan to do that, and that alone."

He noticed the look on Hiccup's face as he made his way outside. Clearly he wasn't thrilled that he refused to allow him to exact his vengeance, but he also realised that he was suffering from sleep deprivation.

He then turned to Toothless, who had gotten our band was following Hiccup. "Keep an eye on him, dragon," he ordered.

Toothless then ran off after Hiccup.

* * *

Later that day, Hiccup and Toothless were making their way back to the Edge. Hiccup was still a little annoyed that his father refused to allow him to exact his vengeance upon Viggo.

"And you know what, Toothless? Why am I even askin' for permission?" he said angrily. "It's my war against Viggo. My dad just doesn't understand."

Toothless been hearing this conversation ever since they left Berk and he was starting to get tired of it. He then heard a distant screech in the distance and turned towards it.

"Whoa! What is it, bud?" said Hiccup slightly shot with the sudden turn. He then heard the distant cries of a dragon. "Sounds like a dragon in trouble." He then shook his head. "I must be tired. I almost missed that."

They then dive down towards the island below them and there they saw a wrecked Hunter's longboat. There was also wreckage on the beach as if there was a massive battle, but no sign of the Hunters.

"Dragon Hunters," he said as they landed. "High alert, bud."

Then they saw the wounded dragon just off the shore. Where they were it looked as if it had broken away, but he didn't recognise the species.

"All right, watch my back," he said as he dismounted Toothless.

They started to make their way slowly towards the wounded dragon.

"Hey there, little guy. It's okay," Hiccup assured calmly. "Whatever happened, it's over now. We're here to help you. Is there something wrong with your wing? I'm sure we can fix that."

Then suddenly three more dragons of the same kind jumped out of the bushes and growled at them.

"Uh…" said Hiccup as he slowly backed away.

They then pounced.

Hiccup saw that Toothless was about to fire plasma blast and ducked just in time. "Whoa!"

The blast slammed into one of the dragons which was sent flying towards the other two knocking them down. Then Hiccup noticed the wounded dragon was getting back onto its feet.

"You're not hurt!" he yelled and jumped away just as it tried to take a bite out of him. Toothless then jumped straight towards it. "Whoa, Toothless."

Toothless placed himself between Hiccup and the dragon and growled angrily with his mouth glowing. The dragon quickly backed away and joined its brethren.

"No, bud!" Hiccup yelled running towards him. Toothless automatically stopped what he was doing. "They might just be scared, or defending their friend."

The dragons then retreated back into the bushes clearly not wanting to tangle with Toothless. Toothless then looked at Hiccup and roared at him looking clearly annoyed.

"Thanks for having my back," said Hiccup rubbing the back of his head. "Clearly, my reaction time isn't what it should be."

Hiccup then looked to where they were treated and saw the large mountain in the distance. Toothless growled at him clearly wanting to leave the island.

"Oh, come on. You know we're going after those dragons," said Hiccup. "I mean, we have to help them. So work with me here and keep your eyes open."

Toothless rolled his eyes clearly realising that this was a bad idea and reluctantly followed Hiccup into the forest and towards the mountain.

* * *

Meanwhile, things were this hectic at the Edge, Fishlegs was scrubbing Meatlug, but he spent most of the time looking over his shoulder and even suspicious looks at everyone.

Meatlug growled at him affectionately, but Fishlegs took the meaning rather differently. "You hear that? They're out there and they want to know my dragon knowledge. They're gonna peel my skull open like an onion and extract years of research valuable information."

"Here I come!" Astrid yelled making him jump. "Whoo!"

Astrid was swinging on a rope holding a maze and was going around the dome like a mad lunatic. She then somersaulted and landed on several stack barrels. She then pulled out two more maces out of nowhere and pointed them at everyone.

"All right, people," she said looking at them all seriously. "Time to put those whiny attitudes. We're about to turn those frowns upside down."

She then began to juggle the maces and everyone stared at her without saying a word.

Snotlout then approached her and smiled at her affectionately. "Astrid, you're a miracle, a goddess sent from Valhalla." His expression then suddenly changed and he looked depressed. "Us mere mortals are not worthy to be in your presence." He then fell to his knees. "Not worthy at all."

The twins just watched with fascination as the drama unfolded.

"You can't put a price on entertainment like this," said Tuffnut.

"I mean, you can, but who would want to?" said Ruffnut.

Snotlout then looked at Astrid seriously as if he was her father. "Stop right now, young lady! You'll an eye out."

"See? Mood swings," said Tuffnut.

Snotlout then gave a mischievous look and began shaking the barrels laughing. Naturally this caused Astrid to slip off the barrels and the maces flew up into the air. She then landed right on top of Snotlout, but before the maces could land on top of her, Stormfly fired several spine shots deflecting two of them. The last one landed right on top of Snotlout's helmet.

"Ow!" he groaned.

Astrid then began to laugh hysterically and Snotlout soon joined in and began hitting himself with a mace.

"Thank goodness," he smiled. "Let's all hope we never have to go through that ag—"

He was soon stopped when the two of them got completely soaked by water. They looked at Heather, who had tripped and spilled all the water on top of them.

"Sorry," she said apologetically.

"Why? Why would you do that?" Snotlout whined.

Ragnar then walked up and grabbed one of her buckets. "Ooh, a bucket," he said as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world.

The dragons one another and were clearly getting tired of this craziness.

"Well, looks like they've all gone Gorstaag," said Ruffnut making more notes in her notebook.

"Not all," said Tuffnut as they stood up.

The two of them then looked at each other with smirks.

"Not all, indeed," Ruffnut agreed.

"I you feeling tired, sis? Eyelids getting heavy?" Tuffnut asked folding his arms.

They then slammed their helmets against one another looked at each other directly in the eyes.

"I could stay up for weeks," Ruffnut challenged.

"Me too. Months, in fact."

"Oh, yeah? Looks like it's on."

"I would say, indeed."

Barf and Belch shook their heads and watched as Heather tripped again and spilling more water from her buckets.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup and Toothless were still exploring the island looking for the dragons that ambushed them. Even despite Toothless' protests. Hiccup then saw some broken twigs on the ground and then down to examine.

Then they heard the sound of a dragon close by and Hiccup pulled out his spyglass. He saw the unknown dragons gathering around close by and judging from the way they were moving they wanted them to follow them.

Hiccup held a hand signal up to inform Toothless to move out slowly and quietly. They soon reached the clearing where Hiccup and saw the dragons, but there was no sign of them. He then noticed their footprints and saw that it led to a canyon.

Toothless looked at the canyon and clearly didn't like where this was going.

"Yeah, I know, it's pretty tight," said Hiccup reading his mind. "We better go around it."

They were about to go round the canyon, but Toothless sense something. Seconds later, three of the dragons appeared out of the bushes blocking their escape.

"Oh, what the…" Hiccup groaned. He then realised that he had fallen straight into a trap and that was what Toothless was concerned about. "Okay, so this is what you were worried about. Look, bud. They haven't really done anything."

A few seconds later the dragons then fired several fireballs into the sky which then exploded sending hot molten lava towards them. Toothless quickly rated wing to protect the two of them and then counter-attacked with a plasma blast.

Hiccup noticed that the tree in front of him was burning away from the fireballs they fired. Clearly with some form of lava blast like Meatlug's only lot more refined.

"Now they've done something," he said looking at Toothless.

Seconds later the dragons reappeared and fired at them once again and they jumped back before the fireballs could land on top of them. Then two more jumped out of the bushes joining the three that were already attacking.

"How many of these guys are there?" Hiccup groaned.

They were slowly being backed towards the canyon.

"Looks like the canyon," said Hiccup as they entered the canyon.

They ran as fast they could and they quickly hit behind a rock. Hiccup looked up into the gorge above them, but saw that the trees were too close together to fly out.

"Canopy's too thick to fly out of here," said Hiccup.

He then turned his head around the corner and saw the dragons were entering into the canyon as well. Toothless was about to jump out to engage them when Hiccup stop him.

"No, Toothless," said Hiccup. "Let me try something." He then stepped out and drew Inferno. "Let's see what you guys think of this."

He then ignited the blade and stepped up to the dragons waving it. The dragons looked at it in wonder.

"There you go. Everyone loves the Dragon Blade. See, we're just trying to help you, okay?" he said calmly. They then opened their mouths with the intention to fire at him. "Oh, for the love of… Toothless!"

Toothless then jumped down from his hiding place just that the dragons fire down on top of Hiccup. He slammed into Hiccup knocking him to the ground and shielding him from the fireballs the dragons fired. He then fired a plasma blast straight about them and they scattered.

Unfortunately the plasma blast struck the canyon walls causing a cave in blocking their path outside, but on the bright side hiccup the dragons out as well.

"Sorry, I guess not everyone loves the Dragon Blade," said Hiccup looking at Toothless apologetically.

* * *

Meanwhile on the Edge, the Riders were now suffering greatly from insomnia. Which was proven with Heather who was busy scrubbing a rock thinking that it was Windshear.

"Quick moving, girl," she said in frustration. "You're making this impossible. Stay. Stay."

The real Windshear was actually right behind and was going quite concerned with her Rider. Heather wasn't the only one that was suffering, Fishlegs' paranoia was growing even worse as he was now hiding behind several crates which was proven when Heather turned to face him.

"Fishlegs, can you give me a hand with my dragon?" she asked.

"Hand? What do you mean by that?" he asked suspiciously.

"What do you think I mean?" Heather frowned in confusion.

"What do you think you mean?" Fishlegs asked.

Heather blinked unable to think of a reply. Instead she slowly walked away deciding that she was better off on her own.

"Ha! Exactly," Fishlegs yelled. "Why don't you think on that for a while?"

He then screamed when he heard Snotlout laughing and then suddenly he began crying.

"Aw, come on, Snotlout," said Astrid giving him a hug, which was completely out of character. "Dry those tears. You're too handsome to be crying all the time."

"I am?" said Snotlout looking at her.

Stormfly and Hookfang looked at the two of them with confusion and then looked at one another.

"Of course," said Astrid. She then placed a hand on his cheek. "Now, let's say that Joragenson smile." She then placed her farms on his lips and made a smile. "Come on now. There we go. There's a little granny-grin. There it is."

Ragnar was still walking around looking at anything that he believed to be interesting.

"Look at this mace and that barrel," he said as he looked at everything that was knocked onto the floor earlier. "This is so cool. Oh, look at this piece of wood it's amazing!"

"These guys are ridiculous," said Tuffnut shaking his head. "Now, wait. What was I doing? Oh, yes. Oh." He then began laughing and appear to be chasing something that was completely invisible. "No. Stop it."

It was becoming clear that he would to was now suffering from insomnia as he was seeing things. "That tickles. No. no. Not there. Never there," he said as he ran around the dome and then looked at the dragons. "Hey, don't you just love fruit bats? They're so cuddly. And they're playful and loyal, like flying yak rats. Remember those old things? Adorable. I used to have a flying yak rat when I was a kid. But you have to put in a catapult before a blue and it didn't have wings."

The dragons looked at one another and were now starting to get very concerned with the Riders.

Ruffnut then walked by carrying a boar. She had been spending the past few hours stacking boars on top of Barf and Belch's heads. It was clear that she too was suffering from insomnia as she was losing the reason she had to begin with.

"Now remember, whoever moves first loses and has to fly a lap around the island, backwards, blindfolded, we talked about this," she said looking at the two-headed dragon.

"Fruit bat!" Tuffnut yelled running past.

This startled both Barf and Belch and caused the boars to all and instantly they ran away.

Ruffnut then glared at her brother. "Thanks a lot! You just ruined our game of Yak Stack. You are so obviously losing it from this lack of sleep."

"Oh, yeah? You've already lost it," said Tuffnut turning towards his sister.

"Oh, really? How so?"

"You're playing Stack the Yak, which you play with sheep, not boars," he scoffed and turned his back on her. "So obvious. I'm embarrassed, Ruffnut."

"What about me, Tuffnut?" Ruffnut asked. "Everyone knows that fruit bats don't come out of hibernation until the third day of spring." She then held out to fingers. "It's the first day of spring today! Ergo, you are clearly herding dwarfed split-nosed bats. No wonder they're not listening!"

Barf and Belch looked at the Riders and then to each other clearly getting worried about them.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup and Toothless were still trying to find a way out of the canyon and away from the dragons that have been attacking them.

"All right, let's hold up here," he said panting. "I gotta rest."

They then heard the sound of screeching above them and saw the dragons flying overhead.

"Man, these guys don't give up," Hiccup moaned.

The dragons then dropped a fireball down into the canyon and it bounced off the walls and had finally reached the floor. They quickly ran as quickly as they could and seconds later there was an explosion.

They kept on moving through the canyon hoping to find a way out, but so far they were having very little luck. Until they reach an opening, but found that it led to a ravine with no way out.

"A dead end. Great," Hiccup moaned. He then picked up the ruined helmets and weapons on the ground. "You know, I'm startin' to think the Dragon Hunters were the ones being hunted."

Hiccup then noticed there was a breach on the canopy which meant they could fly out.

"Aha! There's our out, bud. Let's fly," he said as he mounted Toothless.

They then took to the sky, Toothless had a fire plasma blast in order for them to enter the canopy, but they were finally out of the forest.

"We're gonna make it!" Hiccup yelled. Then he noticed the dragons were flying right in front of them. "Maybe not."

The dragons then fired at them and they quickly made evasive manoeuvres to avoid the fireballs which in itself was a tricky thing to do. Then they dived right back into the forest much to the confusion.

"Wait, they're leaving?" Hiccup frowned.

Then they heard a noise behind them and Toothless quickly dive down just in time to avoid getting bitten by a large dragon. It was a large green dragon with wide jaws, body, its wingspan was massive. Its legs also were quite stocky, and it had spaced out triangular spines that run along its back. Its head also slightly resemble a whale's.

It then turned around to face them and sent a powerful sonic blast straight at them. It was almost as powerful as a Thunderdrum, but it was enough to give them a massive earache.

Then the dragons that attack them earlier flew out of the forest and then did something completely bizarre. They attached itself to the large dragon wings until there was five on each wing and judging from the way the mouth going about to fire at them.

"They were herding us towards the big guy the whole time," said Hiccup as they turned around to fly away.

The large dragon began to follow them while the smaller ones began to fire everything they had at Hiccup and Toothless. Of course, with the overwhelming firepower they were firing that was quite tricky to do.

Toothless was having a hard time avoiding the blast and no matter what kind of manoeuvre he did they ended up being blasted. It was only a matter of time before one of them actually knocked Hiccup off Toothless' back.

"Toothless!" Hiccup yelled.

Toothless roared and flew down towards Hiccup, but then was blasted by one of the dragons rendering him unconscious. Now the two of them were falling down towards their death.

"Toothless, come on, it's me!" Hiccup pleaded.

Toothless suddenly regain consciousness in time to catch Hiccup before he landed right into the trees. The two of them then landed on the ground hard as Toothless rolled himself into a ball to protect Hiccup.

Then they saw three of the smaller dragons heading down towards them and Toothless fired a plasma blast at them. He not one aside and then hit the second, but the third managed to avoid being hit and slammed right into Hiccup.

The impact caused the dragon to bounds off him and Toothless used his tale to swat him away into a tree.

"Nice shot, bud," Hiccup smiled.

Then he noticed the large dragon flying overhead and they quickly ran in the opposite direction. As he ran Hiccup noticed they never cavern and saw that it had camouflaged tarp and decided it was probably the safest place on the island they turn towards it.

"In here," said Hiccup.

They made their way inside the cave and Toothless lit a torch illuminating the cavern. That's when they saw crates, work desks and weapons lying around. He then saw a map on the wall and noticed that it had several red x on it.

"This was an observation post," he noted. "They were spying on Berk from here until they ran into those dragons."

Suddenly the cave struck and Hiccup realise that the dragons were trying to find a way inside or else trying to drop the entire ceiling on top of their heads.

He then noticed that Toothless was sniffing a piece of chicken leg. "Looks like they sure left in a hurry," he noted. "Okay, okay, what do we know?"

He grabbed an arrow head. "Big dragon." He then shook his head. "Wait, we gotta call these things something. All right. All right, so what do they do?" He then pointed the owl head towards the map in order to get some inspiration. "They follow, they herd, they shadow. That's it, yes. 'Shadow Wings.' All in favour?"

Hiccup looked at Toothless with his hand raised. Toothless looked at him until Hiccup gave him a gesture, but he didn't raise a single thing.

"Good. It's unanimous," he shrugged. "Now, let's think about this." He then bent down towards the ground. "Okay, the big one isn't as fast as we are all as manoeuvrable. So we have an advantage there." He then placed the owl head onto the ground next to a few others as he made his battle plan. "But even if we have a chance, to get past it, we have to get past ten of the smaller Small Shadows. And they are quicker than we are, plus, they're smarter. And they work as a team." Hiccup facepalmed himself and whimpered slightly. "So how do we beat them?"

Toothless then nudged him and gave him a comforting growl and Hiccup rubbed him beneath the chin.

"You're right. What we need…" He then looked around at the cavern looking for anything useful. "Is a plan."

He then grabbed the map on the wall and then started to get to work.

* * *

It was night now, or as night as it could be during the Midnight Sun and the Riders were starting to get out of control.

"Feeling. I think we should talk about our feelings," said Astrid approaching them. "Our deepest, innermost thoughts. Oh, Ruffnut, you go first."

"Yeah, Ruffnut, you go first," said Ruffnut looking at no one in particular. "Ruffnut? Ruffnut? Go first!"

"I'll go," said Snotlout and cleaned his throat. "When I was young…" His moods suddenly change as he can bear to look at anyone. "Oh, gosh, I can't do this! I'm getting too embarrassed, but I think you get the idea. Right?" He then started to make his way over to Hookfang in order to hide, but he simply fired a fire blast at his feet. "No, no! My friend!"

Fishlegs meanwhile was hiding behind several crates looking at everyone with suspicion. "No, Meatlug," he said looking at his dragon. "If I say something, they'll use it against me. And they'd like that, wouldn't they?" he screamed.

Ragnar was still wandering around unable to concentrate on a single thing.

"Whoa, look at this," said Ragnar as he picked up a piece of wood. He then dropped it and walked towards a brush. "Whoa, this brush is awesome. I have never seen anything so interesting like this in all my life."

Tuffnut was laughing hysterically as he pointed at Ruffnut.

"What's your problem?" she asked.

"No, nothing, nothing," said Tuffnut clutching his chest, because to his eyes Ruffnut looked like a large chicken with blonde hair wearing a Viking helmet. "All good here. I didn't mean to ruffle your feathers." He laughed again unable to control himself. "I mean, look at us. We're all cooped up. I don't know about you but I'm eggasperated! Egg… sasperated!"

Ruffnut then tackled him to the ground and started to punch him.

"Oh! Oh, no. No, stop, stop. It's too much," he laughed as he watch chicken Ruffnut swatting her wings at him. "I can't! I simply can't take it."

"Tuffle feathers. Tuffle feathers," said Ruffnut over and over again as she punched him.

"Feelings. I wanna do here about feelings," said Astrid cheerfully.

Snotlout was walking around looking quite upset and then he heard a wooden beam. "Will you be my friend?" he asked.

"This thing is so cool," said Ragnar as he picked up a jar and gazed at it with intrigue.

"It's a trap, Meatlug," said Fishlegs panicking. "Don't listen to them. This is exactly what they want." He then pointed out the other Riders threateningly. "I'm on to you. I am on to all of you."

The dragons looked at one another and they clearly had enough of this foolishness. Windshear used her tail to lift the wooden boards of the crack in the dome and Astrid and Ragnar approached it.

"This looks fascinating," said Ragnar.

"I love the darkness," Astrid said hugging herself. "It's like a big, fluffy blanket of darkness."

Stormfly and Skull then approached the two of them and nudge them into the crack. Meatlug began to drag Fishlegs towards it as he frantically tried to grab hold of something.

"It's a coup!" he panicked.

Barf and Belch grab the twins and were making their own way towards the crack.

"Don't you mean a coop?" Tuffnut joked. "Chicken coop."

Barf and Belch then dropped them into the crack. Windshear did the same with Heather, who was still holding a bucket. Hookfang had grabbed hold of the wooden beam which Snotlout was hugging and dropped it into the crack.

Once all the Riders were inside they closed the hatch leaving them in darkness.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup was drawing up a plan of attack so that they could escape the island without being killed by either the Shadow Wing or Small Shadows.

"All right," he said turning towards Toothless. "I have no ideas."

Suddenly the cavern shook once again and Toothless sneezed due to the dust. This caused the arrowheads to move in all different directions and that gave Hiccup an idea.

"That's it. Yes!" he yelled and looked at Toothless. "Toothless, you are a genius!"

Toothless looked slightly confused and unsure on what he did.

* * *

Moments later, Hiccup were making his way out of the cavern and he made a run for it. He made his way towards the lake in order to get some water, but this was a ruse in order to get the Small Wings out in the open.

"Come on, I know you guys are out there," he said.

He then took a sip of water and then tossed the jar into a bush, but still there was no sign of the Small Wings. Sadly they had snuck up behind him without him noticing and pounced.

However, this was all part of Hiccup's plan, because next second they found themselves extended into the air by netter trap that Hiccup had made.

"Yes! Ha-ha!" said Hiccup victoriously. "Don't you know the trapper's trap can track the trapper?" He then frowned realising what he just said. "Oh, gods. I must be losing it, I'm quoting Dagur." The dragons were screeching loudly. "That's it, guys. Call for help."

Suddenly there was a loud roar and Hiccup knew instantly that it came from the Shadow Wing and he made a run for it while some Small Shadows chased after him.

He soon turn round the corner and the Small Shadows ran into the cavern leaving that he ran inside. They then saw him amongst the crates and attack him only to find that it was a dummy.

* * *

Hiccup and Toothless were in fact outside and Toothless fired a plasma blast causing the entrance to cave in.

"Six down, four to go," said Hiccup as he mounted Toothless.

They then took to the air and saw the Shadow Wing flying around with the Small Wings attached to its wings with two on each side. The Shadow Wing must have sensed their presence, because it turned around and headed straight towards them.

The Small Wings then fire fireballs directly at them, but this time there were a few of them which meant that Toothless could easily outmanoeuvre them.

"We have to time this just right," said Hiccup as they got closer towards them. The Small Wings tried a few more blasts which they avoided and were preparing to fire another round of attacks. "Now!"

Toothless fired a plasma blast at the same time as the Small Wings on the Shadow Wing's left-wing fired. This caused the fireballs to explode on impact knocking them right of its wing and leaving only two of them left.

They flew over the Shadow Wing, but it struck them with its tail causing them to fly out of control and towards a cliff. Hiccup looked around and saw that the tailfin had been knocked out of alignment and he quickly press down on the stirrup. This caused them to fly along the cliff edge at the last second.

Hiccup saw that the Shadow Wing had turned around and was making its way towards them on their left. The last two Small Shadows detached themselves from its wing and flew towards them. Hiccup saw this pulled Toothless upward so they were climbing vertically and the three dragons behind them followed.

Then the Small Wings grabbed hold of Toothless' wings and no matter how hard he flat he couldn't shake them. This added weight to load Toothless down giving the Shadow Wing a chance to catch up.

"We'll never outrun him like this," said Hiccup. The Shadow Wing opened its mouth nearly biting off Toothless' tail. "Whoa! Give me a second, I'll think of something."

Toothless, however, didn't wait and made a nosedive towards the ground and the Shadow Wing followed them. Toothless was making a nosedive down towards the lake and showed no attention to pulling up.

Hiccup looked down at Toothless. "Toothless, what are you…?"

Toothless then began to spin ferociously knocking the Small Wings off and then fired several plasma blasts straight at the lake. This caused the water to shoot upwards and created a nice bit of cover, but the Shadow Wing was still on his tail and was opening its mouth wide.

"Any time now," said Hiccup.

Toothless then roared so that he could see what was ahead and pulled up just before he hit the water surface. The Shadow Wing wasn't so lucky and went headfirst into the lake.

"I wasn't worried," said Hiccup as he began to fly away from the island. "I knew you had it the whole way." Toothless roared. "Okay. I was a little worried. Let's head home, bud."

They then set course to the Edge leaving the island far behind them.

* * *

When they arrived at the Edge they found that the Riders were nowhere and the dragons were just laying around in the dome. Hiccup also noticed that the place was a mess and the dragons hadn't been washed.

"Where is everybody? And why aren't these dragon's clean?" Hiccup frowned.

The dragons moved away from the hatch and Hiccup lifted it up and saw the Riders inside fast asleep.

"Of course, everyone gets to sleep but me," Hiccup moaned as he heard their snores. "Typical."

Toothless then nudged him and he fell into the crack.

"Hey!" Hiccup yelled. He then filled his eyelids getting heavy. "Thanks, bud."

Toothless then closed the hatch and joined the other dragons as they too fell asleep.


	47. Gold Rush

On the Edge, Hiccup and Toothless were doing some training in the forest which involves zigzagging through the trees and shooting dummies. Sadly one of these dummies, which was made look like Viggo, had a Terrible Terror perched on it and it got quite the surprise when Toothless fired a plasma blast destroying the dummy.

"Sorry about that, little guy," Hiccup called. He then rubbed Toothless affectionately. "Nice shot, bud."

They now started to zigzag across the trees to increase speed.

"Toothless, faster!" Hiccup yelled. Toothless flew as fast as he could through the trees. "That's it, bud. Push it! Push it, you got it!"

They then sored up into the air and then performed a dive.

"Dive!" Hiccup commanded.

They then flew headfirst into the sea and got as deep as they could. Toothless then fired several plasma blasts through the water and then shot out of the water.

"Whoaa!" Hiccup cried. Hiccup rubbed toothless again affectionately. "Nice one, bud."

Toothless then began to shake his scales plain water all across Hiccup.

"Yeah, I… I don't love the water either, but we have to try new moves," said Hiccup. "This'll definitely give us an added element of surprise."

Toothless growled approvingly and they started to head back towards the base.

* * *

At the clubhouse, Ragnar and Heather were facing each other in a game of Maces and Talons. Astrid was overlooking Heather supporting her while Fishlegs and Snotlout were doing the same for Ragnar.

It was now Heather's turn on the board and she was contemplating on her next move. She then moved one of her pieces on the board and it looked as if she was going to win.

"Wait!" Snotlout gasped.

"Oh no," said Fishlegs.

Heather looked at Ragnar confidently with her arms folded, but Ragnar didn't waver. He then moved one of his pieces onto an island blocking her move and shuttled slightly. However, a second later Heather moved one of her pieces into a position that made her win the game.

"Yes!" Astrid cheered.

Ragnar groaned as he facepalmed himself. "Should have seen that coming," he said kicking himself.

"And that makes three in a row," said Astrid smugly as she and Heather bashed armbands.

"She's good," said Fishlegs placing a comforting hand on Ragnar's shoulder.

"I'm filing a grievance," said Snotlout. "This is totally unfair. You manipulated my partner with your big brown eyes."

"They're green," Heather smiled as she fluttered her eyelids at Ragnar.

"Shut up," said Snotlout folding his arms.

At that moment, Hiccup and Toothless entered the clubhouse. Toothless looked incredibly weak no doubt due to all the training they did.

"Well, well, well, look what the Night Fury dragged in," Astrid smiled.

Toothless growled weakly and then collapsed.

Hiccup laughed sarcastically. "Very funny."

"Seriously, Hiccup, you've been pushing it pretty hard lately," said Heather looking at him with concern. "Everyone needs a rest."

"The Midday Sun proved that," said Ragnar.

"Don't remind me," Astrid groaned remembering how she acted during that little period.

"I'll rest when Viggo's gone for good," said Hiccup.

"You wanna hurt Viggo?" said a familiar voice. They turned quickly and saw Dagur leaning against the doorway. "Talk to me."

"Dagur!" Heather gasped.

"I told you I'd be back," he smiled.

* * *

Moments later, Dagur was getting his teeth into some chicken, which was cooked by Heather, and appear to be quite hungry from the way he was eating.

"Oh! Mm! This is good!" he cried. "And cooked to perfection. Mm, just the way I like it."

"Thanks," said Heather.

"So, how are we gonna hurt, Viggo?" Hiccup asked.

"Ha-ha! I should have known it with you, Heather," Dagur smiled as if he hadn't heard Hiccup. "Cooking is in our family's blood. Ooh! I bet you make a wicked Berserker chicken."

Chicken then clucked in panic. "Hey! Watch it!" Tuffnut glared as he comforted Chicken. "Everyone knows that Chicken suffers from rotisserie-phobia. He is afraid of the ole' turn and burn."

"Sorry, Boy-nutt and Chicken-nutt. It's just, we've been out there all alone for so long," said Dagur. "We haven't eaten anything in days. Isn't that right, Shattermaster?"

Shattermaster proved that statement, because he quickly devoured every single block Fishlegs gave him.

"Easy, Shattermaster. Remember your manners," said Dagur pointing the chicken leg at him.

Apparently Shattermaster had eaten so fast that he got indigestion and spewed up some lava.

"Dagur, what about Viggo?" Hiccup asked slamming his fist on the table.

"Yes, of course," said Dagur getting to his feet. "The strangest thing happened while I was out travelling the world in search of Oswald the Agreeable."

Heather's eyes widened. "Wait a minute, you're searching for our father?"

Dagur nodded. "You see, since I didn't kill him, and you didn't kill him, I figured he must be out there, somewhere. So there I was, searching for dear old dad, when I captured the wimpiest Dragon Hunter." He then chuckled slightly. "I mean he was just a little tiny, wimpy…" He then looked at Hiccup. "He was about your size and build."

Hiccup narrowed his eyes.

"No offence," said Dagur quickly. "Anyway, all I had to do was sneer at him and he gave up everything. I mean, I actually had to give him the Berserker chokehold just to shut him up."

"Oh, I love the Berserker chokehold," said Tuffunt. "It one of my favourite choke—" Ruffnut then grabbed his throat and began choking him. "Not that one." She then placed him in a neck hold. "Oh, that's the one."

"So, what did the Hunter say about Viggo?" Hiccup asked.

"I'll tell you if you call me brother," said Dagur. He then turned and gave him a pleading look. "Please? Just once. Please?"

Hiccup remained completely silent.

"Okay, okay. Just a barrel of laughs, aren't you?" Dagur grumbled. "He told me where Viggo hides his gold."

Everyone then stared at Dagur.

"What?" Astrid gasped.

"Whoa," said Tuffnut, who was still in Ruffnut's neck hold.

"And if I remember correctly, some of that gold…" Dagur continued.

"Is Berk's gold," Astrid finished.

"Bingo," said Dagur pointing the chicken leg at her.

"Not to mention gold belonging to anyone else he swindled," Ragnar added.

"And we could get it back and cripple Viggo in one blow," said Hiccup slamming his fist into his palm. "Let's ride."

They all started to make their way out of the clubhouse, but Dagur just stood there with his back towards them.

"Don't forget the best part. After we get your gold back, if you don't mind, I'll take a few bags of Viggo's for myself," said Dagur stopping them in their tracks. He then turned to face them and pulled Heather towards him. "Heather and I need it as we embark on an epic journey to reunite with our father and rebuild the Berserker drive as a family."

Heather chuckled as he free herself from his grip. "Yeah, right, Dagur. I… I think you took one too many to the head."

"I'm serious, Heather. That's why I'm here," he said looking at her.

* * *

A few moments later, they were in the air as Dagur led them to the island where Viggo stashed his gold. Heather was hanging back clearly in deep thought after Dagur's announcement.

"Man, it Heather leaves, she'll take all her great cooking with her," Tuffnut moaned. "I don't know how I'm gonna survive. I don't know if I can survive."

"I'm sure she's not gonna leave," said Fishlegs. "She's one of us, right?"

The twins didn't look so sure.

Astrid then pulled back to fly next to Heather. "Hey. You okay?" she asked.

Heather sighed. "Dagur just assumed I'm gonna drop everything and follow him on some crazy adventure to find our dad. Uh, did even think to ask me first?"

"He's Dagur," Astrid reminded.

"Well, I'm not going," she said firmly. "No way. I'm a Dragon Rider now."

Ashley smiled and the two girls raised their armbands and were about to bash them when Dagur appeared in between standing on top of Shattermaster.

"Berserker and Dragon Riders! May our first mission be successful!" he yelled at the top of his voice. He then began to laugh maniacally.

Ragnar then flew above him. "I think you mean Dragon Rider and one Berserker," he said.

Heather smiled up at him.

"All right, gang, diamond formation," Hiccup ordered as they approached the island. They then flew in formation. "Remember, we're heading into Viggo's domain. Expect the unexpected."

They then began to fly upwards and once they reached the cliffs they saw some ancient ruins much to their surprise.

"What the…" Hiccup gasped.

"Well, there's no one here. Didn't see that one coming," said Snotlout.

They soon landed and began to examine the ruins for any clues one why they were here or where the gold could be.

"Are you absolutely sure this is the right island?" Hiccup asked looking at Dagur.

"Yes, I'm sure," said Dagur. "But Viggo might have moved the gold. He can be slippery."

"He's got a point," said Ragnar. "I didn't exactly expect Viggo to have the gold on display."

"Something doesn't feel right," said Hiccup folding his arms.

"This is an amazing find, Hiccup," said Fishlegs examining the ruins. "Ancient Vikings must have lived here." He then swatted Snotlout's hand away when he placed the hand on the ruins. "No touching. We're not here to destroy history, we're here to find the gold."

"C'mon, Fishlegs. If there was any gold here, this place will be crawling with Viggo's men," Snotlout pointed out.

Hiccup had to agree with Snotlout and then he saw Toothless wondering around sniffing the ground. He made his way over to him and investigated the ground and saw some trodden leaves. He brushed them aside and saw them wheel marks in the ground and looked up to find a trail leading away from the ruins.

* * *

They started to follow the tracks, but suddenly they came to a stop.

"The tracks end here?" said Fishlegs.

Hiccup and Dagur notice a tarpaulin that was clearly covering something.

"I'm not seen any gold. Are you seen any gold? Does anyone see any gold?" Snotlout asked.

"Snotlout, expect the unexpected," said Hiccup.

"You want to do the honours or shall I?" Dagur asked.

Hiccup stepped forward and made his way to the tarpaulin and then removed it. Once it was removed they saw a storehouse of some sort.

"Oh, we're so close, sister. Can you feel it?" said Dagur excitedly. "Once we get the gold are real journey begins."

"Hey, don't get too close, guys," Hiccup warned. "I'm sure Viggo booby-trapped this thing."

"Fear not, my fearless leader, Ruff and I are the best booby-trap sniffers that have ever sniffed out a booby… trap," said Tuffnut.

"Oh. All right. Check the traps. But be careful," said Hiccup.

The twins then jumped off Barf and Belch and crouched down while looking at one another.

"Okay, it's time to out-think the thinker," said Tuffnut. "Watch for the trip lines!"

They quickly bent down and examine the ground, but found nothing.

"Hmm. You think you're so smart, Viggo. Falling axes!" The twins then placed their back against the storage house. "Look around, make sure there's none. Are there?"

"Nothing," said Ruffnut.

"That's because he's gonna kill us with crossbow arrows!"

They then cartwheeled away from the storage house, but there was no sign of any arrows. The other Riders just at the twins as they were starting to realise that the place was not booby-trapped and that they had no idea on what they were doing.

"Still nothing. This guy is tricky," said Ruffnut.

Tuffnut then began to sniff the air. "Wait a second," he said as he smelled something. "I knew it! Stun gas!"

He then collapsed and began to choke, but Ruffnut was perfectly fine because there was no gas.

"Relax. That was just me," said Ruffnut. "Cartwheels give me the vapours."

"Okay, clear out of there," said Hiccup. "I have a better idea."

The twins then made their way away from the storehouse.

"Give it a good one, Bud," said Hiccup looking at Toothless.

Toothless then opened his mouth and by the plasma blast directly at the storehouse, but when the smoke cleared it was perfectly unharmed.

"Oh, what the…" Hiccup moaned. He then sighed. "It must be reinforced."

"You tried your way, Hiccup. Now it's time to do it Berserker style," said Dagur as Shattermaster growled with excitement. He then looked at Heather. "Right, Heather?"

"Berserker style? You may do something crazy?" said Heather raising an eyebrow.

"No. Everyone thinks Berserker means crazy. But what it really means is going full speed. All out, all the time. Total communication to your Berserker brothers and sisters." He then placed a hand on her shoulder. "So, if you wanna know what Berserker style really is? Show 'em our new move, Shattermaster." Shattermaster then started to approach them with a crazy look in his eye. "Shatter scatter."

Shattermaster then took off faster than it was possible for a Gronckle and Dagur performed a Berserker war cry. Shattermaster then spun head over heels and then extended his tail just as he slammed into the storehouse door.

The entire ground shook as Shattermaster knocked the door off its hinges and everyone was knocked off their feet. Shattermaster then emerged out of the dust looking completely unharmed and flew off.

"Not so dragon-proof anymore," Dagur smirked. "Bravo, Shattermaster. That what you call a Berserker Battle Cry." He then punched Heather on the arm she winced in pain. "It comes from deep within. Understand?"

Heather just remain silent.

"You'll get it," Dagur assured her.

Hiccup and Astrid and Ragnar then approached the storehouse and found that it was completely empty.

Astrid sighed. "Well, I guess we're too late. Viggo moved the gold."

"Nothing makes sense," Hiccup frowned. "No guards. No booby-traps."

"You're right, Viggo's not want to leave anything to chance I expected him to at least have a few guards guarding the place," said Ragnar.

Astrid looked at the two of them. "What are you two thinking?"

Hiccup then made his way to a second trail of tracks that were clearly made by a cart and they were quite deep.

"Well, it looks like the cart tracks coming this way, then go off that way," said Hiccup. He then looked at Ragnar. "Rag, look at the depth of the tracks."

Ragnar bent down and examined them. "You're right, these tracks are deeper coming in, and more shallow going out."

"Someone rolled the gold in here, then offloaded it and carried it away by hand," said Hiccup standing up. "So this storehouse is just a decoy. The gold is somewhere else on the island."

"In that case, I say we split up. Cover more ground," Dagur suggested. "Viggo and his men could come at any time. The Berserkers will search the North. The Dragon Riders search the South."

"I'm coming with you guys," said Ragnar.

Hiccup nodded. "Okay. Three heads are better than two. Stay on the ground, send up a signal if you find anything."

"We will," Heather assured.

"Come on, Heather," said Dagur as he guided her away. "While we search for the gold, we'll discuss our future."

Ragnar narrowed his eyes and followed them with Skull close behind.

* * *

They started making their way north and Dagur was spending most of his time talking to Heather.

"Once we get our share of Viggo's gold, we'll head straight towards the sunrise," he said. "I know we shifty little guy in the Eastern Markets who might have some information on Dad."

"Uh. Wait, wait, Dagur. Slow down," said Heather turning towards him. "You know, you barge into my life like a Cavern Crasher ramped up on dragon nip. And just unload all these grand ideas."

Dagur sighed. "I've been out there, Heather, living and surviving on my own. It's a lonely, desolate existence."

"You don't have to tell me," said Heather who knew that feeling all too well.

Ragnar just leaned against Skull with his arms crossed.

"I know I don't. When I realise how hard it must have been for you, all those years, alone, I knew I had to make it right. I mean, sure, I have Shattermaster, you have Windshear, but it's not the same thing as having your family, your fellow Berserkers."

"Maybe you should have thought about that before you sent me adrift," said Heather narrowing her eyes.

Dagur face and places hands on her shoulders. "I don't know how you'll ever forgive me, Heather, were not a day goes by that I don't wish I could take that back. I was young and foolish—"

"And twisted and evil," Heather finished shoving his arms away.

"Okay, I deserve that," Dagur admitted. "But I wanna make it right, once and for all. Don't you see, Heather?" He then gave her a pleading look. "This is my chance, our chance, to rebuild the Berserker's tribe. But we'll only succeed if we do it together, as a family. Just think about it. It's time to go home, sis."

Ragnar just looked at him in silence, he was possibly the only person you have any idea whatever was going through. He lost his family to a family member who was the evil and insane and then he suddenly had a change of heart. Granted he had his friends the entire time, but he was still closer than anyone to understand Heather.

He knew that he couldn't stop her from doing what she wanted to do, but there again he didn't want to lose her.

* * *

Meanwhile the other Riders were south of the island, searching for any clues that would lead them to the gold on the backs of their dragons.

"No, not over here," said Snotlout as Hookfang turned over a rock. "Not here. Whoa! Look at that. It's not over there!"

"Well, at least we know everyone it's not," said Ruffnut.

"Come on guys, we need to find that goal," said Fishlegs.

Astrid looked at Hiccup. "Hiccup…"

"Don't say it," said Hiccup knowing what she was about to say.

"We've looked all over. There's nothing here," she said.

"We have to find that gold, Astrid," said Hiccup firmly. "It will cripple Viggo and get Berk back on its feet."

"Yeah, I want all those things too, but if the gold isn't here—"

"It's here. I'm sure of it. You know, Viggo, everything with him is a trick. I… I just need to out-think him."

That's when they heard voices and turned and saw Dragon Hunters in the distance. One of them was pushing a wheelbarrow which held digging equipment.

"Hunters," said Hiccup.

"Did they bury it?" Astrid frowned.

Hiccup placed a finger to his lips telling her to be quiet. He then made several hand gestures to inform them to follow them carefully.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ragnar and the others were still trying to look for the gold on the north side of the island unaware of the Hunters. They had soon reached the cave and Dagur looked at it.

"That looks like an ideal place to hide something," said Ragnar.

"I've got this, Ragnar," said Dagur. "Sometimes I miss the pleasant zen of a deep, dark cave." He then started to make his way into the cave. "Here, goldie, goldie, goldie, goldie, goldie."

This left Ragnar and Heather completely alone and the two of them looked at each other awkwardly.

"So," Heather began.

"So?" said Ragnar rubbing the back of his head.

The two of them then laughed.

Ragnar then turned and looked at her. "Heather, I know what you're going through. I went through the same thing with Alvin, but we're are your family now, right? I mean, you're a Dragon Rider. We're a team. We need you." He then looked at her slightly embarrassed as he blushed. "But more than that, I need you."

Heather looked at him and slowly their faces grew closer to one another. Then suddenly they heard the sound of wings fluttering and saw Dagur rushing out of the cave with Terrible Terror chasing after him.

"No gold. No gold. No gold," he screamed. "And Terrible Terrors make terrible meditation partners?" He then looked at the two of them. "What'd I miss?"

The two of them just merely looked at one another and chuckled nervously.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup and the others were following the Hunters and were now spying on them through a flower push. They watched as the Hunters tipped the wheelbarrow and they saw the digging tools.

"Why would they bring digging equipment here?" Fishlegs frowned.

"Any thoughts?" Astrid asked looking at Hiccup.

Hiccup just sat there pondering.

Unfortunately, at that point Snotlout sniffed the flowers and was beginning to see. Fortunately, Tuffnut placed a finger over his nose and is stuck to fingers and his sisters knows when she began to sneeze. Sadly not stop him from sneezing which drew the attention of the Hunters.

The Hunters saw them and then quickly made a run for it.

"Let's go, bud," said Hiccup as he mounted Toothless.

Soon the other Riders took up into the sky and began to pull the Hunters, who are running for their lives.

"We got 'em," said Hiccup.

The Hunters then hid behind a pair of trees and then began to laugh and seconds later appeared in front of them capturing Hiccup, Astrid and Fishlegs. Snotlout and the twins came to the rescue only to be captured in a net themselves.

That's when they noticed Dragon Hunter ships on the coast.

"Hiccup?" Astrid groaned.

Hiccup tried to reach for his sword, but Toothless' wave was pressed on him and he was unable to reach it.

"Look what we have here," said a voice. Hiccup looked up and saw Ryker smiling down at them. "The catch of the day."

* * *

Soon the Hunters had placed the riders and their dragons in dragon-proof cages and were transporting them onto the ships. Up on the cliffs Ragnar and the others saw this.

"Not good," said Ragnar.

"Huh. Funny, Hiccup was never that easy to capture when I was chasing him," said Dagur.

Heather pulled out a spyglass to get a better look and that's when she saw Viggo on one of the ships.

"Viggo," she said.

Viggo smiled as the Hunters pulled Hiccup and Toothless aborted his ship and Ryker joined him.

"The gold?" Viggo asked.

"Secure," said Ryker. "And no sign of the other Dragon Riders. I think we should—"

Viggo glared at him. "Don't think. Keep looking. They're out there. And bring Hiccup to my chambers. I'd like to have a word with him."

Ryker growled annoyance, but walked off to follow his orders.

On the cliffs, they watched as the Hunters ships began to move out.

"We can't just sit here," said Heather looking at the others. "We need to rescue them now before Viggo disappears."

"We should save 'em Berserker style," said Dagur. "I have the perfect plan."

"No! Dragon Riders rescue Dragon Riders," said Ragnar firmly. "I have known Hiccup my whole life and he is my best friend, Dagur. We have supported each other since we knew how to crawl and I am not going to abandon him now." He then grabbed Heather's hand and the two of them locked fingers together. "We are doing this my way."

Dagur sniffed. "That was… That was beautiful, man. Just beautiful," he said as he brushed away his tears.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ryker was dragging Hiccup, who was bound, to Viggo's chambers on his ship.

"Please. Sit," said Viggo as he turned round to face him.

"I'll stand," said Hiccup not wanting to give him the satisfaction.

Ryker then pushed him down and drew his blade and placed as close to his throat.

"Forgive my brother," said Viggo as he sat down. "He doesn't understand the concept of savouring victory." Ryker glared at him and released Hiccup and redrew his blade. Viggo then gestured towards the map of the island behind him. "You and your Dragon Riders could have spent months searching that island you'd never find my gold."

"Well, you never know. We might surprise you when you least expect it," said Hiccup.

"Ah, you're referring to your impending rescue? Don't count on it," he said and chuckled sinisterly.

* * *

Meanwhile the other Riders were stuck in the hold with their dragons. The dragon's had cells to themselves and the Riders were stuck in one.

"This is bad, is it bad, this is very bad," Fishlegs whimpered.

Astrid sighed. "There's gotta be a way out of here." She then picked up a bucket of fish. "Okay. Not useful."

"You're wasting your time, Astrid. We're in a cell," said Snotlout "Cells are built to keep people in, not let them out, okay? I'm starting to think you're not as—"

Astrid then grabbed one of the fish and surrounded right into Snotlout's mouth.

"Now it's useful," said Astrid.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ragnar and the others followed the Hunters ships out to sea and were preparing for their attack.

"There they are," said Ragnar. "You two attack the flanking ships. Skull and I would take up the lead vessel. Got it?"

They then dive down towards the ships, except for Dagur, who was sitting cross-legged on Shattermaster meditating.

Heather made her way to the first of the flanking ships and then fired several spines at it before the Hunters time to fire their arrows.

"Dragon Riders!" a Hunter on the lead vessel yelled.

"Let's do this, boy," said Ragnar.

Skull then fired a stream of fire down at the deck.

The Hunters on the flagships then started to attack Heather with their Dragon Root arrows. Heather was doing her best to manoeuvre, but there were so many of them. Dagur then broke out of his meditation and then gave a Berserker battle cry and charge down towards the ships.

The Hunters then began to fire arrows and boulders at him, but he dodged them while still uttering his battlecry and then slammed right into the ship causing it to shake. They then zoomed towards another ship and slammed into that one and then they flew up in time to avoid a boulder aiming towards them.

"Ooh, that was close," Dagur chuckled.

He then performed his battlecry again and charge right down at them.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup was still in Viggo's chambers and they heard the battle going on. As the ship shook and dust fell on top of them.

"Look, there are your friends now, coming to save you," said Viggo not looking worried in the slightest. "Such loyalty. I can hardly keep my own brother focused and on task."

"What are you getting at, Viggo?" Hiccup demanded.

Viggo then got to his feet. "Do you really think after all we've been through, I'd expose myself without some added protection? You're about to get a front row seat for the deaths of your Riders and their dragons."

* * *

Outside the battle was still waging on and Heather fired a blast onto the deck of a flanking ship and Dagur did the same.

"Fire! Fire!" Dagur yelled as Shattermaster fired again and again.

However, when the smoke of the flames expelled they saw that the entire ships were reinforced with dragon-proof metal.

"What?" Ragnar gasped. "Dragon-proof ships?"

The Hunters then fired boulders from their catapults and arrows directly at them. Quickly the three of them gone out of the way just in time.

"Okay. That didn't work," said Dagur looking at the others. "Anyone have any other thought that, you know, I might have mentioned earlier."

"Ragnar, I think maybe, we should try my brother's way," said Heather.

"Your brother?" Ragnar stared in surprise.

"I mean, what do we have to lose?"

"Yeah! Berserker style!" Dagur roared.

Ragnar nodded. "Do it, I'll cover you from above."

A few minutes later, Dagur was riding with Heather on Windshear, because warped in her tail was Shattermaster. The Hunters got prepared to fire at them as they charge straight down towards them.

"You sure this is gonna work?" Heather asked looking at her brother.

"We're doing it together, as brother and sister!" said Dagur. "How can it fail? Flying Shatter Scatter!"

Windshear then tossed Shattermaster with all her strength and he spun straight towards the ships. He then stuck out his tail and slammed right through the hull of one of the ships. The Hunters looked over the ships eyes and saw water entering into the hall that Shattermaster had created.

Dagur laughed as they flew up into the air. "See, Heather! We're a match made in Valhalla!"

Ragnar watched as Dagur yelled in victory and Heather laughed.

"Coming around for another pass," said Heather as Shattermaster flew back up towards them.

* * *

Meanwhile the Riders were inside one of the ship and suddenly shook violently. The Hunter holding the keys to the cells and slid towards the cell whether Riders were trapped in.

"Grab his keys!" Astrid yelled.

Instantly the Riders reached their hands towards the Hunter's belt, but he quickly releases his grip on the cage and slid to the opposite side of the hold.

"Oops," he smirked.

However, he had quite literally branded out of the frying pan and into the fire, because he had slid towards Hookfang's cage and the Monster Nightmare glared down at him. Before he knew he was sent flying by a fire blast and collided with the Riders cage.

The keys flung into the cage and Astrid caught them. "Come on!" she said to the others.

* * *

Meanwhile outside, Heather and Dagur had done quite a lot of damage to the fleet as all but one of the ship was sinking. They then came flying towards Viggo's flagship preparing to deal the final blow.

"Let's finish this, sis. Are you with me?" Dagur asked extending his hand.

Heather grasped his hand and then performed a berserker battlecry.

"Music to my ears, sister!" Dagur yelled.

They then came flying down towards the ocean's surface. "Now Windshear!" Heather yelled.

Windshear then tossed Shattermaster and like many times before Shattermaster extended his tail towards the ship and slammed right through the hull.

"That one's for Oswald!" Dagur yelled.

Heather laughed.

* * *

In Viggo's chambers the entire room shook as Shattermaster went through the ship's hull. Ryker skidded towards the wall and Hiccup slammed right into him which gave them a perfect time to make a run for it. Ryker drew his sword and tossed it at him, but Hiccup rolled out of the way and it impaled the door flame.

Hiccup then ran down the hallway.

* * *

Up in the sky, Ragnar and the others were watching as the Hunter ships were beginning to sink.

"Yeah! We did it!" Heather cheered.

"Now, that is Berserker style," said Dagur. He then laughed and grasped Heather. "I love you, sis."

Heather just merely laughed.

Down on one of the ships the Riders were signed to emerge out of the ship and took off into the sky. Unfortunately, without Hiccup, Toothless was unable to pull them.

Astrid looked down and saw the Hunters surrounding Toothless. "Toothless," she gasped.

Toothless growled at the Hunters at they began to surround him.

Meanwhile, Hiccup managed to get on deck of Viggo's ship and Hunters began to chase after him. He ducked just in time as a Hunter swung his axe at him and then Ryker appeared swinging his sword. Hiccup quickly raised his bonds and the sword sliced right through them.

"Hey, thanks!" said Hiccup as he ran up to the bridge.

He then saw Toothless on the on the opposite ship being surrounded by Hunters. He then saw the Hunters were making their way onto the bridge and he made a jump for Roman began to swing towards the ship.

"Toothless!" Hiccup yelled and release the rope.

Toothless saw Hiccup and knocked the Hunters aside and jumped after him. The two of them then landed in the water and Ryker and the Hunters looked over the side of the ship to find any signs of them, but there was nothing.

Then they saw the water glowing purple and bubbles rushing to the surface. Next second, there was a huge explosion as the plasma blast launch out of the water knocking them all back and Toothless sored up into the air with Hiccup on his back.

"Yes!" Astrid cheered.

Viggo soon made his way on deck to join his brother and watched as the Riders flew away from the sinking ships.

* * *

The Riders soon returned to the island and made their way towards the ruins, because Hiccup finally worked out where the gold was being kept.

"How did you figure out where the gold is?" Astrid asked.

"A few things tipped me off," said Hiccup. "First, the tractor leading to the storehouse didn't makes sense. Then the Hunters had shovels and pickaxes, like they were building something. But ultimately, Viggo gave it away himself, when he pointed to the map of the island over his desk. There weren't any Viking ruins on Viggo's map." He then turned to Toothless. "Hit it, bud."

Toothless then fired a plasma blast that the ruins and the stone was chipped away to reveal the ruins were in fact gold monuments.

"Genius," said Fishlegs.

"That Viggo is very cunning," said Ragnar.

"It was hiding in plain sight all along," said Astrid.

Toothless purred and Hiccup gave him a good rub. "Thanks, bud."

* * *

Later that afternoon, the Riders were getting the gold onto carts ready for moving, but Ragnar and Heather were looking over the cliff at the sunset.

"I have to go," said Heather.

"I know," said Ragnar expecting this.

"He can't do it without me."

"And you need to find out about your family. Your heritage," Ragnar nodded. The two of them then grabbed each other's hand and looked at one another. "Believe me, I know the feeling. You've been looking for a home since the first day I met you, Heather. And maybe this is, finally, your chance to find it. Just know that we will always…" Ragnar stopped himself. "I will always be here for you."

Heather smiled at him and then kissed him upon the lips. The two of them then hugged one another and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you," she said into his ear.

Dagur then approached him and extended his hand to Ragnar. "She'll be safe with me," he promised.

Ragnar then grasped his hand and shook. "She better be," he said giving him a threatening look.

Dagur nodded.

Heather then mounted Windshear and turned as Hiccup and Astrid approached her.

"Be safe out there," said Astrid and the two of them tapped armbands.

"Let us know if you find Oswald," said Hiccup.

"I will," Heather promised. "And thanks, Hiccup. For everything."

They then watch as she and Dagur took off and wave them goodbye.

"Until we meet again, Dragon Riders," Dagur waved back.

They then flew into the sunset and the two of them gave out a berserker battlecry.

Astrid then looked at Ragnar and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, she'll be back," she assured.

He nodded and they watched as he disappeared into the distance.


	48. Out of the Frying Pan

It was a nice peaceful day on the Edge and Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs were busy thinking up ways to modify Hiccup's blade. They had pulled out designs of the prototype adding changes here and there and discussing to one another in what can only be described as another language.

Fishlegs was looking over several designs. "Well, by my calculations, guys, for Inferno to ignite in those kinds of wind conditions, it would require—"

"An additional half jar of Monstrous Nightmare gel," Hiccup finished.

"Precisely!" Fishlegs nodded.

"We should also think about adding a canister full of Zippleback gas," said Ragnar as he looked through notes. "It could help with both training dragons and within combat."

"Exactly my thinking," Fishlegs nodded.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, guys?" Hiccup asked.

"Build a new handle to hold twice as much gel and a gas canister," the three of them said in unison.

"Of course," said Fishlegs rushing over to the board. "Now, what gauge cylinder will we use? My brain says ten, but my heart says 13…"

Astrid landed and saw the three boys speaking their own language and shook her head. "That's a language, we'll never understand, girl," she said looking at Stormfly.

"Yeah," said Ruffnut as she and her brother appeared. "You know, we too have a language that you will never understand."

"This is news?" said Astrid with a raised eyebrow.

"No, seriously," said Tuffnut. "We created our own secret twin language."

"Yeah, just in case we ever got caught and needed communicate in code," said Ruffnut.

"Okay, I know I'm gonna regret asking this, but what exactly is the secret language of yours?" Astrid asked.

"It's complex, so try and follow along with their pretty little head of yours. Ello-hay Uffnut-Ray," he said turning towards his sister and snorting after each word like a pig. "

"Ello-hay, Uffny-Tay," said Ruffnut doing exactly the same.

"We call it Boar Latin!" said Tuffnut as he and his sister extended their hands out dramatically.

Astrid just looked unimpressed.

"Yeah. Genius, right?" said Ruffnut snorting. "Oh, wait, uh… En-ius, light-ray?"

"Can you believe it only took us 11 years to come up with that?" said Tuffnut. "I mean, 15 with research and development."

"What's with all the snorting?" Astrid frowned.

"Uh, hello? It's called 'Boar Latin.' Uh, boar," he said and snorting.

"Yeah, heard of it? Can't have the Latin without the boar. Then it'll just be Latin," said Ruffnut as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Duh. Everyone speaks Latin these days."

"Ummy-day," Tuffnut snorted

"Erk-jay," Ruffnut snorted back.

"Hey, just for the record, I can understand everything you guys are saying," Astrid called out.

Snotlout then landed near the clubhouse and overheard Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs talking inside.

"That's ingenious, Hiccup," said Fishlegs.

"It certainly changes the entire design," Ragnar agreed.

"I wouldn't have thought of it if you had suggested Changewing acid," said Hiccup.

"Uh, I come back for patrol for this?" Snotlout groaned. "'Oh, you're so smart, Hiccup,'" he said imitating Fishlegs. "'Oh, no, actually you're the smartest, Fishlegs,'" he said imitating Hiccup. "'I think you're both really smart,'" he said imitating Ragnar. "'Oh, you're so pretty,'" he said imitating Fishlegs yet again. "Oh, actually you're so pretty,'" he said imitating Hiccup again. "'I think you're both pretty. Let's hug,'" he said imitating Ragnar again.

"Ah! Ook-lay," Tuffnut snorted.

Snotlout looked at Astrid confused. "Uh, what was that?"

"Boar Latin. I'll explain later," said Astrid as a Terrible Terror approached them.

"Terror mail," said Hiccup noticing the message strapped to its leg. He then bent down to remove it. "We'll continue this discussion later, guys." He then looked at the note and read it. "Huh?"

"What is it?" Fishlegs asked.

"Urgent message from the Defenders of the Wing," said Hiccup. "Mala needs help."

They didn't waste any time and started to fly towards the Defenders island.

"All right, gang. Fan out and keep your eyes peeled," said Hiccup. "We have no idea what we're flying into."

* * *

They soon flew down towards the village and almost instantly the villages began cheering as they approached. They soon landed in front of Mala and Throk at the base of the statue of the Great Protector.

"Hiccup Haddock, thanks the ancients, you received a message," said Mala looking relieved.

"Mala. Throk. What happened? Is it Hunters?" Hiccup asked.

"No. Something much worse," said Mala.

She then took them to a podium where they saw a dragon egg surrounded by flames.

Tuffnut laughed. "This would appear to be egg-mergency. While some might say 'emergency egg-may,' he snorted.

Mala looked at Astrid in confusion. "Has something happened to Tuffnut?"

"Nope. This is pretty much a daily thing," she said.

"Just ignore the twins, everyone else does," said Ragnar.

Fishlegs stared at the egg. "Is that—"

"An Eruptodon egg," Hiccup finished.

"Unlike other dragons, Eruptodons only produce a single egg in their lifetimes," Mala explained. "Our tribe has been waiting generations for our Great Protector to have an heir. And now, it has finally happened."

"So, this should be a time for celebration, shouldn't it?" Fishlegs asked.

They look at the Defenders and saw the grim-looking faces on them.

"If it were that simple," said Mala.

"An Eruptodon egg can only hatch under very special conditions," Throk explained.

"The dragon is born of flame and its egg requires a life-giving lava of its ancestral nesting site, a cabin deep inside the Grand Volcano," said Mala.

"So, what are you doin' out here?" Hiccup asked.

Mala and Throk gave them very grim expressions.

* * *

A few moments later they led them to the volcano and found the Eruptodon and they discovered that she was very weak. She was lying down on her side and looked as if she was in great pain.

"Easy, girl. It's all right," said Throk comforting her.

"See if there's anything I can do to help," said Ragnar as he pulled out his medical kit. "How did she get like this?"

"The birth weakened are already aged Great Protector, so much so that she cannot fly to the sacred site," said Mala.

"We were able to spare the egg, but without the proper nesting, it will not hatch," said Throk peeling away from the Eruptodon.

Mala then made her way to the edge of the volcano which was starting to overflow with rather and that's when they noticed a small cave inside it.

"Our only option is the transport the egg ourselves before the lava rises and floods the cavern," Mala explained gesturing to the cave.

"Whoa!" Tuffnut stared transfixed.

Suddenly there was an explosion as lava shot out revealing how treacherous the journey would be. The explosion almost scorched Mala and the twins if they had pulled back in time, though Tuffnut's dreadlocks got a bit singed. Ruffnut quickly licked her fingers and placed them over the small flame on his dreadlocks.

"The future of our entire civilisation rests on this egg's survival," said Mala. "If it fails to hatch, the Great Protector will not have heir. And if there is no Eruptodon to eat the lava from the volcano, the island and our tribe is doomed."

"Mala, we will deliver that egg into the volcano," Hiccup promised.

Snotlout then pushed his way through Hiccup and Fishlegs and looked at him with a nervous laugh. "When you say 'we will,' you actually mean 'you will,' right?" Hiccup and Fishlegs just narrow their eyes at him. "Okay, great. Check you later."

Hiccup and Fishlegs looked at one another and nodded.

"By the looks of the lava, we have a small window, but it should be just enough time to get in and get out," said Fishlegs.

"Exactly," Hiccup nodded. "You thinking what I'm thinking, Fishlegs?"

Snotlout looked as if he was gonna throw up. "Here it comes. Another Hicclegs lovefest. The only consolation is that Ragnar isn't joining in."

"I heard that," said Ragnar.

"I'll fly the egg down," they said in unison.

Everyone gasped and stared at the two of them.

"Okay, I did not see that one coming," said Ragnar.

"Uh, Hiccup, I think you mean I should fly the egg down, because Gronckles are accustomed to lava," said Fishlegs.

"Well, that's true, yeah, but a Night Fury has the distinct speed advantage, don't you think?" Hiccup asked.

Snotlout looked at Ragnar. "Aren't you going to join in?"

Ragnar looked at him with his arms crossed. "My places here to help the Eruptodon. Besides, Skull is far too big he would never be able to fit into that small caven."

Hiccup and Fishlegs just stared at one another and Mala stepped forward.

"Gentlemen. Time is waning," she said. She then looked at Hiccup. "Hiccup Haddock and the Night Fury will fly the egg to the cavern."

"Right. Yes. Okay," Hiccup nodded.

Fishlegs didn't seem to like that idea and narrowed his eyes.

Astrid was still bewildered. "What just happened?"

"I have no idea, but Hicclegs just got very interesting," said Snotlout.

"And very dangerous," said Ragnar. "If those two aren't in sync it could be disastrous."

Astrid looked at him. "Is there anything you can do?"

Ragnar shook his head. "I'm afraid this is something that they have the sort out for themselves. Let's just hope it doesn't result in the destruction of the Defenders of the Wing."

* * *

Moments later, Mala and Throk were giving Hiccup some Defender of the Wing armour for his descendant of the volcano.

"Our armour is coated with a layer of heat-resistant Eruptodon lava," Mala explained.

"Ugh," said Hiccup looking at the armour.

"It should help protect against the effects of the volcano," Throk assured.

"And, speaking of heat…" said Hiccup as he approached Toothless. He then pulled out the tailfin which was black with green flames painted on it. "Gronckle Iron tailfin."

He then attached it to Toothless and saw that Fishlegs was looking a little left out. He then watched as Fishlegs walked away whistling with his hands behind his back.

Hiccup then approached him. "Uh, Fishlegs, look—"

Throk then appeared in front of him. "The sacred cavern is located on the south side of the volcano's interior. May the spirit of our fallen warriors guide your wings, Hiccup Haddock."

Hiccup then mounted Toothless. "Okay, uh, I guess all I need now is the egg."

"The egg is my responsibility. I'm going with you," said Mala as she approached him with the egg in a saddle around her shoulders.

"My queen, let me go instead," Throk offered.

Mala placed a hand on his shoulder. "No, Throk. A queen must always be always be willing to risk her life for her people.

She then climbed onto Toothless' back and Throk went down on one knee. Mala nodded and grasped Hiccup's shoulders as they rushed towards the volcano. Toothless then jumped into the air and spun before diving into the volcano.

Throk and the other Riders looked over the edge with great concern. Toothless was making his way down towards the lava and heading towards the cavern, but the heat from the lava was quite strong.

"Come on. Keep going, bud," said Hiccup groaning at the heat.

Suddenly there was another explosion and lava shot out from the volcano and Toothless had do some crazy manoeuvres to avoid getting hit.

"Down there," Mala pointed.

"I see it," said Hiccup. "Toothless, wing right."

They weren't far from the cavern, but suddenly there was an explosion of lava shooting out right in front of them and Toothless had barely enough time to turn. He managed to avoid Hiccup and Mala getting hit from the lava, but sadly the same cannot be said for his tailfin.

"What is happening, Hiccup?" Mala asked as they were making their way back up.

"If that tail gives out, the three of us and the egg are done for," said Hiccup.

They managed to exit the volcano just before Toothless' tailfin gave out. Unfortunately, the landing was not perfect and Hiccup was thrown off and Toothless and Mala rolled towards where Ragnar was treating the Eruptodon.

"My queen," said Throk rushing towards her.

"You all right?" Ragnar asked as he and Throk helped her up.

"Hiccup, what happened?" Astrid asked.

"Quickly. Replace the Night Fury's tail. You must go back," said Throk.

"I don't have another one," said Hiccup. "I guess I could try to make one out of—"

"No. There's no time," said Mala.

She then open up the saddle and saw that there was something wrong with the egg.

"Oh, no," said Fishlegs.

"It doesn't look healthy," said Ragnar.

"I feared this would happen," said Mala. "The egg has spent too much time outside the nesting site. It requires the life-giving lava. And if it isn't delivered soon, it will become hard as stone. Then…"

"Then, what?" Hiccup asked.

"It will never hatch. And it will die," Throk finished.

The Riders looked at one another and realised the situation was far more serious than the originally thought.

* * *

Back at the village, Mala was trying to reassure her people as they were growing quite concerned. At the same time they were trying to keep the egg warm in order to delay its demise.

"There is no need for panic. We must stay calm." she said calmly trying to convince himself more than anyone.

She then turned and saw the Eruptodon toppling over looking quite exhausted.

"I've managed to keep her strength up, but it won't last long," said Ragnar.

"These herbs will help regain her strength, Ragnar Keatson," said Throk handing him the herbs.

"Looks like ol' Throk might be a little 'cray-cray,'" said Snotlout laughing and snorting.

The twins then rushed over towards him, much to his surprise.

"Wow! I had no idea you spoke our language," said Tuffnut.

"Rother-say," Ruffnut snorted.

The two of them then laughed.

Snotlout just stared at the two of them. "What?"

Mala could tell that the Eruptodon was in great pain despite Ragnar's best attempts to heal her. The crowd was also growing concerned and were beginning to panic.

"Fear not," said Mala. "The egg will be delivered into the Great Volcano as promised." She then gestured to the egg which was on the flaming podium again.

Hiccup then looked at Fishlegs. "Hey, uh, Fishlegs, look, about earlier—"

"Yeah, earlier. Right. Weird," Fishlegs nodded.

"So weird."

The two of them looked at each other awkwardly.

"Well, I thought we could put our heads together again and see if we can come up with a solution for Mala," said Hiccup. "She really needs us."

"Yes. I agree," Fishlegs nodded.

"Great. Great. Yeah, well, I've been giving a lot of thought," said Hiccup rubbing the back of his head.

"Me, too."

"Perfect."

"Then you must be thinking what I'm thinking, right? Scaled down the cliff."

"Submerged the egg in a lava bath," said Fishlegs at the same time.

Astrid and Ragnar just sighed in exasperation.

"Lava bath? Oh, come on," said Hiccup in disbelief. "We can never manufacture its temperature. Lava cools."

"Scaled down the cliff?" Fishlegs shook his head. "Were you being serious about that?

"Well, what do you think I'm—"

"Hey, guys, remember earlier when you both agreed Gronckles were good in lava conditions?" Astrid interrupted.

Ragnar nodded. "The fact of the matter is we need to get the egg into its sacred site and the only way to get down there is by dragon."

Astrid looked at Hiccup. "Maybe Fislhegs and Meatlug should give it a try? You know, Eruptodon, Gronckels, both Boulder Class," she said as Fishlegs nodded smugly behind her. "Hey, we tried it your way. Why not just—"

"Excellent idea," said Mala. "We leave at once."

Throk then guided Fishlegs away from them and Mala made her way towards the egg which was starting to look a lot rockier.

"Come, Hiccup Haddock. We don't know what we'll find and may need your help.

* * *

Moments later they were back at the volcano and the three of them were on top of Meatlug. Both Hiccup and Fishlegs were wearing Defender armour.

They slowly began to descend into the volcano and were making their way slowly towards the cavern. Meatlug was able to avoid getting hit by the explosions erupting within the volcano.

"We are nearing the sacred nesting site," said Mala.

"Okay, girl. Take us home," said Fishlegs.

They started to make their way towards the cavern very slowly.

"Can't do this Gronckle fly any faster?" Mala asked.

Meatlug then came to a sudden stop.

"Fishlegs, why are you stopping?" Hiccup asked.

That's when they saw a that the explosion erupted right in front of them, Meatlug must somehow sense it and stopped to avoid them getting hit. What it died down they flew back towards the cavern.

"Impressive," said Mala looking up at Hiccup.

"Okay, girl, let's go," said Fishlegs as the entered the cavern.

Hiccup then pulled out the lantern to guide their way and they appear to be flying down a tunnel, but unknown to them something was following them in the dark.

"We must transport the egg to the end of these caverns before the lava floods in," said Mala. "Quickly."

Fishlegs then got Meatlug to fly as fast as she could and the three of them was aware that they were being followed by a group of small dragons with glowing red eyes.

* * *

Outside, Astrid was starting to grow concern has a lava was nearly reaching the cavern and there was no sign of them. It also didn't help that the twins were talking to Snotlout in Boar Latin.

"Rother-bay Notlout-say e-way elocome-way ou-way," Tuffnut snorted.

Snotlout was starting to get very annoyed. "For the millionth time, you two, I don't understand anything you've been saying for the last three hours!" he yelled.

"Shh. It's okay, Boar Brother Snotlout," said Ruffnut calmly.

"Don't," he said as he clenched his fists.

"No need to hide your proud roots," said Ruffnut placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Please stop."

"You're among our Boar Latin family now."

Snotlout screamed as he clutched his head and ran away.

"Or should we say, 'amilay-fay,'" Tuffnut snorted.

"Okay, that lava is getting a little too close to the entrance," said Astrid worriedly.

"Not to worry, Astrid Hofferson," said Throk as he and Ragnar joined her. "Queen Mala knows this volcano better than anyone on the island."

"At least you're Great Protector is gaining strength," said Ragnar as he watched the Eruptodon licking over a pull of lava. He then looked down into the volcano. "Though I must admit I'm starting to get worried about them."

"They've been down there for a long time," Astrid noted.

Throk looked over the edge and grew concerned well. "Yes. The lava is rising quickly. They should've returned by now."

"The problem is we don't know how deep these caverns are," said Ragnar. "They could stretch to the far side of the island for all we know."

"That settles it. We're going in," said Astrid.

Toothless and Stormfly gave her concerned growls.

Next second, another explosion erupted from the volcano and they quickly backed away from the edge.

"I agree," said Throk. "But how? Those explosions are too dangerous and getting worse."

"None of our dragons will be able to fly down there," said Ragnar grimly.

"If we just had a way to get down safely without dragons," said Astrid.

"Actually, we might have a 'lan-pay,'" said Tuffnut snorting and nudging Snotlout with his elbow.

Ruffnut then snorted on his face and Snotlout practically screamed and rubbed his temple.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup and the others were making their way down the cavern which appeared to be endless. Mala open the saddle and saw that the egg was almost rock-hard now.

"We'll make it," Hiccup assured placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Uh, hey, you guys, one of those?" Fishlegs asked.

They soon came to a stop and jumped off Meatlug. They approached the wall and Hiccup shone the land over to reveal cave drawings. Showed the picture of several defenders holding spears which were pointing at an Eruptodon on a podium. Above that there was pictures of a dragon that looked awful lot like a Night Terror.

"Whoa!" Fishlegs stared.

"There was a time when the tribe elders would climb into these caverns and sacrifice themselves for the greater good of the tribe," said Mala.

"Right, right, right, right. But, what are these figures?" Fishlegs asked point at the dragon images.

"I have never seen those before," Mala frowned.

"Uh, the egg? We should keep moving," said Hiccup.

That's when they heard the sounds of distant roars coming down the tunnel they just came from.

"Um, what was that?" Fishlegs asked nervously.

"Uh, I'm not sure," said Hiccup.

They then heard the sound of wings flapping down the tunnel and Hiccup held up the lamp.

"Please tell me those aren't bats," Fishlegs begged.

"Yeah, they're definitely not bats," said Hiccup realising what they were.

Soon flying down the tunnel were a pack of red scaled Night Terrors with glowing red eyes. Fishlegs screamed as they flew around them like a flock of bats.

"Guard the egg!" Hiccup yelled.

They also got around one another in order to guard the egg, but then one of them knocked the land right out of Hiccup's hand.

"This must have been what the carvings was trying to warn about," said Hiccup.

"But there's too many of them," said Fishlegs as they swooped down over their heads. "They're as relentless as Speed Stingers so we should probably…" Hiccup then drew _Inferno_ and ignited it. "Not exactly what I had in mind."

"I'll direct them while you and Meatlug get Mala and the egg to safety," said Hiccup.

Hiccup began to wave _Inferno_ in front of the Night Terrors in the hopes to fight them off. Unfortunately, one of the Night Terrors appear to be absorbing the fire into its mouth until there was no more flame to eat.

"Hiccup, these dragons eat fire," said Fishlegs.

"Fishlegs, that is abundantly clear," Hiccup snapped.

The Night Terrors then began to fire several shots down at them.

"No!" Mala's voice yelled down the tunnel.

"Mala!" Hiccup gasped.

He grabbed the lamp they ran down the tunnel to find that the Night Terrors were trying to take the egg away from Mala.

"Stay away," she said as she tried to shove them away.

"They outnumber her three to one," said Fishlegs.

"Then we need to even up the odds," said Hiccup as they ran towards her.

Suddenly a group of Night Terror blocked their path.

"Ah, now what?" Hiccup moaned.

"I don't know. I thought you had the idea," said Fishlegs.

Meatlug then appeared out of nowhere shove them aside and slammed right into the Night Terrors. She then ran towards Mala as the Night Terrors began to surround her. Unfortunately, before she could assist her a group of the Night Terrors fired several shots at her blocking her path. Two Night Terrors now a firm hold over Mala's satchel and they were playing tug-of-war with it.

"Hiccup Haddock. No!" Mala yelled as they began to drag her away. "Fishlegs Ingerman."

"We'll never make it to her in time," said Fishlegs looking at Hiccup.

Then the two of them saw Meatlug and looked at one another with a smile.

"Meatlug, roll!" Fishlegs yelled.

"Meatlug, fly!" Hiccup yelled at the same time.

They then stared at each other and Meatlug looked at them with confusion. The Night Terrors then fired several more shot at her and Mala was starting to lose her grip on the satchel.

"Stop!" she yelled. Then the Night Terrors took the egg from the statue and began to fly away with it. Mala then began to run after them. "No!"

* * *

Meanwhile, outside, Astrid and the others watched as the twins returned from Berk with the now repaired Diving Bell that Hiccup used to free the Submaripper.

"The Diving Bell," Snotlout stared at them in disbelief. "That was your big 'Ian-pay'? You flew all the way to Berk for a big hunk of metal to dangle over fire? Why not bring back a frying pan?" He then looked at Astrid and Ragnar. "How 'umb-day' are they?" he said as he laughed and snorted.

"It's uncanny," said Tuffnut. "There's no trace of an accent."

"The talk so elegantly, he must at least a quarter boar," said Ruffnut.

"Maybe two-fifths. He is hairy in strange places."

"Hey!" Snotlout glared.

Throk was busy examining the Diving Bell. "Actually, I believe this could work. If we were to invert it, and then coated in Eruptodon saliva. It won't last long but should be enough to reach the cavern, find them and raise them to safety."

"Then we best get to work," said Ragnar.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup and the others were riding on top of Meatlug began hunting for the Night Terrors. They soon reached a fork and came to a stop and they began to decide which way to go.

"Oh, great, now what?" Hiccup moaned.

"Which direction?" said Mala frantically.

"Left," said Hiccup.

"Right," said Fishlegs at the same time.

They then stared at one another as they started to realise they were no longer in sync.

"Oh, gods," Hiccup moaned.

"What is going on with us?" Fishlegs stared. "I wish Ragnar was here, he could at least be a tiebreaker."

"We're just not thinking," said Hiccup. "We need to clear our heads."

"Right, right. Good idea," Fishlegs nodded.

They then took some deep breaths.

"Right," said Hiccup.

"Left?" said Fishlegs at the same time.

The two of them then groaned.

"Oh, maybe we're cursed," said Fishlegs moaned.

"No," said Hiccup firmly. "There is a perfectly logical explanation for what's happened. Of course, I can't think of it right now."

"Mala, what direction do you think?" Fishlegs asked.

That's when they noticed that Mala was no longer with them. No doubt she grew tired of their disagreements and went off on her own.

"Hiccup, Where's Mala?" Fishlegs asked.

They then quickly look down the two tunnels.

"Mala!" Hiccup yelled.

"She snuck off down the corridors," said Fishlegs.

The two of them then went down the corridors in different directions and Meatlug too were starting to go annoyed.

"Mala!" Hiccup yelled.

"Mala!" Fishlegs yelled.

* * *

Meanwhile on the surface of the volcano, Ragnar and Throk had finished modifying the Diving Bell. They had removed the legs and replace them with a handle which was attached to a chain held by Barf and Belch and they also coated in Eruptodon saliva.

"That should do it," said Ragnar as Astrid and Throk climbed in. "Though I don't know how long it will last."

"Hopefully long enough," said Throk.

"Okay, Barf and Belch, take us in," said Astrid.

Barf and Belch began to lift the Diving Bell and then started to fly down slowly to the volcano. It in take them long to witness an explosion, but thankfully the Eruptodon protected them.

"Grace of the ancestors. The Eruptodon saliva worked," said Throk.

"Yes. But we need to move faster," said Astrid.

"Guys, let's pick up the 'ac-pay,'" Tuffnut snorted at Barf and Belch.

Unfortunately unknown to any of them the chain that connected the Diving Bell to Barf and Belch was beginning to glow red hot due to the heat of the lava. In their haste to coat the Diving Bell, Ragnar and Throk I completely forgot to do the same to the chain.

Soon they were level with the cavern and they notice that the lava was almost to its edge.

"They made it," Ruffnut laughed.

"Great. Time for the big swing," said Tuffnut.

They then began to swing the Diving Bell so that it would be close enough for Astrid and Throk to jump to the ledge of the cavern. Unfortunately, just before they were about to jump the chain snapped and they landed in the lava.

Fortunately the Eruptodon saliva was protecting the Diving Bell from melting, but it would be only a matter of time before the saliva evaporated.

"Not good," said Ragnar and quickly mounted on Toothless. "Let's go, Toothless."

Ragnar placed his leg in the stirrup and activated his tailfin. Toothless then jumped down into the volcano with Stormfly close behind.

"Don't worry, guys, we're coming," said Ragnar.

Unfortunately an explosion appeared right in front making it a lot harder for them to do the rescue.

"This isn't good," said Ragnar.

Suddenly an explosion appeared right in front of them nearly hitting Stormfly, who had to fly back up to the surface and Ragnar and Toothless followed her.

"Great, the rescuers now need rescuing," Ragnar moaned. He then looked down at Toothless. "I don't suppose you've got any ideas?"

Toothless no idea he flew around the mouth of the volcano see no possible means to rescue Astrid and Throk.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup and Fishlegs had finally decided on a route to take were flying down its on top of Meatlug.

"Mala! Mala!" they yelled.

"I must offend the gods, Hiccup," Fishlegs groaned. "That's why we're being punished. I should never have taken Odin's name in vain. Never!"

"Oh, come on, Fishlegs. That has nothing to do with this," said Hiccup. Then Hiccup noticed Mala's silhouette in the distance. "There, you see, our fortunes are finally changing for the better."

Mala notice their approach. "Leave me. This is my duty. My people."

Hiccup jumped off Meatlug and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Mala, you don't know what they're capable of."

Then they heard the sound of distant screeches and saw the Night Terrors blocking their path. They quickly pulled Mala behind cover.

"Unhand me. I command you," she said glaring at Hiccup.

"Sacrificing yourself won't do anyone any good," said Hiccup pulling his hand away.

"Hiccup, look," said Fishlegs pointed.

Hiccup looked over from their cover and saw the egg with three Night Terrors surrounding it. They appear to be examining the egg poking and prodding

"Are they frustrated at not being able to crack the shell, or something else?" Fishlegs asked.

"Not sure, but it doesn't seem predatory," said Hiccup. Suddenly the entire cavern shook and Hiccup got an idea and looked at Fishlegs. "Wait, Fishlegs, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"You know, I think I actually am!" Fishlegs beamed.

"There is no more time for indecision," said Mala as she stood up.

"Mala…" Mala then ran up towards the Night Terrors and instantly they flew off with the egg. "Oh, for the love of Odi—" He then quickly covered up his mouth.

Hiccup stared at him. "Seriously?"

"Sorry. I really gotta work on that."

* * *

Meanwhile, outside, Astrid and Throk were starting to be cooked inside the Diving Bell and Ragnar on the others could think of a way to save them.

"Th…Th… Throk. So tired," said Astrid weakly.

She then fainted back to the heat and Throk caught her.

"Don't close your eyes, Astrid," he yelled shaking her awake. "We must stay awake for Hiccup Haddock and Queen Mala."

"Hi… Hi… Hiccup," said Astrid weakly barely able to keep her eyes open.

If the heat wasn't bad enough the Eruptodon saliva was beginning to evaporate meaning there was only a matter of time before the Diving Bell melted away.

* * *

Meanwhile in the cavern, Mala was still chasing after the Night Terrors and had finally caught up with them.

"That is the Egg of the Great Protector. I command you. Return it," she demanded.

The Night Terrors then turned around to fly down another tunnel, but Hiccup and Fishlegs appeared blocking them. Mala then grabbed the egg and tore it away from them, but soon she found herself surrounded by angry Night Terrors. To make matters worse the cavern began to shake more violently.

"Mala, give us the egg," said Hiccup.

"Absolutely not," said Mala furiously.

"We have a plan," said Fishlegs.

"Do you?" said Mala sceptically.

"We do," said Hiccup. "And I think you should hear us out on this one. Those dragons won't let you pass, but we have a way to get the egg through to the nesting place."

"Trust us, Mala," said Fishlegs.

Hiccup then held out his hand just as the cavern shook once again. Mala was rather reluctant, but he finally gave the egg to Hiccup. The Night Terrors then started to make their way towards him and Mala watched wondering what they were going to do. Hiccup then held up the egg into the air and the Night Terrors flew up into the air.

"Hiccup Haddock, what are you doing?" Mala cried.

"They don't want to harm the egg," said Hiccup. "They're not predators, okay? They're here to help the Eruptodon eggs reach their sacred nesting place."

"Yeah. Those cave drawings weren't a warning from your ancestors," said Fishlegs. "They were historic records, instructions."

The Night Terrors then took the egg and flew down the cavern and Mala watched speechless.

"Their attacks were to keep us humans from damaging the egg," Hiccup explained. Suddenly the cavern shook even more violently than before. "We have to go. Now."

* * *

A few moments later they were riding on top of Meatlug heading back towards the entrance and that's when they discover that lava was flowing into the cavern. As they flew Mala watched as the Night Terrors carried the egg away and hoped Hiccup and Fishlegs were right.

The larva was starting to rise even more quickly than before and the heat was immense.

"Ooh. This is gonna be close," said Fishlegs. "Give us all you got, girl!"

Hiccup saw that they were almost to the entrance, but the lava had almost completely covered it.

"Come on," he said as they got closer and closer until finally they flew out of the cavern. "Yes!"

They then started to head back towards the mouth of the volcano unaware that Astrid and Throk were trapped in the lava itself.

"Hey!" Ragnar yelled.

"Down there! Look behind you!" Snotlout yelled pointing.

They turned around and to their horror they saw Astrid and Throk in the Diving Bell being cooked.

"Hiccup, there in the lava!" Fishlegs pointed.

"Let's go, Fishlegs," said Hiccup.

"Right there with you, Hiccup," said Fislhegs.

They then flew down towards them and Throk handed them a very dehydrated Astrid. Meatlug was now struggling to hold the weight of the four of them.

"Come on, Throk," said Hiccup extending his hand.

Throk reached out for Hiccup, but then an explosion almost burning their hands off. Fortunately, they were able to back away in time, but Throk could tell that there was no way for them to rescue him.

"Go!" he yelled. "That Gronckle clearly cannot hold us all. My mission was to get my queen to safety."

Mala looked at Throk speechless, but then then they noted a large shadow appearing over them.

"By the ancients," Throk stared as he was lifted up into the air.

"By the ancients," Mala agreed.

Flying above them was the now fully healed Eruptodon, who had grabbed the chain of the Diving Bell and was lifting Throk to safety. Meatlug then followed her as they entered the mouth of the volcano with everyone alive and well.

* * *

Once Ragnar checked everyone to make sure they were all alright, Hiccup made his way over to Toothless and gave him an affectionate hug. He then joined Mala at the edge of the volcano.

"The egg is in good hands, Mala," Hiccup assured her.

"Exactly what I was going to say," said Fishlegs.

The two of them laughed and joined Ragnar as he laughed as well.

"It's nice to see things are finally back to normal," said Astrid, who was holding a cup of water.

"Whatevs. I sort of like the new Hicclegs without the Rag. The other kind is 'otally-tay' oring.'" Snotlout snorting.

"A true master linguist," said Tuffnut.

Hookfang growled approvingly.

"You said it 'Ookfang-Hay,'" Tuffnut snorted.

Soon the Riders were flying back towards the Edge leaving the Defenders island far behind. Unknown to anyone deep within the chambers lava was flowing into a secret chamber where the Eruptodon sat on a podium and was guarded by the Night Terrors.

Lava flooded into the chamber and began to cover the egg and he was totally submerged in lava and a small heartbeat could be heard from within its shell. With their work now complete the Night Terrors flew towards the hole within the ceiling until the next time they are needed again.


	49. Twintuition

It was a nice peaceful day on the Edge and the Riders were doing some experiments with dragon-proof chains. They had a dragon-proof chain wrapped around two blocks and were having their dragons' fire at it in the hopes to find its melting point.

"Now!" Hiccup yelled.

The dragons then fired several shots at the chain. Once the smoke dispelled, Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs went to examine it.

"Anything?" Astrid asked.

Hiccup placed a finger on it, but the chain was cold and he sighed. "Nothing. It's not even hot."

"Huh. That combination of blast just isn't enough to melt the chain," said Fishlegs.

"Well we'll just have to to experiment a bit more until we find the right combination," said Ragnar.

"Um, hello, why are we not just using Changewing acid? We know that works. Duh!" said Snotlout.

"Oh. Thanks for volunteering to milk Changewing for us," Astrid smiled.

Snotlout laughed sarcastically. "Funny, Astrid." Hookfang did a dragon's equivalent of a chuckle much to his annoyance. "It's not that funny, pal. Let's remember who fills your ball." Hookfang responded by setting his pants on fire. Snotlout glared at him. "Hookfang!"

"Look we're not going always have Changewing acid on hand, Snotlout," said Hiccup.

"Plus, as Astrid pointed out, getting acid for me Changewing is extremely difficult," Ragnar added.

"That's why we have to find the right combination of dragon fire to get through these chains."

"I think we just need more of our dragons' fire," said Fishlegs.

Hiccup nodded and approached Toothless. "Okay, bud, here we go. One more time. Toothless, go." Toothless fired a plasma blast. "Hookfang. Skull." Hookfang and Skull both fired their fire attacks at the chain. "Barf, Belch."

However, Barf and Belch didn't fire, because they were fast asleep. Also there Riders didn't seem to be paying much attention either as they were laying down next to their dragon.

"Hello? Hi? Are you gonna help or not?" Snotlout asked.

"No, Snotlout, we're not," said Tuffnut. "Because as usual, Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs are overthinking everything."

"In delicate matters such as these, logic and reason can only go so far," said Ruffnut as the two of them got to their feet.

"You have to trust your instincts."

"Follow your gut."

"You have to have the right inspiration."

"In other words, you must have…"

"Twintuition," they said in unison.

"'Twintuition.' What are you talking about?" Astrid asked.

"Ah! We knew you were gonna say that," said Tuffnut. "You know why? Because of our…"

"Twintuition," they said in unison again.

"Yes, it's the direct precision of truth, fact, and insight, completely independent of any reasoning process or logic that we could possibly come up with," he said as he made movements with his fingers staring at them cross eyed.

"It really is the solution to any problem," Ruffnut nodded. She then looked at her brother. "Shall we?"

"We shall. Thanks to the power of our twintuition, we will break the chain."

Then Tuffnut began running towards the chain and Ruffnut picked up Macey before throwing it to him. Tuffnut caught her without even looking and then with a yell he jumped into the air and slammed her down upon the chain.

The Riders looked up as Tuffnut put on a proud face and cracked his back.

"Oh, yeah," he said. The Riders just gave him blank looks. "What?" He then turned around and saw the chain was completely unharmed. "Oh, come on! Okay, Macey, let's try this one more…"

However when he picked Macey up, he discovered, to his horror, that he had cracked her causing her to fall off the handle. He quickly picked up the broken mace and stared at it in horror.

"Macey? Macey! Can you hear me?" he said he pleaded. "Say something. Say something. Oh, Thor. What have I done?" He then looked up into the heavens. "These chains!"

* * *

It was late at night and Tuffnut was still upset about what happened to Macey. He was beneath his bed holding the broken parts of Macey tightly and crying his eyes out. Naturally this meant that Ruffnut couldn't get any sleep.

"What's going on? What are you doing?" she asked looking beneath her bed.

"I don't deserve the comfort of a warm bed or soft pillows on which to lay my head," he cried as he laid his head down onto the floor. "My body must suffer on this cold, splintery floor of despair. It's not even that splintery. Oh, no, no."

Chicken then walked up and began to peck at the floor creating a few splinters.

"Thanks, Chicken," said Tuffnut as he rested his head against the splinters. "I need those extra splinties."

"Oh, brother," Ruffnut moaned as she rested her head on her bed.

* * *

Hiccup was having a nice peaceful dream when he was suddenly awoken by Ruffnut's yells.

"Hiccup, get up! It's an emergency!" he yelled.

She then tossed Tuffnut, who was still holding the broken pieces of Macey, into his hut.

"What? What? What is it? Hunters?" Hiccup asked as he rushed down the steps brushing away the sleep in his eyes.

He then saw Tuffnut holding the broken pieces of Macey.

"Oh, no!" Tuffnut cried.

"Oh, you know what? I'm going back to bed," he said.

"Please. Please, Hiccup. You're the only one who can fix," Tuffnut begged. "I can't live without my Macey."

Ruffnut groaned. "Ugh! See what I'm dealing with?"

"Tuff, I'm not going to fix your mace in the middle of the night. The forge isn't lit and Meatlug's sleeping," said Hiccup.

"Hiccup! You don't understand," said Tuffnut looking up at him with a pleading look. "I can't wait. I can't live without Macey. She completes me. Look at her, broken, alone. She needs emergency care. Right now!" He then stopped and think. "Wait, wouldn't that be great if there was a place like that? Where you could go any time day or night, and you would be provided with the best medical care available?"

"Forget it," Ruffnut scoffed. "You'd die waiting in line."

"True," Tuffnut nodded and looked back at Hiccup with a pleading look. "Hiccup, what say you? Will you save my Macey?"

"Tuff, if it's that urgent, fly to Berk. Gobber would be happy to fix it," said Hiccup.

"Wait, all the way back to Berk?" Tuffnut stared.

"Hey, what about the Northern Markets?" Ruffnut offered.

Tuffnut lit up. "That's a great idea, sis. They're way closer."

"They're also way too dangerous," Hiccup added and gave them a firm look. "You're not going to the Northern Markets. They are crawling with Dragon Hunters. Do you hear me?"

The twins just as there in silence.

Hiccup then looked at Toothless. "Come on, bud."

The two of them then made their way back to bed, but did notice the grins on the twins and they head-butted one another.

* * *

A few moments later, they were on Barf and Belch heading to the Northern Markets cheering and singing. They soon flew past Snotlout, who merely just shook his head.

"What muttonheads," he said.

* * *

It was morning when they reached the Northern Markets and they landed on the outskirts of the village. After they left Barf and Belch into the forest they made their way to the nearest iron mason and presented him with Macey.

"Hmm. This is Gronckle Iron," he said examining it.

"You know it," said Ruffnut as Tuffnut paced up and down.

"I've never seen a Hunter carrying a Gronckle Iron mace before," he said looking at them suspiciously.

"Um…" said Tuffnut. He then looked to his sister and they got the same idea and head-butted one another. "That's because it's a Dragon Rider mace."

"Yeah. We took it from a Rider," Ruffnut nodded.

"The skinny one with the squeaky voice and the metal leg and the tousled brown hair," said Tuffnut.

"Yeah, then we broke it over his head," said Ruffnut. "You know, we want it for our trophy wall."

The mason chuckled. "Impressive."

He then got up and made his way out of the tent and the twins smiled at one another.

"Twintuition," Tuffnut whispered.

"Hey! We've got two heroes in here," said the mason's voice much to their horror. "They took out a Dragon Rider. No, check that. They took out 'the' Dragon Rider."

Suddenly the twins found themselves surrounded by Hunters.

* * *

Meanwhile unaware that the twins were in trouble, Hiccup and the other Riders were still experimenting on the dragon-proof chains.

Toothless, Stormfly, Skull and Meatlug fired their fire attacks at the chains. Once they were done Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs made his way over to examine them.

Fishlegs placed a finger on it and quickly pulled it away as the metal was red hot. "Ow," he said and placed his finger in his mouth.

Astrid winced at his pain.

"Finally, we're getting somewhere," said Hiccup as Snotlout landed.

"Yeah, with Ruff and Tuff and their twintuition on Berk, it's much easier to make progress," Fishlegs agreed.

"They went to Berk?" said Snotlout. "Ha-ha, those dummies. When I saw 'em, they were going north, the exact opposite direction. So, unless the world is round, they're never gonna make it."

Hiccup realised what they had done. "Oh, for the love of—" He then rushed over to Toothless. "They're gonna get themselves killed."

He then took off and the other Riders quickly followed him.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tuffnut was trying to make of the story on how they acquired the mace and took out the Dragon Rider.

"Ignoring the pain, I wrapped my hands around the Dragon Rider's throat and admired his tousled brown hair, and then I squeezed his neck like it was a turkey's neck!" he said as he did hand gestures.

The Hunters then cheered.

The iron mason then appeared with Macy. "One Gronckle Iron mace, good as new," he said places on the table.

"But then his dragon came at me. Oh! That this is Night Fury was black as my boots, and had eyes that glowed like the harvest moon," Tuffnut continued. "But when I held out a fist full of eels, he ran off like a little baby!" Ruffnut then noticed that one of the hunters left and then saw that Macey was gone. "Night Fury? They should call it Fright Fury!"

The Hunters cheered and Ruffnut saw a Hunter leaving the tent with Macey in his hands.

"Tuff, he took Macey," she said grabbing her brother.

"Hey. Wait a minute. Macey," he yelled and they ran out of the tent.

They quickly ran after the Hunter through the market, but lost sight of him for a brief moment. Then Tuffnut saw him heading down to the port where Hunter ships were docked. They quickly ran after him, when he was already getting aboard and the two guards stopped them from getting on.

"No. Mm-mmm, where do you think you're going?" one of them asked.

The twins looked at one another and head-butted each other. They then jumped the guard before they realise what was going on and placed on their helmets.

"Twintuition!" they said in unison.

They then rushed on board the ship and followed the Hunter down below deck. They then stood straight and made their way down the corridor.

"Nice haircut. Viking Cuts?" Tuffnut asked as they walked by a Hunter. "You working hard, or hard… Is it hard to work?"

They then ran after the Hunter when he realised he was heading to the captain's quarters, but got there too late.

"Ah, foiled again," Tuffnut groaned. "All right, we're marching in there and taking back what is ours. We will not stop until Macey is home." Ruffnut then heard voices above as Tuffnut began to kick down the door. "I'm gonna kick open that door and I'm going to—"

"Tuff, do you feel that?" Ruffnut asked as he felt the deck moved.

"You mean a burning sense of purpose?" he asked looking at her. "Absolutely. The unwavering resolve to turn my Macey—"

Ruffnut then grabbed and pulled him over towards a window. "No, no, no. None of that. The boat, it's moving," she said as they saw the land moving further and further away from them.

"And that, my friend, is not good," said Tuffnut. "Not good at all."

* * *

A few hours later the ship finally docked, at Hunter Island. They continue to fall the Viking was holding Macey and then saw something that made her eyes widened.

"Whoa," Ruffnut breathed.

"Woha, cool!" said Tuffnut.

The Hunters were in some sort of dock and billed what looked like a giant ship made of dragon-proof metal.

"My fellow Hunters," said Viggo's voice.

The twins looked up and saw Viggo himself looking down at the Hunters working on the ship. They looked at one another and nodded and started to merge with in the crowd.

"In the very near future, the Dragon Riders will be but a distant memory," Viggo continued. The Hunters cheered and the twins joined in. "However, time is unfortunately not on our side. Thud, it is imperative that we complete Project Shellfire in a timely manner. Only then will we reclaim the seas and shores that by rights belong to us!"

The Hunters cheered yet again even louder and then Ryker giving them all and angry look.

"All right, now get back to work!" he ordered.

The hunters began to dispel going their separate ways. Ruffnut quickly realised they had stumbled on something big and dangerous.

"Project Shellfire. Sounds important," said Ruffnut looking at her brother.

"No wonder they stole Macey," said Tuffnut. "Something this big would need one big, valuable, beautiful mace."

Ruffnut rolled her eyes realising the seriousness of the situation. "I think this is bigger than Macey, bro."

Tuffnut quickly glared at her. "Bite your tongue," he snapped. "Nothing is bigger than Macey. Macey?" He then looked around for the Hunter and then saw him walking off with Macey.

Tuffnut was about to go after him, Ruffnut stopped him. "Tuff!" she said removing her helmet. "I know this is gonna be hard for you to hear, but I need you to hear it, so I'm just gonna say it. There comes a time in every Viking's life when they must give up the thing they love the most."

Tuffnut removed his helmet and narrowed his eyes at her. "Stick out your tongue."

Confused, Ruffnut stuck it out and Tuffnut promptly flicked it with his finger.

"Ow!" she yelled rubbing it. "Now you may not be able to handle the truth, but here it is. There are other maces in the armoury."

"Oh! How could you?" Tuffnut gasped with a look of betrayal.

Ruffnut placed a hand on his shoulder. "And you'll find one as good as Macey. Maybe even better. Mace technology has come so far!"

"Gods! No, no," Tuffnut sobbed. He then turned his back on her. "We better split up. You see, I have work to do, and that work doesn't involve a mace hater." He then placed his helmet back on and began to chase the Hunter. "Oh, Gods, no."

* * *

Meanwhile at the Northern Markets, the other Riders began to interrogate the iron mason that worked on Macey.

"Twins? What twins?" he asked.

Astrid looked at Stormfly. "Stormfly? Jog his memory."

Stormfly then approached him and wrapped her tail around his ankle and lifted him up upside down.

"Oh, oh! Yes, yes, yes, the twin Dragon Hunters that wanted a Gronckle Iron mace repaired," he said fearfully.

The Riders just stared at him.

"Dragon Hunters?" Fishlegs stared.

"Well they said they broke the mace over Dragon Rider's head," said the mason. "You know, the one with the high voice and the one leg."

Snotlout laughed. "Oh, wow. Wonder who that could be," he said looking at Hiccup.

"Where did they go?" Hiccup asked.

"I have no id—" He then screamed when Barf and Belch appeared placing their heads right next to him. "Viggo's recalled all his Hunters to a secret island base. No one knows where it is."

Hiccup then pushed past Snotlout and Astrid. "Huh. See, I think you do."

The mason whimpered. "Oh, but if I tell you, I'll lose my life. Not to mention my business."

The dragons then gave him a threatening growl.

"You can either die today or tomorrow, it's your choice," said Ragnar.

The mason whimpered.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Hunter Island, Tuffnut was still following the Hunter, who was carrying Macey. He began pushing past other Hunters and then saw the Hunter placing her down on some crates.

Seeing this as his perfect opportunity he is behind the crates and waited for the opportunity to grab Macey while he wasn't looking. He was just about to grab her, but then Viggo pulled it out.

"Where did you get this mace?" he asked the Hunter.

He then looked at Tuffnut, who quickly grabbed a plate with some leftover food and then hit behind the crates. Viggo then turned his attention back onto the Hunter suspiciously.

"I took it from a Dragon Rider I defeated," he said with a smile. Viggo didn't looked convinced and Hunter whimpered slightly. "Uh. I'm sorry. You're right. I stole it from two Hunters who took it from a Dragon Rider."

"Which two Hunters?" Viggo asked.

"A pair of twins with blonde hair. Both really skinny guys. Or I suppose they could have been girls," he said nervously.

"My goodness!" Tuffnut gasped quietly with a girlish voice.

Viggo no doubt realised who these Hunters were and shoved the mace back to the Hunter. He then made his way over to Ryker.

"Project Shellfire has been infiltrated. We must be on high alert," he said. He then turned and looked at the Hunters close by. "Search the camp for the Dragon Riders and bring them to me."

"You heard the man. This way," Ryker ordered.

They then walked off with a couple of Hunters following close behind. The Hunter was amazed then ran off and Tuffnut follow him.

* * *

It was late at night and Ruffnut was pretending to work on Project Shellfire so she could learn more about it. She then noticed Ryker walking by with several Hunters.

"By the Dragon Riders," he ordered as they climbed down the ladder.

Ruffnut soon realise that her disguise would soon be breached and started to make her way down the ladders. Unfortunately, she collided with Ryker.

"You! See anything suspicious?" he asked.

"No, I haven't seen anything," he said trying to mask her voice.

She was then about to leave, but Ryker grabbed her and several Hunters pulled out their weapons. He then removed her helmet and smiled when she saw her face.

"Well, well, well. Viggo's been looking for you," he said. Then he and Anne another hunter grabbed her arms and carried her away. "Come on."

* * *

Ruffnut was soon taken to Viggo's tent and was forced to sit down at his desk.

"This is the only Rider we found," said Ryker.

"Can I offer you anything? Some refreshments?" Viggo asked as civil as possible.

Ruffnut just folded her arms and remained silent.

Viggo then began to pour a drink of water. "I believe congratulations are in order. You successively infiltrated Project Shellfire." He then presented her with a drink. "Hiccup must be so proud." He then poured himself a drink. "Of course, your Gronckle Iron mace didn't do you any favours, now, did it? But let us put all that in the past, shall we? I'm there to reward you handsomely."

"Oh, yeah? For what? And how handsome are we talking?" Ruffnut asked.

"Well, that depends on you, and the quality of information you're willing to provide," said Viggo as he sipped a drink. "When are Hiccup and the others going to attack?"

"Hmm, tonight. They attack tonight," said Ruffnut."

Viggo looked up at Ryker. "Now you see, brother, I told you she would be reasonable. Move the elite guard into—"

"Oh, no, wait. No, he attacked tomorrow," said Ruffnut. "Yeah. No! Next week? No, wait, that's not right. I'm not very good with dates. What d—"

Ryker then knocked her drink aside then glared at her. "Don't toy with us, girl."

Viggo got to his feet and drew his sword pointing it at her throat.

"Take your best shot, pal," she said without showing fear.

Viggo lowered his sword. "Oh, no. I have a better plan for you."

* * *

Meanwhile, Tuffnut was still trying to require his stolen mace and had followed the Hunter to where they kept their supplies. He then turned round the corner, but lost sight of him.

"How goes the project?" said a voice.

"Better than I expected. They followed these plans perfectly," said a second voice.

Tuffnut quickly hit behind some crates and saw Hunter holding Macey talking to another Hunter holding apartment in his hand. Tuffnut could only assume that they were blueprints for Project Shellfire.

"Once we're finished, the Riders will burn and their dragons will be the torches," the Hunter continued.

The two Hunters laughed and then went their separate ways. Tuffnut looked at the Hunter carrying Macey then to the Hunter holding the plans and felt himself being torn.

"Is she right? Is this bigger than Macey?" he wondered. He looked at Macey and knew what he had to do. "I think it is." He sighed. "Can you ever forgive me, Macey? It has to be done."

He then began to fall the Hunter with the plans and watched as the entered the tent. When the Hunter came out he laid against the couple of barrels acting casually. The Hunter looked at him and he clicked his tongue and pointed his finger at him.

The Hunter side and walked off and then he entered the tent. He then saw they plans on a desk and quickly opens them up.

"Oh, my Thor. This is big. This is ups… It's upside down," He then turned it and it was rightly up, but the change in perspective didn't change how bad it was. "Whoa. This is huge."

"Our scouts reported that Hiccup and the Dragon Riders are approaching from the south," said Ryker's voice.

Tuffnut quickly hit behind a barrel just as Viggo and Ryker appeared.

"Just as I suspected. Put the twin girl in place," Viggo ordered as they walked away.

"Ruffnut!" Tuffnut gasped.

He quickly ran to the edge of the dry dock and could tell the Hunters were prepping for something.

"It's nearly time," said a Hunter. "Everybody into position."

Tuffnut then soon ran over the scaffolding as the Hunters began to leave and ran on top of the constructed ship. He looked over the edge and then saw to his horror that Ruffnut was tired to a pole and had two Hunters guarding her.

Ruffnut attempted to free herself from the ropes, but they were far too tight. She then had the strangest feeling that Tuffnut was close by.

"Twintuition?" she said.

Then suddenly a hammer flew out of nowhere knocking one Hunters down. Ruffnut then saw her brother swinging down towards them on a rope.

"Tuff!" she yelled.

Tuffnut then came swinging screaming and slammed into the last of the guards. He then rushed over to Tuffnut in order to untie the ropes, but more Hunters were making their way towards them.

"You gotta get out of here," she said.

"I'm not leaving you," he said firmly as he attempted to undo the ropes.

"Tuff! You have to run," she yelled.

"No. I'm staying," he said stubbornly.

"Please!" she pleaded. "You can't save me if you're tied up with me."

Tuffnut then looked as one of the Hunters came charging towards him with an axe.

"Actually, sis, that's a good point," he said and then ran towards one of the ladder.

He quickly began to climb in the Hunter followed him. Once you reach the platform jumped off the platform above him. He then quickly jumped and grabbed the rope and began to swing to safety and the two Hunters lost their balance and fell off the platform.

Tuffnut climbed onto the constructed ship and ran as a Hunter chased after him. Ruffnut could only watch and hope that he managed to escape as the Hunter holding Macey began chasing after him as well.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup and the others were not far away from the island.

"We get Ruff and Tuff out of there as quickly as we can," said Hiccup.

"Hiccup's what's going on over there?" Astrid asked pointing.

As they flew over the island they saw torches being lit and dry dock with the ship under construction.

"Whatever it is, I bet it's the twins' fault," said Hiccup.

They then dive down towards the island.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tuffnut was running through the forest with the Hunters chasing after him. He narrowly missed being skewered by an axe which was tossed by one of the Hunters.

Tuffnut then picked up a stone and tossed it over his head which slammed into a Hunter knocking him out cold. This only let the Hunter holding Macey, but Tuffnut soon realise that he had reached the edge of a cliff.

He looked at the Hunter and realise that he was trapped, he then began looking for anything that he could use as a weapon, but saw nothing. He then charged towards the Hunter with his fists raised, but the Hunter merely hit him with his own mace.

Tuffnut felt the ground and sword chickens spinning around his head. He managed to focus enough to see the Hunter approaching him with Macey raised.

"Macey!" Tuffnut gasped. "What they say is true. If you love something, let it go free. Someday, perhaps it will return."

He then took off his helmet and tossed it at the Hunter knocking him out cold. He then retrieved Macey from him just as other Hunters appeared out of the forest. Tuffnut glared at them and breathed heavily and then yelled at the top of his voice.

The Hunters looked at each other nearly shut before meeting their weapons.

"I have two favourite things, yak jerky and kicking butt!" Tuffnut yelled. "And I don't have any yak jerky with me."

He then charged at them and yelling with Macey raised. The Hunters were prepared to fight, but then dropped their weapons almost instantly and ran away.

"Hey, I gotta remember that line. It really works," said Tuffnut as he chased after them.

In actual fact the Hunters were running away from Hiccup and the other Dragon Riders as they flew over the island. Because the forest was so dense and it was so dark they didn't realise that Tuffnut was running directly below them.

Tuffnut then saw them fly overhead. "Hey. Save some Dragon Hunters for me," he said. He then quickly looked at Macey. "Sorry, Macey. For us."

He then chased after them screaming.

* * *

Viggo was looking through his spyglass and saw the Riders approach. He then turned to his brother.

"Open the gates," he ordered.

Ryker then turn towards the man on the gates and signalled him. The man then pulled down on the lever activating the mechanism and the gates began to open. Almost instantly water began to rush in which was very unfortunate for Ruffnut, who was till tired to a pole.

"So this is your great plan, huh?" she said looking up at Viggo and Ryker. She then watched as the water began to rise. "It actually not that bad. Uh, kind of gruesome."

Snotlout and Meatlug soon appeared and saw her immediately.

"Oh, there. That's Ruffnut," Fishlegs pointed.

"They're gonna go to drown her," said Snotlout.

Hunters then appeared and fired several arrows at them and they quickly avoided them. The other Dragon Riders soon appeared.

"Snotlout, Fishlegs, you get Ruff out of there," Hiccup ordered. "Astrid, Ragnar and I will take out the archers."

Hiccup then fired a plasma blast down upon the archers and landed on the ground before filing another blast as a Hunter. With the path now clear Fishlegs and Snotlout made their way to Ruffnut.

"Hurry, hurry. We have to stop the water," said Fishlegs.

"Okay, Hookfang, let's show 'em how we do it," said Snotlout.

Snotlout and Hookfang then made their way towards the gate controls and quickly took out the guards guarding it with a fire blast. Snotlout then dismounted Hookfang and rushed towards the lever pulling it back to close the gates.

"Uh, Snotlout? Can we get some cover over here?" Fishlegs asked as he held out a created to protect himself, Ruffnut and Meatlug from arrows.

"Make up your mind," Snotlout grumbled as he jumped onto Hookfang.

Hiccup was still engaging the archers and soon found himself surrounded on both sides. Fortunately, Astrid and Ragnar appeared and fired several blast at the archers taking them out. Hiccup immediately took to the air and joined Astrid and Ragnar to clear out the remaining arches.

Unfortunately, they were so busy that they didn't notice the Hunters manning a catapult and aiming straight at them.

"Fire," the Hunter ordered.

The boulder was launched and struck Stormfly knocking Astrid off her back.

"Hiccup!" Astrid yelled.

"Astrid!" Hiccup yelled and quickly dive down. He stretched his arm to catch Astrid and managed to grab her hand. "I got ya."

He quickly pulled up and they landed on the platform.

Viggo was observing the battle from above and smiled as everything was falling to place.

"Let's finish this, shall we?" he said looking at a Hunter.

The Hunters then grabbed several dragon-proof chains and began to pull them over the dry dock trapping the Dragon Riders inside. Hiccup looked up and saw Viggo and Ryker overlooking from above.

"You know, Hiccup, when your opponent presents you with the opportunity to wipe out all his pieces at once, it is the cunning player who seizes the moment," Viggo smirked. He then turned to the Hunters at the gate control. "Wider."

A Hunter pulled down on the lever opening the gate and letting the water run through.

Meatlug then then knocked the pole holding Ruffnut over and Fishlegs quickly pulled her out of the water. The two of them then mounted Meatlug and joined the other Riders.

Hiccup and Astrid were hiding behind cover as the archers fired at them through the chain dome. They quickly mount to their dragons and took off and landed on the constructed ship with the other Riders.

"We sure could use some Changewing acid right now," said Snotlout.

"Sadly we seem to have neglected to bring some," said Ragnar.

"Have your dragons concentrate their fire on the centre link," Hiccup ordered pointing at the link connecting to all the chains.

"Hiccup, we were unable to complete our test," Fishlegs reminded. "Are you sure this is gonna work?"

"We have no choice, Fishlegs." Hiccup then looked at Toothless. "Lay it on, bud."

The dragons then concentrated their fire onto the link and it appeared to be working.

"We have to keep at it," said Hiccup.

Astrid then quickly deflected an arrow that aimed for Hiccup with her axe. "Yeah, but we should take cover first," she said.

The Riders quickly ran to cover as the Hunters fired their crossbows down upon them. Then they heard a yell and the sound of battle above them.

"What is that?" Astrid frowned.

"It's full-on Thorston Battle Frenzy," Ruffnut cheered.

The Hunters on the ledge turned and saw more Hunters running away and chasing after them was Tuffnut holding Macey.

"It's Macey and Tuff, back again," said Tuffnut and slammed Macey against two archers.

He then ran past Viggo's tent and towards the dry dock much to Viggo's annoyance.

"Get him!" he yelled at Ryker.

Ryker immediately ran after Tuffnut and drew his blade. Tuffnut was making his way to the gate controls, but he realised there was no way he could get there in time before the water completely submerged the dock.

"Fly, Macey. Fly," he yelled and tossed Macey at the gears.

Macey then landed right between two of the larger gears wedging them in place and stopping the gate from opening even further.

"Keep blasting," Hiccup ordered, knowing that Tuffnut only bought them a little amount of time.

The dragons then fired again at the link and it was starting to get white hot.

Tuffnut watched as the dragons were almost there at melting the link. He then heard a voice behind him and quickly moved just in time to avoid Ryker's blade. He started to run and Ryker chased after him.

In the chain dome, the dragons had almost melted the link.

"Almost there," said Hiccup.

The dragons opened their mouth and were prepared to fire another series of shots, but sadly they had reached their shot limit.

"Uh, Hiccup," said Snotlout.

"They're out!" Hiccup yelled.

Then they noted that Macey was beginning to crack and a few seconds later she shattered. The gate then continue to open even more wider and more water began to rush into the dry dock.

Tuffnut was still running away from Ryker, when he saw Macey's handle land in front of him.

"Macey," he gasped.

He quickly ducked just in time to avoid Ryker's blade which sliced right through a torch. He then grabbed Macey's handle and began to run down the opposite direction with Ryker close behind.

Inside the dome things were worse as the water had reached the deck of the ship they were on.

Tuffnut soon reached a dead-end and then turned to face Ryker holding up Macey's handle. Then, from out of nowhere, Barf and Belch landed right on top of Ryker.

"It's about time you two decided to show up," said Tuffnut. Barf responded by spraying gas in his face causing him to cough. "Point taken."

The water was almost reaching to the Rider's necks and that's when they noticed Tuffnut riding Barf and Belch above the dome.

"Come on, guys, let's finish this once and for all," said Tuffnut.

Barf and Belch then used their gas and spark attack and shattered the link containing linking the chains.

"Dragon Riders, to the air," Hiccup commanded.

The Riders quickly mounted their dragons and they flew up into the air far away from the island.

Ryker approached Viggo, clutching his arm. "We still have men. We can catch them," he said to Viggo.

"No. Now is not the time," said Viggo calmly. "Project Shellfire must still be completed."

* * *

Once they were back on the Edge, the twins then performed a small Viking funeral for Macey.

"There do I see my father, my mother, my brothers and sisters," said Tuffnut with his helmet over his chest.

Ruffnut raised a bow and arrow and had Belch ignite the arrow. "They bid me take my place among them in the halls of Valhalla, where the brave shall live for ever."

She then pointed the arrow down to the small boat they created for Macey's handle, but missed. Hiccup rolled his eyes and looked at Toothless, who fired a plasma blast and ignited the boat. They wash at the both submerged under the water in the trough and Tuffnut placed his helmet back onto his head.

"Sorry had to end this way, bro," said Ruffnut honestly.

"There will always be a mace-sized hole in my heart, where she once lived," he said.

Hiccup then approached them. "Guys—"

"We know what you're gonna say, okay," said Tuffnut. "Our twintuition almost got the whole team killed."

"Uh, yeah, something like that."

"Something a lot like that," said Ragnar as he joined them.

"But without following our twintuition, we would never found these," said Tuffnut holding of the blueprints for Project Shellfire upside down. He then noticed the blank looks on Hiccup and Ragnar and notice that he was holding the plans upside down. He then quickly turned the plans the right way up. "These! They're plans for something huge."

Astrid soon joined and looked at the plans. "What could Viggo be up to?"

"Whatever it is, I don't think it's for hunting dragons," said Hiccup.

"This might be linked to one of my visions," said Ragnar stubbornly. "I had one that showed the Edge under fire, by what I can only describe as the wrath of Thor. I also saw the dormant volcano awakening and erupting, but nothing more than that."

"I don't like the sound of this," said Hiccup.

* * *

Meanwhile Viggo and Ryker were aboard the ship they had been working on and it was carving through the water faster than any ship possible. He was also unlike any ship in existence, because it didn't have the main deck and had several hatches plus no sails or even a rudder.

Ryker approached Viggo looking quite annoyed. "How? How could you let them just—"

Viggo quickly grasped his throat and glared at him. "You never listen, do you brother?" he said and released him. "We are still right on schedule."

Viggo then opened a hatch and both he and Ryker entered it. As the ship sailed through the water there was a shadow beneath the waves of something large that appear to be connected to the ship.


	50. Blindsided

Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar were in the forest as they were attempting to train Sleuther, who was proving to be difficult. Astrid was on top of Stormfly while Hiccup had ignited _Inferno_.

"Look out!" Hiccup yelled.

Sleuther was at that very moment somersaulting towards them and plunged his stingers into the ground in front of them. He then looked at them and growled angrily. Toothless, Stormfly and Skull moved in to protect the Riders.

Toothless was preparing to fire plasma blast. "Toothless, no! We're trying to train him!" he reminded.

"How are we supposed to train him if we can't get close to him?" Astrid asked.

"She does make a good point, Hiccup," said Ragnar.

"Well, you can't blame him. The last humans he dealt with forced him to find other dragons to the death," Hiccup reminded.

"Hiccup, maybe we should make room for the possibility, that the Triple Stryke is untrainable," Astrid suggested.

"We're making progress," said Hiccup.

"So far, Sleuther has been trying to impale us with his stingers," Ragnar pointed out.

"This and if we can just find a way to get this guy on board, have been fighting with us instead of against us," said Hiccup.

Sleuther snapped his claws and roared at them as he approached them.

"Stormfly! Spine Shot!" Astrid ordered.

Stormfly then flicked her tail firing several spikes at Sleuther's feet stopping him.

"Look, we've dealt with way worse," said Hiccup.

"Snotlout doesn't count," said Astrid.

"Good one, Astrid. I'll have to remember that," said Fishlegs' voice.

They looked up and saw Fishlegs flying down towards them.

"Fishlegs! "What brings you to the Valley of Pain?" Astrid asked.

"Snotlout and the twins just got back from patrol, and there are multiple storm fronts heading right for us. We need to down the Edge before they start to hit."

"Okay. We're not done here," said Hiccup looking at the agitated Sleuther.

* * *

Back at the Edge, Snotlout was onto of Hookfang placing a tarpaulin over the 'S' of his hut. Astrid then soon arrived frowning.

"Snotlout, what are you doing?" she asked.

"Covering up my 'S!' What is it look like I'm doing?" he snapped.

"You're supposed to be closing the dome and battering down the hatches," she said.

"Hey, I'm not leaving the 'S' hangin' out in the wind," said Snotlout stubbornly.

"Snotlout!" Astrid warned.

"Fine!" Snotlout yelled furiously.

He then placed the tarpaulin over the 'S' and then took off. However, no sooner had he left that the tarpaulin blew away much to his annoyance.

* * *

Fishlegs was busy guiding the Night Terrors to safety and Astrid soon flew over.

"Fishlegs, hurry. You need to get 'em into the stables," she said. "This storm—"

"I know," he said. "My thunder to lightning calculations are never wrong. And according to them, well, let's just say it's—" Lightning then struck. "Aah! Really close."

Astrid then noticed the twins were flying around doing nothing.

"What do you want us to do?" Tuffnut asked.

"Get to the clubhouse and don't move," she ordered firmly.

"Oh, really? And who put you in charge, exactly?" Ruffnut asked.

"We all voted Astrid 'Storm Warden,'" Fishlegs reminded.

"Well, I would like to rescind my vote. If that's the right word," said Tuffnut.

"Oh, sorry, too late. Now get going," she ordered.

* * *

A few minutes later, it started to rain dragons and everyone was trying to get warm in the clubhouse by the fire.

Astrid looked at Hiccup. "Did you drop off the food and water at the stables?" she asked.

"Yep. Troughs are all full," said Hiccup.

She then turned to Ragnar. "Are the medical supplies somewhere safe from the lightning?"

Ragnar nodded. "All personnel and accounted for."

Fishlegs soon entered the clubhouse soaking wet and closed the door behind him as quickly as he could.

"Well, the dragons are all cosy in their pens," he said.

"Did you lock the main doors?" Astrid asked.

Fishlegs chuckled. "Astrid, Astrid, of course. Who would get something like that?" he said dismissively. He then frowned slightly as he tried to recall. "I mean, I guess it is possible. But I would never. But then again, there's a first time for everything."

Astrid groaned in frustration. "I'll go check."

"Astrid, wait," said Hiccup.

Too late Astrid was already making a way to the zip line and once he touched the ground she ran towards the stables as quickly as she could. Then lightning struck the roof of the stables setting it alight.

She quickly ran to the door, and found that Fishlegs had indeed blocked them, and opens them up to reveal the burning stables and the dragons trapped within their pens.

"All right, come on, you guys," said Astrid as he rushed towards the pens and opened them up. "We're moving to the arena before this whole place comes down."

Soon after you read the dragons and they all made their way outside the burning stables, but then after notice that a Night Terror was still trapped inside. The door to his pen was covered with debris and Stormfly gave her a concerned growl.

"It's okay, girl, I'm right behind you," said Astrid and rushed inside. She then began to move the debris around the pen. "What do you say we blow this joint, little guy?"

Suddenly another bolt of lightning struck the stables causing it to shake violently. Astrid finally managed to clear the debris and free the Night Terror. She then followed it outside, but then a bolt of lightning struck right in front of her and then everything went dark as a second bolt hit the ground causing an explosion.

Astrid was blown back and knocked unconscious and the dragons flew away frantically. Hiccup and Toothless arrived just in time to see the dragons flying away and Hiccup saw Astrid unconscious on the floor.

"Astrid!" he yelled as he dismounted Toothless.

He picked up just as the stables were beginning to collapse. The debris fell towards them, but Toothless fired a plasma blast destroying it. He then placed Astrid's arm around him and dragged her outside just before the ceiling collapsed.

* * *

Once they were back inside the clubhouse, Ragnar grabbed his emergency kit and began to examine Astrid as Hiccup laid her down.

"What happened? Is she okay?" Fishlegs asked.

"I don't know," said Hiccup. "We found her like this. The place was collapsing."

"Well, other than some bruises she looks fine," said Ragnar. "She's just unconscious, but I'm positive she'll await soon."

Snotlout looked at Hiccup. "What about my Hookfang? Did you see him?"

"Speaking of wayward dragons, nobody happened to see one Barf and Belch?" Tuffnut asked.

"Guys, they got spooked by the storm and took off," said Hiccup. "But I'm sure they're fine and they'll be back. Right now, I'm more worried about Astrid."

"Sure. Toothless is right here. Everything's peachy but you," Snotlout grumbled. Hiccup and Toothless narrow their eyes at him. He then quickly races hands up and gave an innocent smile. "Just an observation."

Astrid then groaned. "Hiccup?"

Hiccup bent down towards her. "You're okay. You're okay," he assured. "I'm right here."

Astrid then opened her eyes and immediately looked confused. "Where? I don't see you." She then sat up and looked around wildly. "Why is it so dark in here?"

"It's not," said Hiccup slowly.

"What are you talking about? It's pitch black."

Everyone looked at one another slightly concerned.

"Astrid…" Hiccup said slowly.

Astrid then got to her feet. "Hiccup. Hiccup!" she said as she walked around and waving her arms around as if she was walking in the dark. "I can't see any of you." She then tripped over the stall and nearly toppled over. "Somebody say something!"

"Oh… Your hair looks really nice," said Tuffnut awkwardly. "I mean, considering all the fire and lightning and agree and…"

"Astrid let me take a look at," said Ragnar as he approached her. He then looked at her eyes and saw that her pupils were constricted. "What's the last thing you saw?"

"I was running outside of the stables and then there was a large lightning strike, but after that there was nothing," said Astrid frantically.

"Ah, you must got too close to the lightning and it blinded you," said Ragnar.

Hiccup looked at him. "Is there anything you can do?"

Ragnar shook his head. "I don't have the proper medicine for it. I would have to go back to Berk for that, but not in this storm. However, I'm confident that it's only temporary."

Astrid looked slightly devastated and Hiccup looked at the others. "Guys, let me talk to her," he said placing his hands on her shoulders. "Alone?"

Everyone nodded and left the clubhouse and once they were all gone, Hiccup placed on the table.

"What is happening to me?" Astrid asked.

"You heard, Ragnar, you got blinded by lightning, but he is confident that its temporary," said Hiccup. "You Remember Bucket lost his sight? He got it back."

"And now he wears a metal bucket on his head, permanently," Astrid pointed out.

"True. Well, all I'm saying is…" Truth was he wasn't quite sure what to say. "Oh, Thor, what am I saying?"

Astrid looked at him. "I know what you're trying to do. And I appreciate it. Really," she said stretching a hand and Hiccup grasped it.

Hiccup then pulled her towards him. "Look, when there's a break in the storm we'll fly to Berk and see Gothi. Together she and Ragnar should be able to help you. In the meantime, Astrid, you need rest."

Astrid pulled away from him. "No, we have to find Stormfly. She's out there alone. All of the dragons are."

"Don't worry about that right now," said Hiccup grasping her hand. "Just rest."

He then laid her down carefully in place ahead on the pillow. Astrid still looked a bit scared and frantic.

"Hiccup? Are you still there?" she asked.

"Yes," he assured. "Yes. I'm here, Astrid."

"Will you and Toothless stay with me a little while? Just until I fall asleep?" she asked.

"Of course," Hiccup smiled. "We're not going anywhere. Are we, bud?"

Toothless growled in agreement and dressed himself against the two of them.

* * *

A few hours later, the lightning storm was over, but there were still very high winds that prevented Hiccup from leaving to get Gothi. Snotlout and Fishlegs were busy trying to repair the stables, which took the most damage in the storm.

At the clubhouse, Tuffnut was currently staring at Astrid very closely.

"Okay," he said. "Thorston Blind Field Test, _numero uno_. Who was standing right in front of you?"

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Tuff, I know it's you."

"She's got it! She's fine, everybody," Tuffnut announced excitedly. "Oh, thank Thor. Phew. That was a close one."

"Guys, we can't worry about me right now," said Astrid. "We need to find our dragons."

"Astrid, as the healer, my priorities to your well-being," Ragnar pointed out.

Astrid turn towards to the direction of his voice. "You said yourself that you can't help me until you get back to Berk and you can't do that without your dragon. Our dragons are still out there somewhere and obviously scared or they would've come back."

"Guys, she's got a point," said Hiccup. "We need to round them up before the next storm hits." He then turned to Astrid. "Toothless and I will find Stormfly. Don't you worry."

"And leave me here?" she stared. "I don't think so. I'm going with you."

"Sorry. Not an option."

"Listen, I'm more effective blind, then some riders who I shall remain nameless that a full-sighed," she said turning to the direction of the twins.

"Is she looking at us?" Tuffnut asked looking at his sister.

"She can't see. Hence, she can't actually look. So, no," said Ruffut.

"Astrid, there is no way you're flying in your condition. All right?" Hiccup said firmly as he folded his arms. "I am sorry. As leader, I am putting my foot down."

Astrid then slowly turned and glared at him.

* * *

A few minutes later, Hiccup was flying aboard Toothless with Astrid sitting behind him.

"Remind me never to put my foot down again," Hiccup whispered to Toothless.

Toohless growled in agreement.

"I can still hear you, Hiccup. But I agree," said Astrid.

Toothless then suddenly flew upwards and Astrid nearly fell off if Hiccup hadn't grabbed the helm of her skirt in time.

"Whoa. Okay, you've gotta hold on tighter," he said.

"Sorry," said Astrid slightly relieved.

"No, don't apologise. The truth is, obviously, I'm glad you're here," he said.

Astrid smiled and then wrapped her arms around him much to his surprise.

* * *

The other Riders were out looking for the dragons on foot.

"Meatlug! Here, girl! Here, Meaty!" Fishlegs called holding a rock in his hands. "I've got some nice fresh bauxite!"

He then heard rustling in the bushes and immediately thought that it was Meatlug.

"Meatlug? Is that you?" Fishlegs asked and tossed the piece of bauxite away. He then rushed over towards the bushes excitedly. "Don't know, Daddy's on his way!" He soon discovered that it was not Meatlug, but instead it was Hookfang, who was pacing up and down, and was immediately crestfallen. "Oh, it's you."

Hookfang stopped and then growled angrily at him.

"Oh, sorry, Hooky," said Fishlegs apologetically. "I didn't mean it like that. It's just that…" He then heard thunder rumbling and realised this wasn't the best time. "Never mind. Let's just get you back to the Edge, right?"

Fishlegs slowly approached him and Hookfang turned towards him. Unfortunately, lightning struck at that precise moment and Hookfang flew up into the air and ignited out of fear.

Fishlegs jumped back in surprise. "I finally know what it's like to be Snotlout." He then looked at the terrified Hookfang. "Okay. Okay. You're upset and scared. But everything is gonna be fine."

Fishlegs' then extended his hand, but a split second later he was swatted away by Hookfang's tail and slammed right into a tree.

"Oh, now I really know what it's like to be Snotlout," he groaned.

* * *

The twins were elsewhere in the forest looking for the dragon, but for some strange reason Tuffnut was walking around with a bag over his head and Ruffnut was walking in front of him smugly.

"Uh, why am I doing this, again?" Tuffnut asked.

"We are now living with a blind person, Tuffnut," she reminded him. "And I think we owe it to her to offer our services as 'seeing eye Vikings.'"

"Got it," said Tuffnut. He then frowned behind the bag. "So, wait, who's playing Astrid?"

"Can you say?"

"Not a glimpse. Total darkness over here."

"Then you, my friend, are Astrid. Now, come to the sound of my voice." Tuffnut then began to walk towards her with his hands outstretched. "Good. Good. Okay, a little faster." Tuffnut then started to run. "Let's put some hassle into it."

"How's that?" Tuffnut asked as he ran even faster.

"You're doing great. Just a little further."

Tuffnut laughed as he ran, but Ruffnut merely sidestepped and he ran past. Then before he knew it he fell off the edge of a small cliff and landed painfully on the ground.

Ruffnut laughed as she looked over the edge. "Hey! You okay down there?"

"Nice work, Sis! I think I landed on something," Tuffnut yelled.

It turned out the thing that he had landed on was none other than Meatlug, who was busy eating the rocks in the quarry he had landed in.

* * *

Snotlout too was walking through the forest trying to find his dragon.

"I can't believe this stupid dragon. Out here in the middle of nowhere," he grumbled. "Hookfang! Get over here, now!" He then heard rustling close by man smiled as he assumed it to be Hookfang. "See that, Hiccup? That's the way you handle your dragon business." He then rubbed his hands together. "Come on, big boy. Bring it in for the real thing, baby!"

However it was not Hookfang how answered, it was Barf and Belch on the ball he knew it, Snotlout was run over by the two-headed dragon.

"Stupid Hiccup," he groaned in agony.

* * *

Meanwhile Hiccup and Astrid had landed and were looking for Stormfly near the stream.

"Stormfly? Stormfly, come here, girl! Stormfly!" Astrid called.

"Okay, I'm thinking that as jittery as the dragons were, they probably went to get as far away from the storm as possible," said Hiccup. "So, if we take this stream down towards the beach—"

"No! I know my dragon, Hiccup," said Astrid. "She's more worried about me than she is about herself. Which means she could be trying to find her way back to the Edge. Upstream."

Astrid then began to run upstream and before Hiccup could stop as he tripped over a rock.

"Astrid!" Hiccup yelled and jumped after her.

He caught and the two of them landed on the ground. The two of them handed and Hiccup looked down at Astrid. She was unable to see him, but he could feel his breath hitting her indicating that she wasn't too far away from her face.

"A-are y-you okay?" he asked stuttering.

"Uh, I'm… I'm fine," she said awkwardly. Astrid felt her cheek getting hot. "We should probably get going?"

"Yeah. That's exactly what I was gonna…" said Hiccup awkwardly has he got to his feet and pulled her up. "Get going."

Astrid then heard some rustling close by. "Do you hear that?"

Hiccup frowned, because he didn't hear anything. "Hear what?"

"Something's coming at us."

Toothless sense it to as he got into a battle position and growled. Astrid, however, wasn't afraid as she got in front of Toothless.

"Astrid, what are you doing?" Hiccup stared.

"It's okay. It's Stormfly," she said.

Then to Hiccup's amazement Stormfly appeared over the ridge.

"Huh," he said impressively.

The moment Stormfly saw Astrid she flew down and nuzzled her.

"There's my girl!" Astrid yelled hugging her. "Oh, I knew you'd come." Stormfly then stood upright. "What is it, girl? What's wrong?" She then heard a clicking sound that sounded as if it was coming from above. "Hiccup! Above you!"

Hiccup turned and saw Sleuther staring down at them roaring. He immediately then rolled himself in trouble and headed straight down into the direction. Hiccup then quickly grabbed Astrid and moved away just as he landed on the ground and plunged his stings into the ground.

Toothless fired a plasma blast at him, but he quickly jumped into the air and roared at him angrily. Stormfly too roared at him fiercely.

"Okay, Astrid, there's a rock formation ten paces to your left," said Hiccup. "Hide behind it and you'll be safe."

"'Hide'? I'm not gonna hide! Stormfly!" she said and immediately ran over to Stormfly.

"Of course she's not gonna hide. What was I thinking? She's Astrid," said Hiccup shaking his head.

He then quickly mounted Toothless and Astrid tried to the same with Stormfly, but she backed away.

"Stormfly?" Astrid frowned.

Stormfly then grabbed and tossed it was the rock formation and a few seconds later Sleuther landed in front of her. He then struck her with his tails and made his way towards Astrid.

Hiccup panicked, but then Skull landed right in front of Sleuther with Ragnar riding on top of him. He then roared causing him to back away.

"Looks like I got here just in time," said Ragnar looking at Hiccup. "Now grabbed Astrid!"

Hiccup nodded and he and Toothless raised towards. Toothless grabbed her and they placed behind the rock formation.

"You, stay," Hiccup said to her.

"Not fair, Hiccup. So not fair," she said angrily.

"We'll discuss it later!"

Next second he was knocked Sleuther slammed into him and Toothless knocking him off Toothless. Astrid her the entire thing knew that he was in trouble.

"You need me. Admit it," said Astrid. She then looked into Stormfly's direction. "Stormfly, come." However, Stormfly ignored her orders. "Stormfly!"

"It's okay," said Hiccup as Stormfly. "She's with me along. We need her help. And me and Ragnar can't fight Sleuther if all we're doing is worrying about you."

"He's right, Astrid. We've got this," said Ragnar as he and Skull joined him.

Astrid groaned in annoyance. "Fine. I'll hide," she said and sat down next to the rock formation. "Exactly what an experience Dragon Rider should be doing in a time of crisis."

Sleuther wasn't too far away from her position and was snapping his claws.

"Stormfly!" he said performing some hand gestures ordering her to fly into the sky.

Then she, Hiccup and Ragnar took off and began to circle around Sleuther. Toothless then fired a plasma blast at his feet followed by a stream of fire from Skull.

"Spine shot!" Hiccup yelled doing more hand movements.

Stormfly then fired several spines behind Sleuther and Toothless and Skull continue to blast him with their fire attacks. Eventually he had enough and ran into the forest and Hiccup sighed with relief.

Astrid however was not as pleased with the situation as he felt completely useless without her sight.

* * *

Meanwhile, the twins were trying to lift Meatlug, who was busy eating the rock in the quarry.

"Pull harder!" Tuffnut yelled as he attempted to lift Meatlug, but without success.

Ruffnut was pull on Meatlug's tail with similar success. "You want me to pull her tail off?" she grunted.

Tuffnut thought for a moment, but shook his head. "Hope. No, no, no. We'd never be able to explain that to Fishlegs."

"Ugh! What is wrong with her?" Ruffnut groaned.

Tuffnut placed a finger under his chin. "Remember Fishlegs said that she eats when she is under stress?"

Meatlug then shot up and was moving in a threatening manner.

"Oh, no! She's gonna blow!" Tuffnut yelled.

Ruffnut screamed when Meatlug spewed lava all over the place.

* * *

Snotlout, meanwhile, had recovered from his little encounter with Barf and Belch and found them on the beach. The two-headed dragon was at that moment standing there with his heads in the sand.

"Come on, you two. You can't stay in there forever." Snotlout groaned as he attempted to lift their heads out of the sand. Unfortunately, they wouldn't budge and he soon gave up. "Fine. You won't come to me?" He then started to dig into the sand. "You know what, I blame this on the twins. They let you get away with too much. Now me and Hooky, we're a well-oiled machine."

Finally he was able to dig far enough to meet the two-headed dragon as he gave them a threatening look.

"All right, let's go," he ordered. "Out! Up! Whatever you two understand."

Barf reply to this by spewing gas into the hole and Belch response was to spark it. Naturally this causal an explosion and Snotlout shot out of the hole like a Night Fury and landed on a tree branch.

"Stupid Zippleback," he groaned in pain.

* * *

Meanwhile, Fishlegs was having similar problems with Hookfang, who was chasing him around while ignited.

"Hookfang!" Fishlegs screamed. "Oh, Thor!"

Eventually Hookfang caught up with him and there were certainly yells of pain as Hookfang gave him the same hospitality he gave to Snotlout.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup and Ragnar approached Astrid, who was still sitting near the rock formation depressed.

"I think we scared him off, but he'll be back," said Ragnar.

"Okay, let's mount up and get back to the Edge before he comes back," said Hiccup.

Astrid then got up and made her way over to Toothless which confused Hiccup and Ragnar.

"Uh, no, Astrid, that's Toothless. Don't you want to ride on Stormfly?" Hiccup asked.

"I think she's made it clear, she doesn't want me riding her," said Astrid.

"Astrid, she was protecting you. She didn't want you in that fight," Hiccup explained. "It's pretty cool, if you think about it."

Astrid scoffed and began to walk off. "I'm having a hard time finding anything cool in all of this."

Ragnar looked at Hiccup to Astrid. "I think I'll go and see if I can't spot the others," he said.

He then rounded Skull and took off into the air leaving Hiccup alone with Astrid.

Hiccup did you notice him leaving as he approached Astrid and grabbed her arm. "Look, obviously, I can't even imagine what this must be like to you. You're… well, you're Astrid. You're strong and invincible."

Astrid scoffed that he turned towards him. "Not anymore. What if this is it, Hiccup? What if the rest of my life is like this? What then?"

"Then we'll deal with it," he said placing his hand on her arms. "Just because you can't see doesn't mean you're helpless."

"But that's exactly how I feel."

"Astrid, you and I have been through everything together. You don't think we can handle this?" he asked as he glanced her hands. "Astrid, you have me, no matter what. Okay, whatever that means, whatever you want it to mean. I am with you. There will always be a Hiccup and Astrid. Always."

Hiccup then found himself leaning towards Astrid and began to press his lips together when she heard a clicking sound.

"Do you hear that?" she asked.

Toothless took up a fighting position as he sensed something as well.

Hiccup frowned. "I didn't hear anything."

Astrid had a clicking sound once again. "There it is again. Behind you."

Hiccup turned around and saw Sleuther somersaulting towards them behind the rocks. Hiccup quickly pulled Astrid away just as Sleuther plunged his stingers into the ground in front of them.

Immediately Stormfly and Toothless fired their fire attacks at him, but he quickly jumped out of the way.

"Okay, this guy has got to go. Now," said Hiccup. He then turned to Toothless. "Toothless, distress call!"

Toothless immediately fired a plasma blast into the air and it exploded where anyone on the island could see

Ragnar was the closest to see it. "Looks like our friend is back," he said and turnaround back towards the stream.

* * *

In the quarry the twins saw the blast, but unlike Ragnar they weren't able to answer it.

"Oh, great. Hiccup's in trouble and Meatlug's has half the quarry to eat," Tuffnut moaned.

At that instant Meatlug took off.

Ruffnut glared at her brother furiously. "Nice going. You know how she feels about her weight!"

Meatlug then flew over them and grabbed them before heading up into the sky and the two of them screamed.

* * *

At the beach while Barf and Belch were unable to hear or see the plasma blast they felt the shockwave across the sky and immediately took their heads out of the sand. They then turned to Snotlout, who stood up on the tree branch glaring at the both of them.

"All right. That's it, you two," he said giving them a firmed expression. "Playtime in the sand is over." He then jumped down towards them. "Snotlout! Snotlout!" Unfortunately, he missed them and is hair was buried in the sand. "Ow, ow, ow," he groaned in a muffled voice.

* * *

Meanwhile Fishlegs was still running away from flaming Hookfang as quickly as it was humanly possible. He then saw the plasma blast launched into the air.

"Huh," he said curiously. He then outstretched his hand towards Hookfang. "Stop!"

Hookfang then came to a sudden stop and stared at Fishlegs dumbfounded.

"All right, Hookfang, let's get something straight," he said firmly. "I may not be Snotlout but I am a Dragon Rider. And as such, I deserve the respect of a Dragon Rider. Are we clear?"

Hookfang blinked at him and then started growling.

* * *

Meanwhile Hiccup and the others were still facing against Sleuther.

Toothless then landed in front of him and fired a plasma blast, but he quickly jumped back. Stormfly appeared behind him and unleashed a stream of fire blocking his path, but Sleuther merely jumped over it and Stormfly barely had time to avoid the stingers with the impairment into the ground.

At this point Ragnar had returned and could see the danger. "He doesn't know when to give up, does he?" he said looking at Hiccup.

"Then let's show him," said Hiccup and ignited Inferno.

Unfortunately, at that point it started to rain and the flames on Inferno began to distinguish and Hiccup groaned.

It was at that point that the twins arrived on top of Meatlug.

"Man, those guys are getting their butts kicked down there," said Ruffnut.

Snotlout then appeared riding on Barf's and Belch's back. "Where's Fishface?" he asked.

"I haven't got a clue," said Tuffnut.

"Yeah, I know. But where's Fishface?"

The twins narrow their eyes.

"You really think this is the time for one of your stupid jokes, Snotlout?" Ruffnut glared. "Give us our dragon back."

Snotlout grumbled slightly and the twins hopped onto Barf and Belch.

"Hey, what am I supposed to do?" Snotlout asked.

The twins then grabbed him and tossed him off their dragon.

"Hookfang!" Snotlout yelled. He then landed on top of Meatlug which was not exactly what he wanted. "Great. Just perfect."

Meanwhile Sleuther was still charging towards Hiccup and the others. Toothless had just fired a plasma blast, but he merely jumped over it and somersaulted over them.

Quickly they ran in different directions just as Sleuther slammed his tear across the ground. He then fired a stream of fire down upon the ground setting the glass alight. Astrid meanwhile was hiding behind a rock formation feeling completely useless.

She then heard that same clicking sound again and again as Snotlout and the twins landed.

"Astrid! Thank Thor," said Snotlout as he dismounted Meatlug. "All I could think about was—"

Astrid then held up a finger telling him to be quiet. She then heard the clicking sound once again. Sleuther was still setting the glass alight until Stormfly slammed into him and he quickly twisted his tails together which created a clicking sound which she had been hearing.

"Do you guys hear that?" Astrid asked. "It's that same sound before every attack."

"Uh, what is she talking about?" Snotlout asked looking at the twins confusingly.

Ragnar then landed close by as he had overheard a conversation. "It's possible that you're able to hear things that we can't. When one loses one sense the others sensors compensate and become more acute."

"Uh, guys, little help over here would be nice," said Hiccup as he turned to face them. "We need to surround it. It can't hit us all at once."

Once Snotlout remounted Meatlug, he and the others soon took off into the air and began to surround Sleuther.

"Coming in hot, blowing out snot!" Snotlout cheered.

Meatlug then spewed lava down upon Sleuther causing him to back away. Stormfly then fired a stream of fire behind him causing him to retreat even further back. The twins created a gas wall in front of him and sparked it created a wall of fire. Skull was flying directly above him and roaring doing a better damage on his ears.

In anger Sleuther twisted his tails together which created the same clicking sound again. Astrid heard this and then got a brilliant idea.

"Stormfly! Come! Now," she ordered.

This time Stormfly followed those ordered and ran towards. Snotlout then flew down towards Sleuther and fired a lava blast at his feet. However, Sleuther spun around and slammed him with his tail sending him flying off of Meatlug.

"Meatlug!" Snotlout yelled. He then landed face first into a mud puddle much to his annoyance. "This is getting old."

"Did you see that?" Tuffnut stared.

"He totally stuck the landing!" Ruffnut laughed.

The two of them laughed, until Sleuther slammed them with his tail and they landed in the stream. This is only left Hiccup and Ragnar to them was standing side-by-side with each other.

"This is getting out of hand," said Ragnar.

Hiccup agreed and looked at Toothless. "Okay, bud, I guess it's—"

Sleuther then charge directly at them, but flying down towards them on top of Stormfly was Astrid. "Stormfly, spine shot!" she ordered.

Stormfly then fired several spines down on top of Sleuther giving him a moment of pause.

"What?" Hiccup stared.

Tuffnut had pulled himself out of the stream and saw the display. "Hey, when did she get outside back?" he asked.

"Uh, she didn't," said Hiccup. He then looked up at Astrid in bewilderment. "Astrid, what are you doing?"

"I got this, Hiccup," said Astrid confidently. "I've been listening to you guys get your butts kicked and I'm sick of it. Besides, I have this dragon figured out."

She then flew directly above Sleuther climbing more spines and he was starting to get annoyed as he roared up at her. Astrid then turned around and listened very carefully for the noise and then she heard the clicking sound.

"Again, Stormfly!" Astrid ordered.

Stormfly fired more spines down on top of Sleuther causing him to retreat back towards the rocks before he got an attack in. She then landed on the ground and dismounted Stormfly and then grabbed two of Stormfly spines on the ground. She then slowly approached Sleuther, who roared at her angrily.

"Astrid, no! Get out of there!" Hiccup yelled.

"Quiet, Hiccup. I'm dealing with it," she said firmly.

Ragnar then placed a hand on his shoulder. "Let her do this, I think she's got it," he said.

They watched as she slowly approached Sleuther listening to his roars. Sleuther looked at her angrily snapping his claws and then Astrid tapped the two spines together creating a clicking noise. Then Sleuther began to calm down as he searched for the source of the noise.

"That's it," she said calmly.

Sleuther then turned his attention back onto Astrid and separated his tail into three creating the clicking sound from before. Astrid then tapped the two spines together and once again Sleuther looked for the source of the sound.

"She's using the clicks to distract it," said Hiccup in amazement.

Snotlout and the twins had finally recovered from their surprise attack and just stared at Astrid in bewilderment as he continued to collect the two spines together. Sleuther kept on looking around for the source of the noise and then saw Astrid in front of him out stretching her palm.

She stood there for a few seconds before Sleuther placed his snout against her palm and growled softly. She then chuckled slightly at the sound.

"And that's how we get close enough to train it," said Hiccup.

"Amazing," said Snotlout.

"Hey, I think Astrid just stole your move," said Tuffnut looking at Hiccup.

"It's not my move, Tuffnut," said Hiccup.

"Wait, so anyone can use it? Why didn't you tell us that?"

Tuffnut then outstretched his palm in front of his sister and she placed her head against it.

"How'd she do that? She can't see a thing," Ruffnut asked.

"You don't need perfect eyesight to be a warrior, you just need the spirit," said Ragnar.

"He's right. She's using her other senses. Hearing, touch, smell. Following her gut," said Hiccup.

"Speaking of which, I'm sensing something big and out of control heading for," said Astrid turning towards them.

They then heard Fishlegs' screams and a few seconds later he and Hookfang made a crash landing.

"This is not respect!" Fishlegs yelled.

"Welcome to my world, Fishface," said Snotlout.

* * *

Once the storm finally broke, Ragnar was able to return to Berk and bring Gothi. Together they manage to create a concoction and plated over her eyes before bandaging them. A few days later they undid the bandages and when Astrid opened her eyes the first thing she saw was Hiccup standing in front of her.

Hiccup gave her a concerned look. "Astrid are you—"

She smiled at him. "Looking at you? Seems like it."

Hiccup sighed with relief and looked at Ragnar and Gothi. "Thank you."

Astrid then stood up and hugged him tightly and he did the same with her.

* * *

Later that very same evening Fishlegs and the twins were training Sleuther using a device that Hiccup and Ragnar created. Simply by spinning it they were able to create a clicking sound which they use in order to train Sleuther called a rattle.

Using the rattle they got Sleuther to fire several perfect shots on the targets they had set up.

"This is awesome," said Tuffnut as he kept on spinning the rattle. "Can you imagine what we can do to Snotlout when we get him trained? The possibilities are endless!"

"Yeah, I don't think that's what Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar had in mind when they asked to start his training," said Fishlegs, who was holding a shield.

"Pfft. Well, who's gonna tell them? I'm not. Are you?" Ruffnut asked.

Tuffnut kept on spinning the device. "Nope."

* * *

Meanwhile Hiccup and Astrid were sitting at the newly built stables looking at the sunset as the dragons began playing around with one another.

"Are you sure you're feeling okay?" Hiccup asked.

"I'm fine, Hiccup. You can stop worrying about me now," she said.

"Oh, I never stop worrying about you. That's just the way it is."

"Yeah, yeah. I guess that goes for me, too."

Hiccup moved a little closer towards her and she elbowed him in the arm.

"Hey, he said making her chuckle.

Astrid then looked at him curiously. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," he said.

"Um… Back in the forest, when we were… Well, you know," she said awkwardly.

"Yeah?" Hiccup pressed on.

"Were you were about to…"

Hiccup immediately felt his cheeks go red. "Oh, uh… So you felt that, huh?" he asked and she nodded. "I thought I got away with it."

"Well, why didn't you?" Astrid asked.

Hiccup turned towards her. "Oh… Oh. Well, I… It wasn't perfect. And I always thought that if it ever happened, uh… And, yes, I've thought about it a lot. Uh, it's had to be just perfect."

Astrid chuckled slightly and then looked towards the sunset before looking back at him. "Well, this seems pretty perfect to me."

"Yeah? Yeah, I guess it does," Hiccup agreed.

The two of them then looked at one another and drew their faces closer to one another and press their lips against one another. They wrap their hands against one another as they took in one another and when they parted they wrap their arms around one another and looked at the sunset.

Unknown to them, Ragnar was leaning against the stables with a smile.

"It's about time," he said to himself and then walked away leaving the two lovebirds alone.


	51. Shell Shocked Part I

Hiccup was fine on top of Toothless in the night sky heading straight towards Viggo's base. He however was not alone as he had the Dragon Riders, the A Team, his father, Gobber, Alvin, Dagur and Heather.

"Everyone ready?" he asked looking at the Dragon Riders.

Astrid nodded.

"We're ready and waiting," said Ragnar.

"A Team?" said Hiccup looking up at his father and the others.

"Aye!" Stoick nodded.

"A Team!" said Gustav excitedly.

"Oh, yes!" Spitelout yelled.

"Outcasts!" Hiccup asked looking at Alvin.

"Ready to get me hands dirty," Alvin smiled.

"Berserkers?" Hiccup asked looking at Heather and Dagur.

Dagur laughed.

"You know it," said Heather.

Hiccup then looked at Toothless. "What do you think, bud?" Toothless roared with enthusiasm. "I was hoping you'd say that."

They then flew down towards the island as they began making their attack run. The plan was simple get in and get out without arising too much attention.

* * *

The Hunters were keeping a lookout on board their ships and one of them reached the edge unaware that Gustav and Fanghook were looking up at him. Then before he realised, Gustav grabbed the helm of his tone and pulled him overboard.

"Oh, Gustav!" Gustav cheered quietly.

The other Hunter on the ship noticed that he was gone and went to investigate, but Spitelout flew out of nowhere and his Deadly Nadder grabbed him and jumped him into the ocean.

"Spitelout, Spitelout, oi, oi, oi!" he whispered quietly.

* * *

Dagur was actually on the island setting of a netter trap.

"I guess the trapper's trap can trap the trapper," he said to himself. He then turned around to find a Hunter directly behind him with his sword raised and looked at him quite calmly. "Hello? Have you met my sister? The Berserker?"

"Hi," Heather waved as Windshear warped her tail around him and pulled him into the air.

"I promise you, she lives up to the name," Dagur called.

Heather then dumped him into the ocean.

"See ya," she said flying back.

A few Hunters saw this and got the catapults ready, but suddenly emerging out of the ground was Alvin and Groundsplitter.

"Hello," he said menacingly before Groundsplitter fired at them.

* * *

The Hunters were now aware of their presence, but it was far too late as Snotlout and Hookfang landed in front of them.

"Hello!" he waved and Hookfang ignited.

The Hunters immediately ran away screaming, but Fishlegs appeared in front of them on top of Meatlug.

"And now, it's time to introduce the band. I'm Fishlegs. And on tail bludgeon, we Meatlug," said Fishlegs.

Meatlug then began spinning around and smacked her tail right into the Hunters knocking him out cold.

* * *

The twins were flying through the caves unleashing gas upon on quitting hunters that were patrolling the area.

"One for the gold, two for the show…" said Tuffnut.

"Three to get Barf and Belch ready, and four to blow!" Ruffnut yelled.

Belch then ignited the gas explosions down the tunnels and scattering the Hunters across the island.

* * *

Ryker drew his blade to see what was going on and then saw Stoick landing in front of them on top of Skullcrusher.

"Ryker! Nice to see you again," said Stoick narrowing his eyes.

Ryker chuckled menacingly, but next second he was flattened by Grump, with Gobber as his Rider.

"Even if it's just a moment," said Gobber.

Hiccup and Toothless landed on the ground.

"All yours, son," said Stoick.

Hiccup dismounted Toothless and the two of them then approached Viggo's tent which was being guarded by Astrid and Ragnar. Once he entered he found that he had caught Viggo completely by surprise and he went for his weapons, but Toothless fired a plasma blast destroying them.

Hiccup then quickly grabbed the Dragon Eye which was on his desk before Viggo had a chance to grab it himself.

"I'll take that," said Hiccup.

* * *

"Really? 'I'll take that?'" said Tuffnut.

The entire event had been nothing more than just Hiccup explaining his plan to reclaim the Dragon Eye to the others.

"Seriously that's the best you can come up with?" Tuffnut continued shaking his head in disappointment. "This is your big moment, H. Books will be written about it. Children will act it out. Some adults were acted out, but it will be cute as the children. You need a killer catchphrase. One line that will withstand the test of time. As the sand and ocean pass, your words will remain. I mean you just defeated one of the toughest, most ruthless villains in the world."

"Who everyone thought was smarter than you," Ruffnut added.

"Really? Everyone?" said Hiccup.

"Well, you know, there's no hard data, but if you had to guess…" said Tuffnut.

"Okay, I'll work on something cool to say to him when I taken down," said Hiccup. "Happy?"

"Uh, uh, uh," said Tuffnut wiggling his finger and got to his feet. " _Au contraire, mon frère_. We will work on something better for you to say to him when we taken down. Trust us, we've gotcha." He then turned to Ruffnut and the two of them walked away. "It should be something with a growl, and, I mean, like…"

* * *

Once everything was finally sorted out everyone went their separate ways. Stoick was smiling down at his son at the steps of the Great Hall and patting him on the shoulders

"Now, that's what I call a plan," said Stoick and walked off.

Hiccup waved at him and then suddenly was grabbed and pulled behind the steps. He turned and saw that it had been Astrid who pulled him away.

"You did it!" she said hugging him. "I'm really proud of you."

"A lot of those ideas were yours," Hiccup reminded. "I… I could have done it without you."

"We may quite the team, huh?" Astrid smiled as they leaned against the steps.

"I certainly think so."

They then watched as the dragons began playing with one another, but Hiccup was focused on something quite differently which Astrid took notice.

"I know that look. What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing is wrong. It's just… Well, yeah, Tuff's right, this is huge. Viggo, Berk, the Edge. And my dad, putting his trust in me. If the mission fails, we could lose the Dragon Eye forever. That could mean the end of the dragons. And they could be hunted to extinction. And I—"

Astrid then placed a finger over his lips. "But, they won't be. Because this mission will not fail."

"Then there's this Project Shellfire thing. And Ragnar's vision of the Edge being attacked. I mean, what's?" he said worriedly.

Astrid then placed her hands on his shoulders and looked at him firmly in the eyes. "Hiccup, stop! You spent months planning this. It's gonna work."

Hiccup smiled and the two of them brought their heads closer to one another.

"Oh, my Thor!" said a voice above them. They looked up and saw Fishlegs staring at them and quickly separated. "What are you two… Wait, I know. It's so obvious!"

"It is?" they said in unison awkwardly.

"Of course!" said Fishlegs. "You're discussing where to hide the Dragon Eye once we get it back." The two of them just smiled awkwardly. "Meatlug, and I are way ahead of you, aren't we girl?" Meatlug growled happily as Fishlegs stroke her. "We've got hiding places inside hiding places."

Hiccup and Astrid merely nodded.

"Well, I'm gonna give Meatlug some Andesite. Helps her leave when she's this excited. Carry on, you two."

They then watched as Fishlegs flew away and sighed with relief.

"That was close," said Astrid.

"Yeah," Hiccup agreed. He then frowned at her. "Wait, why do we care if they know about us?"

"I mean, we don't, I guess. It's all also new. I just want to share it with you right now, you know?" she smiled. Hiccup looked at her with an emotionless expression. "Look, we'll tell everyone, I just want the time to be right."

"Yeah, I get it. This-this isn't the time," he agreed. "We can't take a chance on anyone doing anything differently. Including us."

Hiccup then outstretched his hand, but Astrid merely pulled him towards her and kissed him on the lips. She then pulled away and made her way over to Stormfly and mounted.

"Did you think I'd leave with just the handshake?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

She then took off and Hiccup was with his girlfriend disappeared into the distance. Toothless approached him and growled at him.

"Yeah, I know. She something else, huh, bud?" said Hiccup as he mounted him and then took off.

* * *

Later that very same night, everyone was making their way towards Viggo's base and the twins approached Hiccup.

"Okay, we've given that a lot of thought and here's what we have so far," said Ruffnut.

They then twisted their dragon's necks so Tuffnut was facing him. "'Is that axe in your face, or are you just happy to see me?'" he said. Hiccup just stared at him. "No? Okay. Not a problem."

Ruffnut then switched positions. "'Viggo, this is gonna hurt me a lot more is gonna hurt me!'" she said.

Hiccup was now starting to get annoyed as was Toothless.

After a brief silence Tuffnut then switch positions yet again. "'Good night, and good luck!'" He then frowned. "Wait, wait. No, no, no."

"Given a rest, will you?" Snotlout asked.

"We didn't say you were involved in this, Snotlout," said Tuffnut.

"Although that line wasn't half bad," said Ruffnut. "'Give it a rest, will ya, Viggo?'"

"Oh, for the love of…" Hiccup moaned. He then cleaned his throat. "Riders, ready? Just like we practised!"

They all then went their separate ways the fall the plan, but discovered something quite unusual.

"A Gustav?" said Gustav as he emerged out of the water.

He then soon discover that every single ship had been destroyed and Spitelout was equally as confused.

Alvin, Dagur and Heather discover that the catapults and traps had also been destroyed.

"What's going on?" Heather frowned.

The Riders had completely looked around the island and there was no sign of any Hunters. The twins had just exited from the tunnels, who also completely empty handed.

"Ugh! What a rip off," Snotlout moaned.

"Oh, looks like someone beat us to it," said Fishlegs.

"The question is, who?" said Stoick.

"And how come there is no dead bodies, I don't even say any trace of Ryker or Viggo," said Ragnar rubbing his head.

Hiccup soon landed and then made his way towards Viggo's tent to find the place was completely ransacked and there was no trace of Viggo or the Dragon Eye.

"I'll help the other search the island," said Stoick as he took off.

Hiccup entered the tent and looked at the desk where a Maces and Talons gameboard laid.

"Oh, Thor!" he yelled an upturn the table in a rage. "What is it gonna take to catch this guy?"

Then one of the pieces from the game board landed on the rug and Hiccup heard a hollowed sound. Looking at Toothless he bent down and signalled Toothless to sniff the floor and immediately he growled.

Hiccup pulled the rug away to reveal a wooden door and opened it up to reveal a hole. There, to his utter bewilderment, was Viggo battered and bruised and cradling himself within the hole.

Toothless was immediately about to fire plasma blast, but Hiccup stopped him. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold your fire!"

"I never imagined that these words would come out of this mouth, but, my dear Hiccup, I am overjoyed to see you," said Viggo.

* * *

A few moments later they pulled him out of the hole and had sat down on a stool. The other Riders were now with Hiccup all of them looking at Viggo.

"What happened here? Viggo, where is the Dragon eye?" Hiccup demanded.

Stoick then entered the tent and glared at Viggo. "You come after my son. You come after my home," he growled and lift Viggo up while clenching his throat. "Now you get to deal with me!"

"Dad, wait! Revenge is not a plan," Hiccup reminded him. "Remember."

"That was for you. For me, it goes down like a treat," he said tightening his grip.

"Let Viggo speak," Hiccup pleaded.

"Sir, he's the only one who knows what happened here and the only one who can point us in the direction of the Dragon Eye," said Ragnar.

He stood there for moment and reluctantly, Stoick released Viggo. Viggo gasped for air as he massaged his throat, clearly he had never been on the receiving end of such treatment. Hiccup then approached him clearly wanting answers.

"Ryker's lost all sense of reason," said Viggo. "He's on his own and unfortunately managed this way the soft mind of the Dragon Hunters. My brother has turned them on their leader."

"And that, right there, is why I'd rather have a sister any day of the week," said Tuffnut. Ruffnut nodded and raised her hand believing that her brother was a high five. "Not you, obviously, but, a different sis."

"Ryker's plan, as simple-minded as it is, is to wipe out the Dragon Riders and all of your allies," Viggo continued.

"Yeah, h-how is that different from every other bad guy we've ever dealt with?" Hiccup asked.

"And defeated!" Fishlegs added and folded his arms. "Yeah."

"The difference, my dear Hiccup, is Project Shellfire," said Viggo and looked at the twins. "You two remember that, don't you?"

Ruffnut then marched up and looked straight at him. "Just remember, if Viggo, you go!" she said moved away from him.

Tuffnut then leaned towards him. "That's right. It's your day to burn, and we're the torches with a fire that burns!"

Viggo looked at Ragnar with a puzzled look. "I'm sorry. Did I miss something?"

"No, this is getting quite normal for them," Ragnar assured.

The twins started to back away and Tuffnut gave his noises as he pointed to fingers at his eyes and then back at Viggo.

"Guys, guys, maybe not now," said Hiccup looking at them. He then looked at Viggo. "Tell me what Project Shellfire is. We know it's some sort of weapon. Is it a boat? A dragon?"

"In due time, I will divulge all," said Viggo. "Project Shellfire, the location of the Dragon Eye. But only if you help me stop my brother and send me on my way."

"Yak dung!" Snotlout coughed. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I had something in my lying throat!"

"Snotlout is right, Hiccup," Fishlegs agreed. "We shouldn't trust Viggo as far as we can flow him."

"Agreed. Trusting me is, shall we say, a stretch," said Viggo. "Therefore, as a show of good faith, I will tell you where and when my brother will strike next. Give you time to save some of your allies, which he symptomatically intends to destroy." Hiccup and his father looked at one another and then turned her attention back onto Viggo. "The next attack is on the Defenders of the Wing. Followed by the Outcast, Berserkers and Berk itself, in no particular order. While Ryker is no tactical genius, he still manages to hold some things close to the vest."

Hiccup looked at everyone and gestured them to go outside.

"Time is of the essence, Hiccup," Viggo called. "It is the ability to make expeditious decisions that saves lives."

Hiccup closed the tent behind him and looked at everyone.

"There is no way we're believing one word this guy says," said Astrid.

"We can't just ignore it," said Hiccup. "Astrid, there are too many lives at stake."

"Agreed," said Stoick placing a hand on his shoulder. "Gobber and I will take the auxiliary riders back to Berk. Just in case."

"Heather, Dagur, Alvin, go make sure Berserker and Outcast Islands' are ready," said Hiccup looking at both the Outcast and the Berserkers.

The three of them nodded and went to their dragons.

Hiccup then looked at his Riders. "We're gonna check on the Defenders of the Wing."

"And what about Viggo?" Astrid asked.

"I guess he's comin' with us," said Hiccup. "There is no other way, Astrid."

Astrid didn't like it, but she knew that he was right and nodded.

Hiccup then made his way back into the tent and saw Viggo smiling at him as if he had predicted this scenario.

* * *

They soon reached the Defenders island, and almost instantly they to Viggo into custody. Throk dragged Viggo towards the prison cells and Mala looked at Hiccup with a concerned look.

"Hiccup Haddock, I am going to assume that there is a sane reason that you'd even think of bringing this man into our home," she said folding her arms.

"Mala, I don't trust either," said Hiccup honestly. "But what he says is true, you could be in grave danger."

"It isn't only the Defenders of the Wing I am concerned with," said Mala. "There is something else we must protect at all costs."

* * *

Mala soon took the Riders to the lava pool and there they saw the Eruptodon and opposite it was a baby Eruptodon.

Fishlegs was immediately excited. "Oh! It's hatched? It's hatched!" he cried excitedly.

The baby Eruptodon was busy eating the lava pool with a hungry look on its face.

"A few weeks past," Mala smiled. "He must be protected and must keep his hunger satiated. He's too young and frail to survive anything else."

Then suddenly there was a large explosion directly behind them and they turned a fire large rocks firing down upon them.

"Oh, you mean something like that?" said Snotlout.

It wasn't just the lava pool that was under attack for the entire village in the Defenders were running away screaming.

"The wraith of the gods is upon us!" Throk yelled.

Toothless quickly fired a plasma blast at one of the rocks destroying it and fired yet again, but there was just too many of them.

"I've seen this sort of attacking my vision," said Ragnar looking at Hiccup.

"Hiccup, we need to get the baby Eruptodon out of here," said Fishlegs, who was cradling the baby Eruptodon.

"Yes, please," Mala pleaded.

"Fishlegs, go," Hiccup ordered.

Fishlegs then picked up the baby Eruptodon and mounted Meatlug. The Eruptodon gave them a concerned look as they hovered in front of her.

"We'll protect him as if he was one of our own, we promise," Fishlegs promised.

They then flew away far away from the village and to the far side of the island.

"Believe me now, Hiccup?" said Viggo's voice from within the underground cell he was trapped in.

"Not even remotely," said Hiccup. He then looked at Mala and Throk. "Mala, Throk, you and your men keep Viggo locked down. We're gonna fly into the attack and find the source."

Once they mounted their dragons they took off heading towards the direction falling boulders. Of course flying into them was proving to be quite hazardous.

"I mean, not that we're ones to complain about a totally awesome situation, but, hey, Hiccup, why are we doing this?" Tuffnut asked trying to avoid his head been taken up by the boulders flying above them.

"We have to find the source. The only way is applied towards it," said Hiccup. He then quickly ducked just in time to avoid being hit by a flying boulder.

"Hiccup, that was way too close!" said Astrid frantically. "Maybe you should go back, guard Viggo."

Hiccup then flew towards her. "Astrid, we talk about this. It's gotta be business as usual. We can't risk anyone thinking—"

"Thinking what?" Snotlout frowned overhearing part of their conversation.

"Nothing!" they both said in unison quickly.

"Whoa! Take it easy, Hicstrid."

"Stay focused and keep moving forward! No matter what!" Hiccup ordered.

They then flew past the clouds and saw several Hunters ships close to the sea stack.

"There. Down there," said Hiccup.

They then flew down towards the ship and was spotted instantly by the Hunters aboard it. They then started to engage them in battle and easily took them down with some precise dragon fire.

Then they saw the boulders flying from behind the sea stack.

"Behind the sea stack!" Astrid yelled.

"Cover us!" Hiccup ordered as he and Astrid approached the sea stack.

They circled around it and nearly collide with one another. They looked down and saw no trace of anything that could have caused the attack leaving them completely bewildered.

* * *

When they returned to the island, they discovered that Viggo managed to escape during the confusion.

"He escaped?" Astrid stared.

"The explosions are allowed him to slip away," said Throk regretfully. "I… I failed you."

"You sure did, Throkman. I would be looking for a new gig if I were you. Or a new head!" said Snotlout folding his arms and laughed.

"I can't believe I fell for it. What was I thinking?" said Hiccup mentally kicking himself.

"Now, there's a good question," said Snotlout. "I personally wouldn't have done—"

"Snotlout, don't," Astrid glared.

"No, no, no. It's all right," said Hiccup. "Um, we can't focus on Viggo right now anyway. We need to get back to the Edge." He then approached Mala and Throk. "We don't know when the next attack will happen. Of course, you and your tribe are welcome to come with us."

"No. We must defend our home," said Mala firmly. "But I do have a favour to ask. I fear that the baby Eruptodon will not be safe here."

She then turned to the baby Eruptodon, who was playing with Meatlug. She then spewed some lava out of which the baby happily ate.

"Don't worry, Mala. Meatlug and I were made for this," Fishlegs assured. "We're gonna keep this little guy say no matter what!"

Mala smiled at him and nodded gratefully.

"Send a Terror Mail if you need us," said Hiccup.

They then mounted their dragons and took off and headed straight back to the Edge.

* * *

Once at the Edge, Hiccup and Astrid were in his hut going over a battle plan while their dragons played outside.

"The problem is, we've been thinking like Viggo," Hiccup frowned. "We have to start thinking like Ryker."

"Good luck with that," said Astrid. She then sighed and looked at him apologetically. "Look, I'm sorry for—"

Hiccup knew what she was about to say. "Me too. It won't happen again. Look we have to put our personal feelings aside and accept the risks. We can only protect each other to a point. Like we've been doing for years."

"No, I know. You're right," Astrid nodded. "I lost my head. It won't happen again."

"It is nice to know you care though," Hiccup smiled.

Astrid blushed slightly. "If you don't know that by now, then…"

The two of them looked at one another and drew closer to one another, but before they kissed the twins barged in and they quickly pulled apart from one another.

"Looks like she's got the makes, and I've got the talons," said Tuffnut gesturing to his sister and himself. "So, Viggo, it's game over. And we haven't even—"

"Tuffnut!" Hiccup and Astrid yelled together furiously.

"Yeah, you're right," said Tuffnut. He signed. "I could have the mace, you know, not her. Everyone knows I'm a mace man." He then laughed softly. "Guilty as charged, mace man at heart. Good lookin' out, H."

The twins then left leaving a very annoyed Hiccup and Astrid behind.

"Okay, uh, that's awful," said Hiccup. They then turn towards the map. "Let's assume that Viggo is telling the truth. If you're Ryker, which ally do you hit next?"

The two of them then placed a finger on a small island.

"Outcast Island," they said in unison.

* * *

Later that night they were at the Straits of Baldur and accompanying them was Alvin.

"Not that I don't love hanging out with you guys, but how does hovering over an empty ocean do us any good?" Snotlout asked.

"They can't reach the archipelago without passing through the Straits of Baldur," said Astrid.

"And when they do, they'll come through us," said Hiccup looking through his spyglass.

"And then there witnessed the rage of the Outcast," Alvin growled.

"Hey, Hoff," said Tuffnut looking at her. "Hey, question for you. Which of these two do you like best?"

"'My name is Hiccup Haddock. Submit or be filleted where you stand and fed by my favourite yak,'" said Ruffnut. "Or…"

"—'Oh, you want a battle, Viggo? Well, how about I give you a war instead? It's bigger and there's more fighting!'" said Tuffnut.

"Hiccup doesn't even have a favourite yak," Astrid pointed out.

"What about Yakkity?" Ruffnut asked.

"That's my yak, pal. Yakkity Jorgenson," said Snotlout shaking his head.

"A-and, by the way, we don't want a war, guys," Hiccup added.

"How due to start coming up with catchphrases for release coming up with good ones," said Ragnar rolling his eyes.

Alvin looked at Ragnar. "Are they always like this?"

"Pretty much," Ragnar shrugged.

"Hunter ship, due South!" Hiccup yelled.

Snotlout narrowed his eyes. "Is that a white flag?" he asked confused.

Hiccup looked at the deck of the ship. "Uh, yeah. It is," he said equally confused. "But that's not the weirdest part." He was right, because the plan waving the white flag was none other than Ryker.

* * *

Soon they approached the Hunter ship to question Ryker about his weird behaviour. He pretty much gave the same explanation that Viggo gave them.

"Funny. That's the exact same story Viggo told us, but he said you're the one who flipped," said Hiccup.

"Oh, yeah? Then where is he?" Ryker asked raising an eyebrow. Hiccup just looked at him in silence and Ryker smiled. "Let me ask you this. Between Viggo and myself, who has more than interest in you, Hiccup?"

Again Hiccup was silent with answered Ryker question. "Exactly," he said with a smile. "It's Viggo who's lost his mind. It's Viggo who came up and built the Shellfire. It's Viggo who wants a war. But it's Ryker who has the Dragon Eye."

"Great. Where is it?" Hiccup asked.

"And you can prove us wrong by telling us where the Dragon Eye is," Hiccup added.

"Oh, don't worry. It's safely hidden," Ryker assured. "Think about it, if Viggo had the Shellfire and the Dragon Eye, what would he do? He'd set you up. Which is exactly what my beloved it brother is doing."

Alvin snorted. "I know more about treachery than anyone else and I think we can all agree what makes you think that we would believe you even more than your brother?"

"Oh, that's great!" Snotlout moaned. "Another lunatic Dragon Hunter that we can't trust."

Then suddenly they heard very familiar sounds in the distance.

"The Shellfire," said Hiccup and approached the edge of the ship.

In the distance they could see a massive display of firepower attacking something in the distance.

"But where is it attacking?" Astrid asked. Hiccup pulled out the map to search and soon found the answer and Astrid gasped in horror. "We have to help them, Hiccup!"

"Help who?" Snotlout asked.

"Dagur and Heather!" Astrid answered as he mounted Stormfly.

"Oh, no," said Ragnar horrified as he mounted Skull and he took off with Astrid.

"Berserker Island! Now!" Hiccup ordered and looked at Alvin. "Alvin, you better return to Outcast Island just in case."

"Good hunting," said Alvin as he mounted Groundsplitter and headed towards Outcast Island.

Ryker smiled at Hiccup. "You see, Hiccup? That attack proves what I've been saying," he said. "Bring me Viggo and I will give you what you want. Otherwise, I disappear for good along with the Dragon Eye."

Hiccup had no time for negotiations and rushed towards Berserker Island as quickly as he could.

* * *

When they got there Heather and Dagur were already approaching them looking quite frantic.

"Brother!" Dagur yelled.

"Hiccup! It came at us out of nowhere!" Heather yelled.

They quickly moved to avoid a boulder almost striking them and the other Riders made fancy manoeuvres to avoid being hit as well.

"Hiccup, staying together won't help. We need to split up," said Astrid.

"You're right," Hiccup nodded. "You're with me." He then looked at Ragnar and the others. "Go with Heather and Dagur. Save you can, then meet us back at the Edge."

"And where are you two going?" Snotlout asked.

"To find out whatever this Shellfire is, and stop it, once and for all," said Hiccup.

Then he and Astrid headed straight towards the direction of the boulder fire. While the others went straight towards Berserker Island.

"You guys felt that, right?" said Snotlout looking at the twins.

"Definitely," they said in unison.

Snotlout rolled his eyes. "You have no idea what I'm talking about do you?"

"Not a clue," said Ruffnut.

"And, strangely, we're not that broken up about it," said Tuffnut.

"Hiccup, Astrid. Something is up with them," said Snotlout.

"Oh, that!" they said in unison.

"Yeah, well, I know what it is, though. It is obvious. I'm sorry you had hear it from me, but, Hiccup is dying," said Tuffnut sadly. Snotlout and Hookfang stared at him. "Yep. I mean, he didn't tell me or anything, but I can tell. He's on death's door, he's a-knockin', and death's home, but he's changing and it's gonna be a bit before he can come to the door, so Hiccup's preparing to say his goodbyes. That's the only reason he's rejecting our catch phrases. Is just too painful to think about them being used when he's not here. Especially because he knows that he'd never be as good saying them as me."

"That's ridiculous!" Ruffnut yelled punching him. "It Astrid who's dying. And she's trying to spend as much time as he can with Hiccup so she can break it to him slowly. Duh!"

"You two muttonhead have no idea how to read people," said Snotlout rolling his eyes. "They're not dying. They're spending all this time together because Hiccup clearly has a gambling problem and Astrid is trying to help him conceal it."

The twins looked at one another and then back to Snotlout.

"By Thor! You've got it!" said Tuffnut.

Heather flew next to Ragnar and shook her head. "They really have no idea what's going on between the two of them, do they?"

"Not a clue," said Ragnar.

"So, when did they become a couple?" Heather asked intriguingly.

"A few days ago and they're still adjusting to it, especially Astrid," said Ragnar.

Before he could explain more, a flying boulder headed straight towards them and he barely had enough time to dodge it. They then quickly flew down towards the island in order to help the Berserkers evacuate.

* * *

Hiccup and Astrid were flying as fast they could towards the direction of the fire.

"Faster, bud! We need to close the distance before it can disappear!" Hiccup yelled.

It wasn't easy to manoeuvre past the flying boulders, but eventually they got past them.

"There!" Astrid pointed.

Down below them they saw a strange looking ship with no deck or sails and completely made of dragon-proof metal.

"I see it! Looks like a ship!" said Hiccup.

They then flew down towards it, but then strangely it sank beneath the waves and then a second later a large dragon emerge out of the water. It had to be one hundred and sixty feet long with two long horns on its head, relatively long wings, and a hard shell on its back for protection. Beneath it and had four legs and uniquely shaped wings used mainly for swimming. Hiccup then noticed that the ship they saw the ball was actually chained to the creature's back. It then opened its mouth and fired several cannonball-sized plasma charges.

"What is that?" Hiccup stared as the dragon fired more shots. "This Shellfire isn't a ship or a dragon. It's both! He's weaponised a dragon, Astrid!"

"Dragon Riders! Move!" said a Hunter on the deck of the ship.

They then jumped into the nearest and closed it behind them. A few seconds later, the Shellfire turned around and sank beneath the waves.

"And that's why it's so hard to find and defend against," said Astrid.

"I'm going after it," said Hiccup.

Hiccup then dive down into the sea and attempted to follow the Shellfire, but the dragon was far too fast underwater and soon disappeared from sight. With no other option, Hiccup and Toothless flew back up to the surface and joined Astrid.

"Too fast and too deep," he said.

"It can't stay down for long, there are Hunters under those hatches" Astrid pointed out.

"But we don't know which direction it's headed or where it's gonna come up," said Hiccup frustratingly. "Ah, we've gotta get back to the Edge to regroup."

* * *

Later that night, they returned to the Edge with Heather and Dagur. Hiccup then began explaining what he and Astrid had seen.

"Tidal Class for sure. If I had to guess, Titan Wing," said Hiccup. "Bigger than a Submaripper. Long range firing capabilities."

"Sounds like a modified version of that chariot, Ryker came up with," said Ragnar folding his arms.

"Titan Class dragons don't attack humans. They just don't," said Fishlegs as Meatlug fed the baby Eruptodon. "It's not in their nature. They're forcing it to do that."

"I know they are, Fishlegs," said Hiccup.

"Subjugation," said Tuffnut. Everyone just stared at him openmouthed. "What? I listen and learn, people." He then looked to his sister. "That's the word, right?" Ruffnut facepalmed herself at her brother's stupidity. "No?"

Hiccup then looked at Dagur and Heather. Dagur was comforting Heather after what they witnessed on their island.

"Dagur, Heather, I'm sorry about Berserker Island," he said apologetically. "We all are."

"At least we managed to save most of our people. But to rebuild…" Heather sighed.

"I've been trying really hard to manage my anger, Hiccup," said Dagur. "But Viggo? He's got to go."

"Hey, that's my line," said Snotlout.

"Sorry, Snot-hat," said Dagur.

Snotlout narrowed his eyes and folded his arms and saw that Hookfang was doing a dragon's equivalent of a laugh. "What are you looking at? No laughing," he snapped.

Astrid then looked at Hiccup. "So, what's our next move?"

"I don't know," said Hiccup depressingly. He then made his way over to Toothless. "The only thing I do know is we've got to find Viggo soon or Ryker and the Dragon Eye could be gone for good."

"Good luck with that," said Snotlout. "What do you think Viggo's gonna do? Walk in here and turn himself in?"

"Not helping, Snotlout," said Fishlegs.

"Maybe Ryker will give us more time?" Astrid offered.

"I highly doubt that," said Hiccup.

"We don't even know if he's telling the truth," said Ragnar rubbing the back of his head.

Hiccup grunted in annoyance and Astrid went to comfort him. "I need to clear my head."

"I'll hold things together while you're gone," Astrid assured. "Take your time. We'll be fine."

Hiccup smiled at her and mounted Toothless and took off.

* * *

They soon landed on the edge of a cliff that overlooks the sea and Hiccup sat on the edge contemplating with Toothless by his side.

"Looks peaceful, doesn't it?" said Hiccup looking at Toothless. He then shook his head. "I always have at least a gut feeling for something to do. But this time…"

Hiccup sighed and noticing his troubled look, Toothless nudged him affectionately and Hiccup stretched him on the nose.

"Perhaps I can help?" said a very familiar voice behind him. They turned and saw Viggo approaching them and Toothless growled at him. "I hope you didn't think I would leave you hanging in the wind. I'm nothing if not a man of my word, Hiccup."

Hiccup got to his feet and glared at him as Toothless growled at him furiously.

"Let me guess. Ryker told you that I was the one who went rogue," said Viggo. He then chuckled slightly. "I figured as much. Probably offered you peace and the Dragon Eye, either of which he is either willing or able to give you."

"Oh, and you are?" Hiccup asked raising an eyebrow.

Viggo merely smiled and approached Hiccup. Toothless got ready to fire a plasma blast. "As I said, my dear Hiccup, you help me stop my brother and I'll give you what you desire."

Hiccup narrowed his eyes. "Which is exactly what he said. Almost to the word."

"But he conveniently could produce it, could he?" Viggo smiled.

"But you can?" Viggo expression change and he went silent. "Yeah, that's just what I…" He then stopped when Ryker produced a large cylinder with engravings. It was the Dragon Eye. "Thought."

"Now, when will Ryker be arriving?" Viggo asked.

"Uh, in the morning," said Hiccup still slightly perplexed.

Viggo then walked up to him and presented him with the Dragon Eye. "Rest assured. The Shellfire will be with him." Hiccup was about to grab it, but Viggo pulled it away. "Uh-un, whatever we're going to do, Hiccup, we must do it together."

Hiccup was in two minds, he didn't trust Viggo an inch, but there was no denying that the present moment Ryker was the bigger threat. He knew that he would regret it, but right now they were allies.

Satisfied, Viggo gave him the Dragon Eye and Hiccup had a feeling that the finals competition of their war was about to begin.


	52. Shell Shocked Part II

It was now morning and the Riders were discussing what to do with Viggo as he paced outside the clubhouse with Toothless on guard.

"I don't trust the guy," said Astrid.

"You know he'd actually be pretty fun to hang with," said Tuffnut. "I mean, if he wasn't trying to kill us all the time."

"Yeah, you gotta love the way he talks," Ruffnut nodded. She then put on her best Viggo impression. "'Hiccup, I'm afraid our time together has come to an end. I must now kill you, if you have no objections.'"

"Yeah, like he is not gonna have objections. And then he'll go, 'All of your Dragon Riders must also go, with my sincere apologies,'" said Tuffnut now impersonating Viggo.

Everyone just shook their heads at them.

"I'm with Astrid," said Fishlegs. "This is all just one big game to him, Hiccup."

"I have to agree," said Ragnar. "I suspect he'll double-cross us at some point."

"Ryker is coming to try to wipe us all out along with his brother. Are we really gonna take any chances with Viggo here?" Astrid asked.

"You guys are right," Hiccup nodded. "I got this."

* * *

A few moments later they placed Viggo in one of the dragon pens in the stables.

"Hiccup, you must reconsider," said Viggo.

Hiccup then closed the pen door. "Viggo, I'm sorry. There's too much bad blood for us to trust that you'll do anything but try to, well, you know…" he said as Astrid and Ragnar locked the door with a chain.

"And the Dragon Eye's return, I did nothing to assuage your concerns?" said Viggo.

"Not enough," said Astrid.

"We know you're too smart to give up everything," said Ragnar. "Sooner or later you doublecross us."

"Ryker will attack this island with my Shellfire dragon," said Viggo. "I'm afraid he won't stop until all of you, well, you know…"

"That encouraging is always, Viggo," said Hiccup.

"You see, that's just it. I could be of considerable assistance in helping you defend your home if you would allow me."

"We'll take that under advisement," said Astrid.

"They're here," said Tuffnut as he and his sister ran into the stables. "Well, I may not hear exactly, but very soon. Soon they will be here. I'm thinking we might need to start getting ready."

Hiccup looked at Ruffnut. "Translation, Ruff?"

"Dragon Hunters. Multiple ships heading this way," she said.

"We didn't want to bum you out, you know… what with all the deadly diseases and everything," he said in a hushed whisper.

Hiccup looked at Astrid and Ragnar and they just shrugged.

"But we figured, it is really our place to deny you the right to die during battle instead?" Tuffnut asked.

"What in the name of Thor are you two talking about?" Astrid asked.

Ragnar just rubbed his forehead. "I'll explain later, but I think right now we need to get into the air."

Hiccup and Astrid nodded and the three of them went to their dragons.

"They're both in denial," said Ruffnut looking at her brother.

"Classic stage one," said Tuffnut.

"Sad seeing them so vulnerable," said Ruffnut as they mounted their dragons.

"Just make sure he doesn't try to escape," said Hiccup gesturing to Viggo.

"We got this, my pale, weak, ailing friend," said Tuffnut.

"What?" Hiccup stared.

"I'll explain later," Ragnar repeated as they took off.

Ruffnut looked at her brother. "Poor little guy. Keeping a stiff upper lip must be such a struggle."

Tuffnut then looked at Viggo. "So, Viggo. Vigster. How about we bounce something off you?"

* * *

Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar returned later that night and began to inform everyone of the situation, minus the twins.

"All right, gang. We have until dawn," said Hiccup as he paced up and down. "They'll be in range by then."

"Hiccup, I had a thought," said Snotlout. "Now, follow me on this. Okay. Come along for the ride. I don't know about you guys, but I am not completely attached to this place, right? Let it burn to the ground."

Everyone just stared at him.

"I mean, it's been fun. Great views. But is it worth dying over? That's what you have to ask yourself. All right, let's take a vote." He then raised his hand, but no one else did. "Anyone?"

"Snotlout, if we don't stop them here, when you think they're gonna go next?" Hiccup asked.

Snotlout looked at him blankly. "Uh…"

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Berk."

"Berk. Berk. Berk," Snotlout nodded.

"They're going to go to Berk. Our Berk. We have to make our stand here and do whatever it takes to stop them," said Hiccup firmly.

"So, that's one nay," said Snotlout folding his arms. "No surprise there."

Hiccup shook his head. "Dagur, could you and Shattermaster cover the backside of the Edge? With the time you've spend sneaking around, you'll have an advantage."

"On my way," Dagur saluted. "And I take that as a compliment, by the way, the sneaking around part."

"Of course you do," said Hiccup as Dagur left. He then turned to Snotlout. "Snotlout, you and Hookfang get the Gronckle Iron walls up on the huts." He then turned to Ragnar. "Ragnar make sure that our medical supplies are stalked and secured, we may be needing." He then looked at Fishlegs. "Fishlegs, take the baby Eruptodon hatchling to the centre of the island and find a safe place to hide."

Snotlout stared at Hiccup as Fishlegs walked off. "Wait, he gets to hide? We can hide just as well."

"Hey, hey! 'There's no crying in Maces and Talons!'" Tuffnut yelled as he and his sister approached. "What do you think?"

The Riders just groaned.

"Our catchphrase," Tuffnut smiled. "It's already got the Viggo stamp of approval."

"That's awesome," said Hiccup tiredly. "Ruff, Tuff and Heather, you take the first wave of ships."

"Don't worry your pretty little head. We're on it," Ruffnut assured.

"I'm not worried," said Astrid.

"Talking to Hiccup." She then looked at Hiccup. "You'll have it before you can say 'ultimate destruction', my friend."

The twins then walked off.

"Uh, you guys coming?" Tuffnut asked looking back at Hiccup and Astrid.

The other Riders began to move out and Heather looked at the twins.

"Um, I think they need to discuss some final strategy alone," she said.

Tuffnut looked at his sister. "You get the feeling Heather knows, you know, about the ailment?"

"I do," Ruffnut nodded. "How can she and Ragnar be so calm when they knows their comrades in arms are close to death?"

Snotlout then pulled the two of them closer towards him. "How many times do I have to tell you this? They're not dying. It's gambling. Gambling! I've seen it," he said.

Hiccup and Astrid then looked at one another as the twisted their hands with one another.

* * *

The next morning, the main Hunter invasion fleet arrived along with the Shellfire. Once it was on the surface the Hunters began to emerge out of the hatches with hammers and Ryker stepped onto the bridge.

"Remember. I don't want prisoners," said Ryker. "I want bodies."

He then gave the signal and the Hunters raised the hammers and struck the shellshock. The dragons head then raised up onto the surface and then fired a plasma charged straight at Dragon's Edge.

The Riders were busy we fought to find the huts with Gronckle Iron when they saw the charge heading straight towards them.

"Incoming!" Snotlout yelled.

"Everyone to their hearts. We have to weigh out the initial attack," Hiccup ordered.

The twins then rushed into their heart along with Snotlout, Heather went with Astrid to her heart had as did Ragnar with Hiccup.

* * *

Viggo was still trapped in the stables and the heard the explosions and you instantly what was causing it.

"Fools," he said.

* * *

In the twins hut, Tuffnut was moving some crates and found Chicken beneath one of them.

"Hey. Chicken," he said hugging her.

Ruffnut looked at Snotlout, who was hiding beneath one of their tables. "So, what's wrong with your hut?"

"I was so busy doing everyone else's that I forgot about mine and Ragnar's," he said quivering.

Suddenly there was a second explosion and Snotlout ducked behind the table again.

* * *

In Hiccup's hut, he and Ragnar felt the strikes.

"He's not pulling any punches is he?" said Ragnar.

Toothless was not liking the noises something which Hiccup picked up. "I know, bud. This is no fun for me either."

* * *

Astrid and Heather were inside her hut and she couldn't help but worry about Hiccup.

"I hope the others are okay," said Astrid.

Heather knew what she meant. "Astrid, I'm sure Hiccup is safe. Ragnar is with him and he won't let anything happen to him."

* * *

Meanwhile, Fishlegs was up in the mountains unaware that Ryker was pounding the Edge relentlessly.

"You see, little guy?" he said rubbing the baby Eruptodon's head. "We're safe here. Nothing can get near us."

Then suddenly a plasma charged struck the dormant volcano opposite them. Fishlegs whimpered slightly as another struck it.

"Except for that," he said.

Fishlegs cradled the baby Eruptodon to keep it calm and Meatlug did the same.

* * *

On the Edge, Ryker has finally stopped, but had caused massive damage to its structure. The Riders soon met up in the clubhouse to discuss their next plan of attack.

"Okay, I don't know about any of you, but there's no way I'm sitting through that again," said Snotlout. "We have dragons. We should be out there thinking those ships."

"The fire isn't coming from the ships, it's coming from the Shellfire," Hiccup pointed out.

Then to their utter surprise Viggo entered the clubhouse. "I hate to be the one to say that I told you so, but…" he said.

"How did you get out?" Hiccup stared.

"My friend, Snotlout, was good enough to allow me use of the facilities," said Viggo placing an arm around Snotlout.

Everyone looked at Snotlout.

"Oh, he did, did he?" said Hiccup.

"What? He scares me," said Snotlout. "Besides, when you gotta go, you gotta go. And who knows better than me?"

"Hiccup, you must allow me to assist you, for the sake of us all," said Viggo. "This Shellfire's ranges over a mile. Ryker is using ships. My ships to be exact, to protect it."

"Then we need to get past the ships," said Astrid.

Suddenly the entire place shock as another plasma charged struck the island.

"And we better do it quickly," said Hiccup. "Ruff, Tuff? You're up."

"We're on it," said Ruffnut saluting.

The twins then left the clubhouse and soon everyone else followed.

"Hey, what about me?" Snotlout asked.

Another plasma charged struck the island causing the island to shake.

"Why don't you look after your new best friend there," said Hiccup gesturing to Viggo.

"Where's the fun in that?" Snotlout asked.

"It's not supposed to be fun!" Hiccup yelled as he left. He then stuck his head back out. "And I don't care how scary he is, do not let him out of your sight again."

He then close the clubhouse door behind and Viggo approached Snotlout and he groaned. And suddenly the island shook once more as another plasma charged struck it.

* * *

Out at sea there was an entire armada of Hunter ships and the Hiccup, Astrid, Ragnar and Heather were approaching them.

"Okay, we need to slow them down a little and move on," said Hiccup. "If they fire on us, we fire back."

A plasma charged and shot overhead heading towards the Edge.

"Look out!" Hiccup yelled and they dived as arrows and boulders fired at them.

They then flew down towards the ships and unleashed dragon fire upon them. Astrid and Ragnar together took a couple ships between them. Hiccup began to manoeuvre around the ships to avoid being hit and then signalled Heather to make attack run. She died down and sliced the mast of one of the ships.

Unfortunately no matter what they did that didn't stop the Shellfire from firing at the Edge which was proven when they saw a plasma charged flying overhead.

"Hiccup!" said Astrid.

"Shellfire. I know," Hiccup nodded. "Let's go!"

When they approach the Shellfire they saw what was causing it to attack them.

"Uh, are you guys seeing this?" Hiccup asked.

"Unfortunately," said Astrid.

"This explains a few things," said Ragnar.

They watched as the Hunters slammed the hammers onto the Shellfire causing it to fire at Edge.

"Of course it wouldn't fire at us on its own," said Hiccup as the shellfire fired another plasma charged.

"And we can't take them out without endangering the dragon," Heather added.

"I'm pretty sure that was their plan," said Hiccup.

"Definitely a modified version of Ryker's using Seashockers to move dinghies," said Ragnar.

They quickly moved out of the way to avoid another plasma charged.

* * *

Meanwhile on the Edge, Viggo was back in his cell in the stables which was now on fire due to the Shellfire firing at the Edge.

"Snotlout, release me immediately!" Viggo yelled. Unfortunately for him, Snotlout was nowhere to be seen. "Snotlout. Snotlout!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup and the others were still taking out the ships that surrounded the Shellshock.

"Split up," Hiccup ordered as he dodged volley of arrows from a ship.

The Hunters on the Shellshock were now firing at them with crossbows while Ryker just folded his arms and smiled triumphantly. A Hunter then charged as Astrid fired several spines at him she then realised too late that a Hunter was firing a ballista at her and barely had time to dodge.

Hunters then began to fire at her with arrows, but Ragnar and Skull appeared out of nowhere to block them. While they were distracted Heather approached them from behind, but before he could get a shot in they saw her and fired arrows at her.

Ryker watched as the Riders were falling back. "They're running scared!" he laughed as the Hunters cheered.

Ryker then slammed her fist against the hull of the ship and the Shellfire fired once again. This time it almost took Hiccup out, but fortunately he manoeuvred out of the way just in time though he was caught in the shockwave.

Hiccup quickly maintained their balance and then looked at the others. "Let's regroup," he ordered.

They then flew up into the air to get out of range of their attacks so they could come up with the next plan of attack.

"There's no way to control it without hurting it," said Hiccup.

"We might not have a choice, Hiccup," said Astrid.

"No. There's gotta be another way," said Hiccup firmly. He then turned and saw Snotlout flying towards them. "Whoa! Aren't you supposed to be watching Viggo?" He then saw the stables were on fire. "Is that the stables on fire?"

"You said don't let him out no matter what," Snotlout reminded.

Hiccup groaned. "Snotlout, use your brain."

"Good Thor, you're so mercurial," Snotlout grumbled. "Viggo taught me that. I don't know what it means." He then started to mumble to himself. "Clearly, it's the gambling losses. This isn't really him."

"Go. We'll be fine," said Astrid.

"Oh, let's hope this isn't the biggest mistake of our lives, bud," said Hiccup looking down at Toothless.

Hiccup and Toothless then headed straight back to the edge while the others engage the remaining ships.

* * *

Fishlegs, meanwhile, was still comforting the baby Eruptodon and then saw more plasma charges hitting the volcano. That proved problematic, as they started to reactivate the volcano.

"The volcano's been woken up," he said. "If it had, the Edge is gonna sink into the ocean."

The baby Eruptodon merely growled.

"I know, right?" Fishlegs nodded. His eyes then widened. "Wait, are you saying? Of course you are." He then looked at Meatlug. "Come on, Meatlug."

He quickly mounted Meatlug and headed towards the volcano.

* * *

Meanwhile on the other side of the island, Sleuther was engaging the Hunters. Dagur arrived just in time to see them surrounding him.

"Okay, Shattermaster, time for a lesson on bullying," Dagur smiled.

They then flew down towards the Hunters and Shattermaster spewed lava over them causing them to retreat.

"Oh, yes! Oh, easy, big boy," said Dagur as they landed in front of the retreating Hunters.

Shattermaster then struck them with his tail bludgeon, the more hands appeared with arrows.

"Lesson's gonna have to wait," said Dagur. "Let's bury them instead!"

Shattermaster then took off into the air performing a few somersaults and flew back towards them backwards. He then slammed his tail right into the Hunters causing them to retreat and panic.

Dagur then turned to Sleuther. "Go free, Mr. Triple Stryke! Find refuge in the forest!" he yelled.

Sleuther then retreated into the forest and Dagur and Shattermaster slammed into more Hunters. On the ships however, the Hunters fired arrows, no doubt forgetting that Gronckle were immune to Dragon Root. Unfortunately, one of the Hunters fired a boulder that slammed hard into Shattermaster.

The two of them and crash landed on the beach and while Dagur was completely fine, the same could not be said for Shattermaster.

"Shattermaster," Dagur gasped in horror and rushed over towards him. "It's okay, boy. I'm right here."

He then saw that the Hunters had recovered and were now advancing on their position.

"We're warriors, you and me, right? We'll fight together to the end," he said as they limped over towards a rock formation. "They won't take us alive. I promise you that." Shattermaster then laid on the ground weakly. "I admit that it's—it's not the preferred result. But if it's our time, there is no one I'd rather pass through the gates of Valhalla with than you, you hear me?"

Shattermaster growled at him happily.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup had reached the burning stables and rushed over towards Viggo, who had become overcome by the smoke. He opened the pen door and grabbed his arm.

"Hiccup, you came all the way back to rescue me," Viggo coughed. "I'm honoured."

"Yeah, don't be," said Hiccup as they made their way outside. "If I left you here to die it would make me no better than you."

"Well, you'll be glad you returned," said Viggo as Hiccup remounted Toothless. "I can help, if you will allow me."

"How? How are you gonna help?" Hiccup asked suspiciously.

"I can advise you on defeating my brother and stopping the Shellfire."

"You got that all figured out, do ya?"

"As luck would've had it, I do."

Hiccup knew that he could trust him, but so far their attempts to stop the shellfire were failing. Plus there was also the fact that he had come up with the plan originally and therefore would know all its flaws.

Hiccup then extended his hand and Viggo took it and was lifted up onto Toothless' back. Toothless then took off.

* * *

A few moments later, the Dragon Riders had returned and sealed the dome to plan the next move as the Shellfire fired more plasma charges on the island.

"Okay, I'm confused," said Snotlout. "You said keep him in his cell. You can't toy with my emotions like this, Hiccup. I'm too fragile right now."

"He's right," said Astrid turning to Hiccup. "I mean, sort of. Are we really trusting Viggo to be on the loose, especially now?"

"Well, if Viggo can help figure out how to stop this attack—"

"What if he can't? What if he won't? What if this is all part of the plan?" Astrid asked. "We just walked into it."

"Then, we just walked into it," said Hiccup. "But, I'm making the call. Viggo and I are gonna take this thing down."

The two of them then mounted Toothless and the dome opened. Hiccup looked at Astrid with concern before taking off.

Astrid to was for concern as they left, because he was in more danger than they were right now.

* * *

Meanwhile, Fishlegs had reached the volcano avoiding all the plasma charges flying overhead.

"Oh, no. we gotta go get help," he said as plasma charges struck the lava with in the volcano. Streaming he landed, but the lava began to overflow with all the attacks. "Oh, Thor! Oh, Thor!" He then dismounted Meatlug and what of the lava began to overflow. "By the time we get help, it'll be too late." He then took a deep breath. "Like it or not, this is on us, guys."

He then picked up the baby Eruptodon and brought to the lava flow.

"Eat, little guy, eat!" Fishlegs yelled.

The baby Eruptodon then started to munch down on the lava and Meatlug flew around him for added protection.

"That's it, girl. You protected him," he said. "And I'll… I'll protect you."

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup was following Viggo's directions out to sea.

"You know, there's a word of a tournament. To be hosted by the Tribe of the Whispering Trees," said Viggo.

"Yeah, is that right?" said Hiccup starting to regret bringing Viggo along.

"Maces and Talons?" Viggo continued. "The winner, apparently, received a life-sized game set. Made of solid gold."

"Oh, lucky him," Hiccup mumbled.

Viggo then smiled down on Hiccup. "Pool, dear, Hiccup," he said with a chuckle. "Relationships can be complicated. Am I right?" Hiccup just remain silent. "And while I cannot put myself directly in your shoes, I can no seriously emphasise with your situation."

"You can, huh?" said Hiccup.

"Absolutely," said Viggo smirking. "To be in love with a girl who is your partner in battle?" Hiccup's eyes widened as Viggo sighed. "Not sure how I could balance such a precarious situation. It can certainly cloud the mind, impaired judgement. Making even the simplest decisions vexing."

Hiccup then turned on him. "You know what's 'vexing,' Viggo? Is why you're rambling on trying to get inside my head. I would think that, by now, you'd have given up. You see, I'm focused, I'm clear, decisive. What I am is not your friend, your ally your Maces and Talons buddy, okay? So let's leave our personal lives out of it and get down to business."

Viggo shrugged, slightly surprised by his outburst. "I'm only trying to help."

"Okay, if you wanna help, why don't you tell me where we're going and what we're doing?" Hiccup asked.

Viggo looked down at the water. "Stop, Dragon!" he yelled suddenly.

Toothless growled at him angrily, but start nonetheless. However, they were just hovering under very deep seawater.

"What-what's going on?" Hiccup frowned. "There's not been out here but empty ocean."

"Yes," said Viggo secretly pulling a dagger out that he concealed and raised it high. "So, it would appear."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said Astrid's voice.

"Astrid," said Viggo turning to say her hovering just above them and not look entirely surprised to see her.

Hiccup turned and saw Astrid hovering just above them and Viggo holding a dagger in his hand.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What the Thor?" he gasped.

"I'm afraid you may have misinterpreted the situation," said Viggo flipping the dagger upright in his hand.

"No, I think I've interpreted it pretty well," Astrid glared. Stormfly growled at him angrily. "Now, drop it."

"Exactly what I planned all along," said Viggo.

"Yeah, right. I'm sure you did," said Astrid sarcastically.

"Give us a moment, Astrid, and all will be revealed," said Viggo calmly. He then held the dagger out pointing it down towards the ocean. "I assure you."

Then to their surprise he released the dagger and it sank beneath the waves and a few seconds later the waves struck as they began to emerge.

* * *

Meanwhile Ragnar was leading the Dragon Riders and Heather against the remaining ships.

"Fire!" a Hunter ordered.

Suddenly boulders and arrows flew through the air at them. Fortunately they were able to avoid them and Snotlout fired at one of the ships taking out the catapult and the men on board. The twins then landed on another ship and leaking gas into the hold before Belch ignite it causing an explosion.

Ragnar was charging towards one of the ships as they fired arrows at him, but they merely bounced off Skull's armour, and fired a stream of fire down on top of them. Heather was zigzagging past the arrows and blasted a ship.

Unfortunately, the Shellfire was still attacking the Edge and show no signs of stopping.

"Move!" Ragnar ordered.

He the other Riders and Heather then charged at the Shellfire. Unfortunately, the smoke from the sunken ships was so thick they couldn't see anything.

"I don't see anything," said Snotlout. He then heard a growl and saw the Shellfire right in front of them which fired a plasma charge. "Scratch that."

"More Dragon Riders," Ryker smiled. "Take 'em down!"

The nearby ships then focused their fire upon the Riders and the twins managed to avoid the arrows, but had a dive into the sea to avoid a ballista. Snotlout too was under fire so much so that he and Hookfang had to dive into the sea. Unfortunately, they won't save there, because they came face-to-face with the Shellfire. Snotlout screamed underwater and retreated and they stuck their heads out of the water.

This only let Ragnar and Heather fighting and they took out a few more ships, but then a Hunter ship fired a bolo cannon at him, which grazed him and causing him to fall into the sea.

"Ragnar!" Heather yelled, but then a ballista grazed her across the shoulder knocking her into the sea.

The two of them then then grabbed hold of a log to keep themselves afloat. The twins had managed to emerge out of the water and climbed onto one of the sunken ships, but now they were at the mercy of the Shellfire and Ryker.

"Time to finish them off. Do it," Ryker ordered.

The Hunters then slammed their hammers against the Shellshock and it opened its mouth preparing to finish them off.

"Oh, boy. This is gonna hurt," Snotlout whimpered.

"And there's no cover out here," Heather added.

"We're going to need a miracle," said Ragnar.

And that's exactly what they got. The Shellshock was about to fire, but then suddenly appearing out of nowhere a Submaripper slammed right into it from beneath. This caught the Hunters completely by surprise and they grabbed hold of the wooden beam as firmly as possible as they were pulled into the ocean.

"What was that?" Tuffnut stared.

"That, my friend, was a Submaripper," Ruffnut beamed.

"Where did that come from? And why is it helping us?" Snotlout asked confused.

"I have a pretty good idea," said Ragnar looking up into the sky.

Heather then saw what he was looking at as Hiccup and Astrid flew overhead. "They're alive," she said relieved. "Thank, Thor!"

"For the last time, they're not dying!" Snotlout yelled. "It's gambling. Gambling!"

The Submaripper was now underneath the Shellfire and slammed it with its tail against its soft underbelly. Hiccup and Astrid were watching as the battle unfolded with Viggo on top of Toothless.

"So the dagger was to stir up the water and cause the Submaripper to surface?" said Hiccup.

"Precisely," said Viggo folding his arms.

"But, how could you know it would react like this?" Hiccup frowned.

"Hiccup, the Submaripper is the natural and hidden enemy of the Shellfire," Viggo smiled as the two dragons circled around one another. "A little fact I kept in my tunic for a day just like this."

"The Dragon Eye."

"Precisely."

Hiccup then looked up at Astrid. "All right. The Shellfire is tied up with the Submaripper. This may be our best chance to take out the rest of the ships."

Hiccup and Astrid then flew down towards the Hunter ships were too busy staring at the battle between the Shellfire and the Submaripper to notice. Astrid made in the first move by having Stormfly grasp of the mast of a ship and cause it to tip over. Hiccup then blasted a second ship with a plasma blast.

The Shellfire and the Submaripper were busy with a wrestling match that caused the sink beneath the waves. Naturally this caused problems with the Hunters that were on the ship attached to the Shellfire's back. They soon resurfaced and the Shellfire took out one of the Hunter ships as it surfaced.

The Hunters were starting to realise they were no longer in control the Shellfire and was slowly beginning to abandon ship.

"Don't you dare leave this ship!" Ryker yelled at the top of his voice. "You stay and fight like Hunters!"

Unfortunately, the Hunters didn't have a choice in the matter as the Submaripper slammed into the Shellfire once again causing them to fall overboard.

"Come back here!" Ryker roared furiously. "Do you hear me?"

The shellfire then fired a plasma charge at the Submaripper, who danced at the last second, and destroying one of the Hunter ships. It also almost took Hiccup out, who have to fly a lot slower with Viggo on board.

"Okay. That was way too close," said Hiccup. He then looked at Viggo. "Viggo, I need to drop you on the beach. You're slowing us down."

"Pity. I was going to enjoy watching Ryker go down with the ship," said Viggo slightly disappointed.

Hiccup soon landed on the beach and Viggo dismounted.

"We may be adversaries, Hiccup, but my respect for you is beyond what I could possibly put into words," said Viggo.

Hiccup just remain silent and Toothless growled, neither of them felt the same about him. They then took off to re-join the battle and Viggo merely smiled menacingly as he chuckled to himself.

* * *

Dagur was still pinned down by the Hunters with the wounded Shattermaster.

"Berserker, last stand, buddy," he said grasping his axe. "This is how you go out that a man. Well, me as a man, you as a dragon. You know what I'm saying."

The two of them were about to charge the enemy, but then they heard screams from behind their hiding place. They could also hear a dragon roar and winced every time they heard one of the Hunters cry.

When it finally stopped Dagur looked at Shattermaster. "You stay here, boy."

He then looked over behind his cover and saw Sleuther standing over the unconscious Hunters with his three tails raised.

"Well, hello there, Mr. Triple Stryke," said Dagur happily as it wrapped its tails together as one. "You certainly are full surprises, aren't you? Dagur like surprises."

Sleuther roared and then raised its tail towards Dagur. He looked at him confused and saw him roar once again.

Dagur chuckled happily. "We got this, bud," he said grabbing the tail.

Sleuther then placed him on his back and started swapping Hunters away with his tail.

"Whoa. Surprising. Surprising!" Dagur yelled excitedly.

Three Hunters charged at them at once, but Sleuther separated its tail swatting the three Hunters away.

"Have I mentioned how I love the tail? So sharp, so destructive."

Sleuther once again swatted away another group of Hunters with his tails much to Dagur's excitement. He then saw Hiccup and Toothless flying towards them.

"Brother!" he yelled excitedly.

"Made a new friend, huh?" said Hiccup noticing Sleuther.

"Seems so. Don't you just love the tails? And that snapping sound," he squealed. "Whoo! Gives me goosies."

To Hunters then came charging at the, but Toothless merely fired a plasma blast knocking them flat on their backs. A never Hunter came charging in, but Sleuther easily knocked him aside.

Hiccup then took off and then fire plasma blast down on the ships at the beach and then landed back on the beach.

"That's the last of 'em," said Hiccup.

"Well done, brother!" Dagur yelled excitedly.

Unfortunately, this celebration was short lived as they heard a distant rumble and saw the volcano smoking.

"Get Shattermaster back to the Edge," Hiccup ordered. "Ragnar should be able to help."

"Where you going?" Dagur asked.

"I have a feeling Fishlegs is in trouble," said Hiccup looking at the volcano. "Go, brother. Your dragons need you."

"Brother!" Dagur nodded.

Hiccup then took off and Shattermaster limped towards him.

* * *

Meanwhile Astrid and the other Dragon Riders along with Heather were taking care of the last of the ships out at sea.

"That's the last of them," said Heather.

"Come on. Do something!" Ryker yelled banging on the ship's hull with his blade.

Suddenly the Submaripper slammed into the Shellfire so hard that the chain connecting the ship to it snapped. Ryker soon found himself pressed against the ship's hull as he felt towards the ocean.

"Viggo!" Ryker roared.

Then he and the ship sank beneath the waves and the boy could do anything else the Submaripper appeared and opened its mouth to create a vortex. Ryker found himself unable to break free as he and the ship spun around and around.

"O.M. Thor!" Tuffnut breathed. "The Submaripper. Submaripper-ama."

"Hate the smell. Love the dragon," said Ruffnut.

The twins then flew away just as the whirlpool began to form in the Shellfire slam away now free of the Hunters. All of the wreckage of the ships fell into the whirlpool and there was no sign of Ryker.

* * *

Meanwhile at the volcano, Fishlegs, Meatlug and the baby Eruptodon had managed to calm the volcano down. Fishlegs then saw Hiccup approaching him and was deeply relieved.

"Hiccup, the baby has slowed the flow of lava. The volcano is finally stable, " he informed Hiccup as he dismounted Toothless.

"Go get the others. We need to a flyover to make sure the island is really out of danger," said Hiccup.

Fishlegs nodded and mounted Meatlug and took off.

Toothless gave him a concerned growl.

"We'll be okay, bud," Hiccup assured. "This nightmare looks like it's finally over."

"Are you so sure about that, Hiccup?" said a voice.

Hiccup turned and to his horror he saw Viggo riding on top of Stormfly and holding Astrid with her axe close to her throat.

"Viggo," said Hiccup narrowing his eyes. "Let me guess. You want the Dragon Eye in exchange for Astrid."

"Oh, it sounds so much colder when you say it like that. But, yes," said Viggo. Hiccup narrowed his eyes clenched his fists. "While I do appreciate your assistance in putting my brother back in his rightful place, I must insist that you return it to where it belongs. With me."

He placed the axe close to Astrid throat and Hiccup reached into his saddle and pulled out the Dragon Eye.

"Hiccup, don't even think about it," said Astrid.

"Come, now," said Viggo. "Are you really going to sacrifice your future… all the wonderful years ahead of you for that?"

Hiccup looked down at the Dragon Eye and looked at Astrid, who shook her head. "Wow, Viggo. Well I guess when you put it that way, no, I'm not!"

He then did something completely unexpected and tossed the Dragon Eye towards the mouth of the volcano.

"No," said Viggo jumping off Stormfly.

Astrid quickly grabbed her axe and they watched as Viggo ran after the Dragon Eye frantically, but he was too late. The Dragon Eye went over the mouth of the volcano and was lost forever. He then turned and glared at Hiccup, but before he could do anything the ground beneath his feet broke away

"No! Hiccup!" he yelled as he fell into the volcano.

Hiccup rushed towards the mouth of the volcano, but saw no sign of him. He knew what Ragnar said when they don't see their body, but no one could have survived molten lava. He was gone for good.

"Viggo. It didn't have to end this way," he said.

"Are you okay?" Astrid asked approaching him.

"Yeah. I'll be fine," Hiccup assured.

"It's finally over." Hiccup just remain silent. "It is over, right?"

Hiccup turned and walked away from the volcano. "Yeah, of course. Definitely."

The two of them then looked at each other.

"I should have listened to you," said Astrid. "You are our leader. Our relationship can't get in the way of that. It won't happen again."

Hiccup merely smiled. "Just promise me you won't stop telling me what you're thinking. Astrid, I rely on you. It's what makes us, well, us." He then extended his hand. "Deal?"

Astrid grasped it with both hands and smiled at him. "Deal."

She then pulled him towards her and kissed him. Instinctively, Hiccup wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer towards him and then they broke apart.

They then heard gasp and saw the Dragon Riders standing there and all of them, minus Ragnar, had their mouths wide open.

"This…" said Snotlout staring.

"Changes…" said Fishlegs clapping his hands in excitement.

"Everything," Ruffnut finished.

"Wait, does that mean you're not dying?" Tuffnut asked confused.

"No," said Ragnar shaking his head. "They just been keeping their relationship secret."

Hiccup stared at him. "You knew?"

"I saw the two of you kiss at the stables," said Ragnar folding his arms. "I did mention anything for the sake of your privacy."

"Uh… thanks," said Hiccup.

"You're welcome," Ragnar smiled.

Then all the Riders ran up towards Hiccup and Astrid hugged them.

"Okay, gang. Once more around the island," said Hiccup still holding Astrid's hand. "Let's make sure the Edge is secure."

As they were making their way back to their dragons, Snotlout approached Hiccup.

"Hiccup, I was thinking… I might have a way to help with this gambling problem," he said. "Now, it's gonna take some time. There's, like, I don't know, 10 to 12 steps, I'll finish it in a few days…"

Hiccup looked at him in confusion. "For the last time, why are you guys talking about?"

Ragnar then places arms around Hiccup and Astrid shoulders.

"You say there were some crazy conspiracies of why the two of you were spending so much time together," Ragnar smiled.

Astrid laughed.

Soon the Dragon Riders were making one last round around the island. Hiccup and Astrid grew close together grasping each other's hand.

However, no sooner had they left the volcano that it erupted.


	53. Living on the Edge

It had been a three months since their victory against Viggo, but all was not well. While they were able to prevent a massive eruption from the volcano, it in stop it from trembling and causing reductions across the island.

It was the middle of the night when one of these eruptions happened much to the annoyance of everyone on the Edge.

Snotlout was snoring loudly in his hut when he was awoken by the tremors. "Hey. I'm trying to get some sleep here." He then grabbed his helmet placed on the side of his head and turned on his side. "Stupid volcano."

* * *

In the twins hut, Chicken was walking loudly around the place and immediately jumped into Tuffnut's arms.

"Chicken!" he said cuddling her. "Easy, little Chicken." He then looked to his sister. "I'm sick of these baby ones. I wish it would just volcano-up and start spewing already."

Ruffnut nodded. "Right?" She then turned to the direction of the volcano. "Either get on with it or keep it to yourself."

* * *

Immediately there was a giant tremor and Fishlegs was hiding in his bed with Meatlug.

"It's okay, girl," said Fishlegs as he rubbed Meatlug. "The volcano has erupted in three months. It's not gonna start now." He then looked at her questionably. "Right?"

Immediately there was another tremor.

* * *

Hiccup immediately exited his hut to meet up with Astrid and Ragnar, who running over towards him.

"Hiccup," they said.

Then the ground shook violently catching them completely by surprise.

Astrid looked at Hiccup. "Was that—"

"More intense than normal?" Hiccup finished. "No doubt."

"This could be the big one," said Ragnar.

Then suddenly there was a massive tremor almost knocking them off their feet. Cracks within the ground across the island began to erupt and lava began to crawl its way down the hill towards them.

* * *

Everyone immediately made their way towards the stables and mounted their dragons, who were outfitted with buckets of melted Gronckle Iron.

Hiccup looked at them. "All right, everyone got their Gronckle Iron?"

They all nodded.

"Good. Just like we practised, guys. And don't spill any. We can't afford to lose a drop."

Without immediately took to the air and found that lava was already spreading across the Edge.

"Guys, this is worse than I thought," said Hiccup.

"Yeah, I know!" Snotlout cried looking at his hut noticing that the S on it was a light. "Oh, my S. Hiccup, look at it. You know how attached I am to my S."

Hiccup immediately turned on him. "Snotlout, no one cares about your S. Just keep pouring Gronckle Iron into the cracks."

The twins were the first ones to reach such a crack and had already poured Gronckle Iron into it. Proud of themselves they immediately high-fived one another.

"Yes," said Tuffnut.

Then suddenly there was a massive eruption and the solid lump of Gronckle Iron launched into the air.

"Wait, for it," said Tuffnut.

They then landed right on top of Snotlout's head, knocking him out cold. He then slid off Hookfang and began to fall towards the fiery inferno below him.

"Yak's eye!" the twins yelled triumphantly.

"Char grilled Snotlout, anyone?" Tuffnut asked.

"He'll have a nice smoky finish from the lava," said Ruffnut pinching her finger and fun together.

Hiccup immediately turned on them. "Hey, Ruff. Tuff."

Tuffnut groaned as he looked at his sister. "Ugh. Buzz kill."

They immediately dive down towards the plummeting Snotlout and grabbed him before he had his lava bath. They promptly placed him down in front of the stables where he promptly stayed and mumbled to himself.

"It was such a beautiful S," he murmured.

Hiccup was flying around as lava began to erupt into the air and they promptly approached one of the worst of the cracks and jumped their Gronckle Iron into it. Fishlegs did the same in his area as did Astrid and Ragnar.

The twins then grabbed the water tank next to Snotlout's hut.

"Come on, Barf. Come on, Belch," said Ruffnut as they lifted it.

They then tossed the water down on a fiery inferno close to the Edge and doused the flames.

* * *

The next morning the Riders examined the damage that had been done to the Edge. They met at the stables where Snotlout was still mumbling to himself.

"This is a disaster," said Astrid.

Ragnar looked at her. "That's an understatement."

"Yeah, I've seen worse," said Tuffnut.

Fishlegs turned on him. "You mean you've caused worse."

"Huh, I wish. This is Odin's handiwork himself, my friend. But I, I am a mere mortal."

Snotlout finally came around and rose to his feet. Then, completely unsurprisingly, he turned to Hiccup. "You happy now, Hiccup?"

Hiccup stared at him. " _Happy_? What? What did I do?"

"We should have left this pile of rocks months ago, but no. You wanted to keep exploring. 'Hiccup the Explorer'."

Astrid then looked at him. "Hiccup, I'd rather planned dragon root under my fingernails then agree with Snotlout."

"Don't waste your time, A. That stuff need to torn of light to grow," said Tuffnut. "So unless you're willing to stand outside—"

"I think it might actually be time to head back to Berk," Astrid interrupted. "Viggo and Ryker are gone. The Dragon Eye is destroyed. Even Mother Nature is telling us to go."

Snotlout gave her a blank look. "Huh?"

"Uh… Mother Earth. The Earth Mother?" said Ruffnut.

"The earliest roots date back to the Mesopotamian tablets which show the personification of the creative and nurturing sides of nature as a female deity," Tuffnut explained. He then looked at him. "You should read more."

Ragnar then places hands on his hips and looked at Hiccup. "Hiccup, we can't stop a volcano and the threat level is down. As much as I would like to explore even further, I would prefer if we did it on an island without an active volcano."

Hiccup then looked towards the sky looking very unsure.

Astrid then placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "Hiccup, we've won. We can go home now."

* * *

Later that night, Hiccup flew up to look at the island and could see that the lava was getting very much out of control. Then another chunk of Gronckle Iron launched into the air nearly hitting him and Toothless and he soon realised that they were right.

Toothless growled and Hiccup patted him on the head. "I know, bud. She's right."

* * *

The next morning they all gathered at the clubhouse and Hiccup informed them that they were going to be leaving the Edge.

"Really?" said Tuffnut in surprise. "Awesome news. And just in time for our estate sale."

Hiccup frowned. "I'm sorry. Your what?"

Tuffnut then gestured down towards his and his sister's hut. There they saw a gaggle of people gathering around their hut and saw that they were buying certain items that were being displayed there.

Ruffnut was down there trying to get people interested in this stuff. "Listen man. This helmet is a bona fide helmet…"

Tuffnut looked at Hiccup. "It's not too late to get in of the lifelike Nutt statues."

They looked down and saw Ruffnut displaying one of their scareships to a would-be customer.

"You act right now, I'll throw in some free shipping," she said. The customer just urges the tension onto the chest he was holding. "You're breaking my boars here."

"Made from our actual hair," said Tuffnut proudly.

"Ew…" said Astrid in disgust.

Tuffnut immediately turned on her. "Ew yourself, missy. You wish you had locks like these."

Hiccup frowned. "Uh, who in their right mind would ever by a statue of you two?"

"Sold! Statue of us two!" Ruffnut cried.

Everyone just stared open eyed as the customer took the scareships and leaving Ruffnut behind with two bags of coins laughing.

Tuffnut looked at Hiccup smugly.

"Of course," said Hiccup.

"Hi, question?" said Snotlout. "When are we getting out of here?"

"When the volcano is stabilised," said Hiccup. "We just need time to find new homes for all the dragons we've relocated here."

They then heard the sound of a horn in the distance and they looked down to see Johann's ship sailing towards them.

Astrid frowned. "That's weird. What's Johann doing here?"

* * *

They immediately made their way down to meet him at the dome. Johann was carrying the chest his hands and looked at the destruction around the Edge.

"Oh, dear," he said. "There hasn't been destruction like this since Emperor Nicephorus and the Byzantines were mostly annihilated in the Battle of Pliska. They say that Khan Krum had Nicephorus' skull encased in silver and drank mead from it." He then shook his head. "Ruthless."

He then turned his attention to Hiccup. "Anyway, it's going to take some cleanup. I have a multitude of items that could assist in that process. Hmm?"

"There's not going to be any cleanup, Johann," said Hiccup sadly.

"Well, Master Hiccup, perhaps this delivery will cheer you up," said Johann as he handed him the chest. "I think you will like what you see." He then looked at him curiously. "Although what mysterious avocation could you be working on that necessitates such an odd variety of articles? Hmm?"

"Doesn't really matter now, Johann," Hiccup sighed.

"Sold!" Ruffnut yelled in the distance.

They looked up and saw quite the disturbing ciders to outcasts were wearing wigs that resembled Ruffnut's hair and then gave each a bag of coins.

* * *

At the forge, Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs were trying to come up with a way of dealing with a volcano problem. As they were doing this their dragons were playing with one another making it hard to concentrate.

"All right. Think. Think. Think," said Hiccup leaning against the forge. "We need something that'll not only hold to the intense heat of the lava, but—"

"Withstand the extreme buildup of volcanic pleasure," Fishlegs finished.

"And therefore preventing any more lava from running down the hillside," Ragnar concluded.

"Exactly," Hiccup nodded.

They then watched as Toothless and Meatlug rolled around the floor with Skull chasing after them.

"Uh, guys, do you mind?" said Hiccup.

They then returned their attention back onto the problem and the dragons continue to play.

"There's got to be something," said Hiccup.

"I can't think of any material that can both withstand the pressure of a volcano and its heat," Ragnar frowned.

That's when the dragons collided into the desk knocking the contents over. Hiccup's underwater helmet, his goggles and a melting pot landed on the floor.

"All right. Pick that up," Hiccup ordered the dragons.

The dragons then went to pick up the contents that they had knocked over and placed it back on the table. Toothless however accidentally tossed the Deathsong Amber goggles right over Meatlug's eyes.

All of them laughed and then Hiccup was hit by inspiration.

"Wait. You might actually be onto something," he said and remove the goggles from Meatlug. "Guys, what if we mixed Deathsong Amber with Gronckle Iron?"

"You mean the very same Deathsong Amber that withstood the pressure of water hundreds of feet beneath the surface of the ocean?" Fishlegs stared.

"And the same Gronckle Iron that withstood the very heat of a volcano?" Ragnar added.

"Yep, those two," Hiccup beamed as he joined them.

"It could work, but we have actually got no idea what the chemical reaction could be," Ragnar pointed out.

Fishlegs nodded. "Making the exact quantities of all the ingredients will be key so it doesn't set off a negative chemical reaction."

The dragons immediately retreated to a safe distance as Ragnar poured liquid Gronckle Iron into a pot and Hiccup added a small chunk of Deathsong Amber into it. They then saw as the pot began to shake and shudder and immediately the dragons tackle them just before there was a huge explosion.

They try the process again this time, Hiccup was holding a larger piece of Deathsong Amber in a pair of tongs. Fishlegs wore a pair of Deathsong Amber goggles and Ragnar a Deathsong Amber scuba mask. Hiccup then dropped the piece of amber into the pot and they immediately backed away from it.

A few seconds passed and it looked as if they were in the clear, but then there was another eruption and a large chunk of hot metal headed straight towards them. Thankfully, Toothless shielded them before it actually struck them.

They then tried a third time and this time Hiccup was wearing his underwater helmet and Ragnar and Fishlegs were each holding a shield for protection. Hiccup then carefully added a large chunk of Deathsong Amber into the mixture and they immediately ran away from the pot as quickly as they could and hid behind the dragons.

However, instead of an eruption nothing happened and three of them are merged from behind their dragons and smiled at one another as they had completed their experiment.

* * *

Later that night they poured the mixture into one of the cracks that was spewing lava. The effect was almost instant as the liquid metal hardened and forming a perfect cover around the crack.

Hiccup laughed triumphantly. "I can't believe actually worked."

"Well, let's not start slapping each other's yaks just yet," said Fishlegs. "That was the last of the Deathsong Amber. And even if we had more, there's no way Meatlug can make enough Gronckle Iron to stabilise the island."

"So, we need Gronckles and Deathsong Amber," Hiccup concluded. He then turned to face the others. "Well, we know where to find both, right."

Snotlout immediately panicked. "There is no way I'm going to Melody Island. The word death is in the dragon's name for very good reason."

"It's not like you're going to need the dragon itself to create the amber, we just need to acquire some from the island," Ragnar pointed out.

Hiccup nodded. "Astrid, Ragnar and I will get the Amber."

"Good. I like that plan," said Snotlout.

Hiccup then turned to Fishlegs. "Fishlegs, you stay behind and gather the ingredients for the Gronckle Iron and find a place to store the liquid metal."

"Oh, keep talking. This is the best plan," Snotlout smiled eagerly.

"What about us? What are we going to do?" Tuffnut asked gesturing to himself and his sister.

"Rounding up a group of Gronckles from Dark Deep."

The twins cringed upon hearing that.

Snotlout smirked at them. "You idiots. Why did you open your big—"

"And Snotlout, you're going with them," Hiccup added. "Congratulations."

Snotlout now fall wide open. "This is the worst plan I've ever heard."

* * *

The next morning, Hiccup and Astrid and Ragnar found themselves at Melody Island and immediately found something quite unusual. There was no sign of the Deathsong or any trace of dragons trapped within the amber.

"This is strange," said Hiccup.

"And I don't hear anything," Astrid added.

Ragnar nodded. "There's not even a single trace that a Deathsong has been here or any other dragon for that matter."

"No Deathsong," Hiccup concluded.

They then heard a familiar ground and turned to find a Deathsong emerging from behind some rocks. Immediately they drew their weapons and Hiccup ignited _Inferno_.

"You were saying?" said Astrid.

They were prepared to fight the dragon, but then it collapsed right in front of them. It was then that they noticed that there was a chain strap to its neck and it had very deep scratches on its skin.

Hiccup sheathed _Inferno_ and then very gently placed a hand on the Deathsong's snout. The Deathsong relaxed and Hiccup saw that there were several Dragon Root arrow protruding from its body.

"These wounds are fresh," Hiccup noted.

"Dragon Hunters?" Astrid blinked.

"Not like any we've encountered," said Hiccup shaking his head. "This is beyond brutal."

"Clearly someone has taken over the Hunters," said Ragnar troublingly.

The Deathsong then performed a familiar sounding song and instantly the three of them recognised it at once.

"That sounds like… No way…" Hiccup breathed. He then ran up to the dragon's head. "Garff?"

"Oh, my Thor," Astrid gasped. "You're right. It is."

"I've got some medical supplied with me," said Ragnar as he reached to the statue on Skull's saddle.

Astrid immediately bent down at Garff. "Oh, you poor thing. What have they done to you?" Astrid then realised something quite important. "Wait a minute, where's the other Deathsong?"

Hiccup sighed. "Must not have been as lucky as this guy."

Astrid stared at him. "'Lucky'?"

"Well, Garff got away. He's still alive," Hiccup pointed out.

"Yeah, barely."

"I can fix that," said Ragnar as he bent down to Garff. He then examined him. "He's very weak, if you be some time before he's back to full strength."

"Do what you can," said Hiccup placing a hand on Ragnar's shoulder.

Astrid frowned. "Guys, if Viggo's gone, then…"

"Who's leading these Hunters?" Hiccup finished. He then turned towards the empty canyon. "And what's so important that they'd go toe to toe with a Deathsong."

* * *

On another island, dragons could hear the sound of a Deathsong and were hypnotically drawn to it. Of course the moment they got closer to the song they immediately found themselves trapped in amber and fell to the ground.

They landed at the feet of the same man that had once tried to buy Toothless and captured Hiccup. He was holding a massive axe in his hand directly behind him was the other Deathsong, who was chained up.

He was now leading the Hunters, who were that moment dragging the trap dragons onto carts. Not many of them were too happy about the change of leadership and a new tactic involved.

"Oh, this is no way to hunt dragons," a Hunter moment.

Unfortunately for him the scared man had heard him. "Not what you used to. Is that it?"

One of the Hunters immediately backed away from the one that had spoken as the man turned to face them with his axe over his shoulder.

"Well, please, do accept my most sincere apologies."

The Hunter merely nodded nervously.

"Now, if you would be so kind as to tell me why the objections?"

"Uh, take the sport out of it. Seems like cheating, is all, Korgan."

Krogan blinked. "Cheating. Cheating. When you're right, you're right." He then looked around at the other Hunters. "Ah, look at us, we crooked band of double dealers." He then took a deep breath and looked back at the Hunter. "Well, I suppose if you'd rather do things your way…" He then gestured for the Hunter to leave. "Good luck to you, hmm? And perhaps will meet again."

The Hunter was surprised by this gesture. "I can leave? Just like that?"

Krogan nodded. "Just like that. Safe travels, my friend."

The Hunter immediately left, but Krogan demeanour certainly change. The Hunter had at that moment just turned round to wave goodbye and then yelled as Krogan's axe came spinning towards him.

The other Hunters merely looked away at the sight and then looked at Krogan. "Anyone else feels like discussing our method of trapping?" he asked looking at the Hunters. "The floor is open."

Unsurprisingly no one had any objections.

* * *

Snotlout and the twins had finally reached Dark Deep and saw a couple of Quakens and several Gronckle. The Gronckles were at the present busy eating the rock happily.

Tuffnut then looked at his sister. "I can't believe you sold Johann all of our stuff."

"Was that the point?" Ruffnut asked. "What did you want from me?"

Snotlout then promptly called their heads down behind the boulder they were currently hiding behind.

"Will you to pipe down?" he said joining them.

Then they fill the entire ground shaking and looked over the boulder to see the two Quakens smashing a tall stack that the Gronckles were trying to eat. The moment they knock it down the Gronckles promptly began eating the rocks.

"You know what they call that?" Ruffnut asked the others.

"Imminent death?" Snotlout asked.

"A symbiotic relationship," said Tuffnut.

Ruffnut nodded. "Precisely."

Snotlout looked at them confused. "Symbi-what?"

"Symbiosis is the interaction between two different organisms living in close physical association to the advantage of both," Tuffnut explained.

They then hit behind the boulder once more.

"However, this can often lead to parasitism," said Ruffnut.

Snotlout looked at her confused once more. "Para-what?"

"Parasitism. It's a non-mutual symbiotic relationship between species where one benefits at the expense of the other, the host," Tuffnut explained. He then looked at Snotlout. "Take you and Hookfang. The two of you, if you're flying in perfect harmony, that's symbiotic."

"However, when Hooky benefits at your expense, i.e., you are getting nothing… Parasitic."

Snotlout then remembered all the times that Hookfang had tossed him off while flying and every time that he tried to feed him resulting in him being whacked by his dragon's tail.

Snotlout immediately glared at Hookfang. "Hookfang."

Hookfang just merely narrowed his eyes at Snotlout.

Snotlout then looked at the twins. "Tell you what. Why don't you two symbiose yourselves over there and get those Gronckle, or I'll 'parasitie' the yak dung out of you."

Tuffnut shook his head. "Huh! My dear fellow, although you are not attempting the gerund form of those some of those nouns—"

"Just do it!" Snotlout yelled frustratingly.

"A mind is a terrible thing to waste," said Ruffnut as the two of them walked off.

"Even if it's vacuous, empty, desolate…" said Tuffnut as they mounted Barf and Belch.

They then took off to the sky and flew directly over the Quakens which immediately roared at them.

"Uh-oh," said Tuffnut.

* * *

In another corner of the world, Krogan and the Hunters were loading the dragons onto the carts. Korgan was looking through the Dragon that if he was searching for a particular breed.

"No. No," he said as he and a Hunter walked by dragon the dragon. "This is not it."

The Hunter looked at him. "Well, sir, perhaps if you told us what it is you're looking for and why you needed them—"

Krogan immediately turned on him. "I'll know, it when I see it. And my use of them is not your concern yet."

His eyes then fell upon a Singetail encased in amber and he leaned down towards it.

"Singetail," he said with a wide smile.

The Singetail roared and then broke free of the amber, but Korgan wasn't worried in the slightest.

"That's the spirit," he said still smiling.

The Singetail then ran towards him and he did the same with his hands behind his back. He then sidestepped to avoid its bite, and pinch the side of its neck with a firm grip. They then suddenly collapsed to the ground and Hunter gasped in amazement.

Krogan then bent down towards the Singetail. "Bring me more of these. As many as you can find."

* * *

At Dark Deep, Snotlout and the twins were still trying to get their hands on some Gronckles, but the Quakens were not making that easy for them.

"Here we go," Ruffnut cried as they soared downwards.

Of course a Quaken immediately flew into the air to defend the Gronckles. It itself into a ball and slanted the ground creating a massive shock wave that sent the ball flying.

"I thought you said it was symbiotic," said Snotlout turning to the twins.

"It is! For them. You ding-a-ling," Ruffnut yelled.

"Hey, name-calling is not going to help the situation, Ruffnut."

"It's helping me plenty!"

They continue to fly over the Quakens and Gronckle, but the Quakens took to the air, rolled themselves into a ball and unleash a massive shock wave. The shockwave struck Snotlout and the twins and they crashed down onto the ground.

"Ow!" Snotlout moaned as they pick themselves up.

"Remember how the Hunters subjugated the Quakens in the quarry?" Tuffnut asked. "They used vibrations to control them."

Ruffnut nodded. "They had those hammers they slammed onto the ground."

Snotlout smiled getting the idea and drew his axe.

Ruffnut nodded. "You may contact, keep them occupied, and the two of us we will lead the Gronckels to victory."

"Snotlout!" Snotlout yelled joyously as he ran.

Ruffnut smiled at her brother. "I don't think this is going to be mutually beneficial."

"It will be for us," Tuffnut smiled as they high-fived each other.

"Parasites," they said in unison.

Snotlout took his position on a ridge. "All right, Quakens, let's make this relationship shine."

He then slammed the blade of his axe into the ground sending vibrations into the ground. This drew the Quakens towards him and they began to fly towards him, much to his concern.

"Uh, guys? Little help here," said Snotlout looking around desperately for the twins.

When he turned around he found that the twins and their dragon were gone and Hookfang was the only one still there. He then heard the Quakens roar and immediately ran away screaming.

The twins were promptly feeding the Gronckle with some rock.

"Let's get these Gronckle out while we still can," said Tuffnut.

"What about Snotlout!" Ruffnut asked as they flew away with Gronckles.

"Relationships are complicated. He'll work through it."

Snotlout was still screaming as the Quakens continue to chase after him. "Help!"

* * *

Hiccup was still collecting amber as Ragnar and Astrid continue to tend to Garff's wounds. After was able to remove the chain around and Ragnar began to rub lotion across the deep scars on his body.

"This is going to sting a little," said Ragnar calmly as he applied the lotion.

Garff winced in pain and Astrid quickly went to comfort him. "I know, Garff. It's okay." Garff was looking weaker by the second. "Hiccup, I don't think is gonna make it."

Ragnar sighed. "He's been through a lot, I'm concerned that he might not be to make it through the night."

Hiccup approached them and looked at Garff, not wanting to leave.

Astrid could tell that he was fighting the urge to stay. "Go. We'll stay here with Garff." Astrid and made her way over towards him. "We can't lose the Edge, Hiccup. And we have to stop the Hunters before they can do this to other dragons. You know I'm right."

Hiccup still looked unconvinced.

"We'll be fine," Ragnar assured. "The Edge is the priority."

"We'll need you back there. I promise," said Astrid. "I'll stay with Ragnar and tend to Garff until…" She then stopped."

Hiccup sighed as he rubbed Garff's head and Toothless nuzzled his head as well. Toothless then roared which was quickly followed by Stormfly and Skull.

Astrid placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "We'll be fine."

Hiccup nodded and kissed on the forehead and then made his way over to Toothless. He then took off leaving Astrid and Ragnar behind to tend to Garff.

Ragnar immediately looked at Astrid. "I'm going to need you to do everything I tell you. First we need to keep them hydrated, give him some water."

Astrid nodded and pulled out her water bottle. "All right," she said and began pouring the water into Garff's mouth. "There you go. That's a good boy." She then rubbed Garff's head. "I'm here, Garff. I'm here."

It was night when the twins returned back to the Edge and found Fishlegs them to land near a pit. The Gronckles immediately flew down and joined Meatlug and then he probably began to feed them the necessary ingredients to make Gronckle Iron.

"Here you go," he said tossing the a few rocks. "Two part sandstone, three part limestone, one part iron ore." When Meatluf barf down to the liquid metal he immediately rushed towards the nearest Gronckle and began to feed it with the same rocks. "Two part sandstone, three part limestone, one part iron ore."

He then turned towards the next Gronckle and panicked. "Ooh! No, no, no, no, no!" He then knocked to the stone out of Tuffnut's head before he could feed it to the Gronckle. "This is a very specific recipe. It's three part limestone."

Tuffnut frowned. "I thought it was three part sandstone."

"No."

"What do we do with the bauxite?" Ruffnut asked holding out a stone.

Fishlegs stared at her. "Bauxite? Bauxite? There's no bauxite in Gronckle Iron."

"Eh," Tuffnut shrugged as Ruffnut tossed the stone away. He then noticed something very familiar with the pit they were working in. "Hang on a minute. I know this pit. Is that our boar pit?"

Ruffnut glared at Fishlegs. "Fishlegs!"

"Very parasitic of you, Fishlegs!" Tuffnut glared.

"What?" said Fishlegs looking at them. "Look, I didn't have a choice."

"We all have choices," Ruffnut growled. "It's just obvious which one you made."

The twins immediately remove their helmets and placed them against their chests as they looked down at their boar pit.

"Boar Pit, oh, Boar Pit, we shall miss thee," said Tuffnut. "You put the 'symbi' in our 'osis' and gave us such glee."

"Never fear, Mr Boar, as a new Pit of Iron show rise, like before," Ruffnut added. "And we shall grease you and wrestle you into symbiotic heaven. Even if our names were just Shirley and Kevin."

Ruffnut then immediately cried and blew her nose on one of Tuffnut's dreadlocks as Fishlegs just stared at them with a blank look. Then a split second later there was a eruption.

"Whoa!" Ruffnut cried.

Fishlegs looked at them. "Are you two finished?"

"Three more verses. You're gonna love the fourth," said Tuffnut.

Then suddenly lava erupted from one of the cracks behind them.

"Yeah, I never did like that poem," said Tuffnut as they put their helmets dashed over towards Fishlegs.

Fishlegs began to stir the Gronckle Iron when he heard the sound of Toothless in the distance. If you split second later Hiccup on the ground next to him.

Fishlegs noticed that he was all alone. "Whether's Astrid and Ragnar?"

"Melody Island. I'll explain later," said Hiccup as Fishlegs took the pot filled with amber. He then looked at the twins noticing that there was someone missing. "Where's Snotlout?"

"Dark Deep," said Tuffnut as he and his sister began to stir the mixture.

"We'll explain later," said Ruffnut.

Then there was another eruption and lava continue to shootout from the cracks across the island.

"Fishlegs, we have to fill the cracks," said Hiccup.

Fishlegs then appeared on top of Meatlug, who then spewed the mixture into Toothless' pots. Once they were filled he and Toothless immediately took to the sky.

"We'll be right behind you," Fishlegs called. He then looked at the twins. "All right guys, we gotta take this show on the road, we might make it on the fly."

Fishlegs then gestured towards the diving bell and the twins smiled at one another. They immediately mounted their dragon and grabbed the diving bell and then jumped into the mixture. They along with Fishlegs and the Gronckle then took to the sky following Hiccup.

Hiccup saw them directly him. "That's it," he said and looked down at Toothless. "Take us in low, bud."

They then immediately flew down towards the forest which was almost entirely covered in lava. They then jumped the mixture in their path into the nearest crack sealing it completely.

"Whoa!" Hiccup yelled pulling up in time just to avoid getting splashed by lava.

The twins then jumped the mixture right on top of the crack sealing it completely.

"Here comes the limestone," said Fishlegs as he began feeding the Gronckles and Meatlug. He then began to feed them sandstone "Ooh! Oh and here comes your sandstone!"

They then immediately pour the liquid Gronckle Iron into the diving bell along with the Deathsong Amber.

"Incoming!" Ruffnut yelled as they dive down towards another crack.

Like before they were able to seal the crack completely.

Hiccup once again filled another crack with a combined mixture and it looked as if they are finally making some progress. Fishlegs was so excited that he hugged Hiccup, nearly suffocating him.

"It's working, Hiccup," Fishlegs cried.

"I can see that, Fishlegs," Hiccup wheezed.

Fishlegs immediately released him. "Sorry. I'm sorry. Super excited."

However their excitement was short lived as another explosion happened on the mountains and realise that the volcano was about to erupt.

"We have to get the volcano. Now!" said Fishlegs.

They flew as fast they could towards the volcano and blew down to one of the cracks that was erupting near the crater.

"It's too intense," said Fishlegs.

The immediately backed away as lava shot up into the air in a greater magnitude than before.

"I mean we lava good heart smouldering magma blast as much as the next Viking, but…" said Tuffnut before he was interrupted by another burst of lava.

"True that! Tell them, Shirley," said Ruffnut as they backed away from the stream of lava.

"Can I be Kevin next time, please?" Tuffnut asked.

"All right, everyone, let's do this," Hiccup called.

Fishlegs immediately fed the Gronckle with the necessary ingredients and they began to refill the containers. They then dive down towards the crack and Hiccup was the first one to dump the mixture into the crack followed by the twins.

"Whoo!" Fishlegs cried as he and the Gronckle landed.

However the eruptions caused a landslide, Fishlegs and Meatlug were able to get away from it just in time. The other Gronckle however were not so lucky and they found themselves completely buried under a ton of rock.

"The Gronckles. Oh, no," Fishlegs cried rushing towards them.

Hiccup dive down and try to assist them with moving the blocks, but they were just too heavy for their dragons.

The twins were flying down to help, but then they saw something above them.

"Uh, guys?" said Tuffnut.

Flowing down the volcano was a stream of lava and soon Hiccup and Fishlegs saw the problem.

"Oh, no," said Hiccup.

They then heard a familiar stream and saw Snotlout flying as quickly as he could towards them with several Quakens on his tail.

"Somebody help me!" he screamed. He then flew directly over Hiccup. "I can't get these parasites of my butt!"

The Quakens were now hobbling directly above Hiccup and Toothless immediately took a fighting stance. However, they heard the Gronckles beneath the turned their attention onto them and then saw the lava heading down towards them.

One of the Quakens growled and soon led the others towards the volcano. Then one by one they dive down towards the volcano rolling themselves into a ball and striking it. Lava then began to pour out of the hole they had created and the volcano subsided before it reached the Gronckle.

"Of course, they're releasing the volcanic pressure," said Fishlegs.

Snotlout then poked his head over the rocks. "Ah, I knew they were gonna do that. We're tight like that. Symbiotic tight."

He then heard the Quakens growled and quickly ducked behind the rocks.

Hiccup and Toothless flew away from the pile of logs as the Quakens flew down. They then began to remove the blocks surrounding the Gronckles, freeing them. They didn't look worse for wear and immediately they cheered and watched as they flew away back to Dark Deep.

* * *

The next day Ragnar and Astrid had returned to the Edge and soon discovered that Garff was now with them.

"I can't believe that Garff made it. He was not looking too good," said Hiccup looking at Ragnar.

Ragnar looked the back of his headRagnar rubbed the back of his head. "It was an easy believe me, it was very touch and go."

Astrid nodded. "Good thing you will with us or Garff probably wouldn't have made it."

"Truthfully I think we can handle most of that success over to Garff," said Ragnar folding his arms.

Astrid nodded in agreement. "That dragon has a lot of fight in him."

Hiccup then placed a hand on Astrid shoulder. "He's not the only one."

Astrid smiled and looked at him. "Hiccup, we can't let what happened to Garff happened to any other dragon."

Hiccup nodded. "You're right. And we're not going to." Hiccup then immediately turn to the others. "Listen, gang, the Dragon Hunters are still out there. I know you all wanna go home, but—"

"Uh, who said that I wanted to go home?" Fishlegs frowned. "I don't wanna go home."

"Not me. I surely don't wanna go," said Ruffnut.

"And I, Kevin-ly, would never give up the chats to live in a place that blows up all the time," said Tuffnut.

"Now that the volcano is stabilised I don't see any reason why we can't stay here," said Ragnar.

Snotlout just folded his arms scowling. "Fine. I'll stay." He then gestured to the twins. "But keep me away from those two." He then walked up to Hiccup. "They put me in front of the Quakens, and thank Thor I'm that tight with them."

"And symbiosis is alive and well in Dragon's Edge," said Tuffnut folding his arms proudly.

"You think Johann will let us buy any of our stuff back?" Ruffnut asked.

Tuffnut shook his head. "Nah. He's a bit of a parasite, no?"

"He surely is."

* * *

At the old Dragon Hunter arena, Krogan was looking at the cage that contains their new Singetail. It immediately erupted into flames, but Krogan wasn't concerned in the slightest. He then jumped on top of the cage and a Hunter nervously held onto a lever.

Two Hunters were looking at each other as they watched the entire scene.

"Any idea who takes over when this thing kills him?" one of them asked the other.

"I suppose it'd would be a vote. That seems the most logical thing."

Krogan nodded at the Hunter signalling him to open the cage and he jumped inside it and landed directly on top of the Singetail. Unsurprisingly, the Singetail then tried to pull him off wildly and the Hunter opened the cage. Krogan held onto its head firmly as it kept on trying to shake around shooting flames in all directions and taking off around the arena.


	54. Sandbusted

**Sorry for the late update, my laptop is begin repaired so I have to use another computer.**

* * *

Ever since the defeat Dragon's Edge, the hunters had abandoned all operations at the Northern Markets, meaning it was far much safer for people to trade. One of these traders had just sailed to the beach and grabbed the contents of his boat.

Then he heard a rumbling sound and next thing he knew, he was being pulled down into the sand and vanished without a trace.

At the Edge, Hiccup was holding a medallion which had a Viking card on one side a dragon on the other.

He smiled upon seeing it. "Eh! Just like I remember.

Then Snotlout then came barging in and tried to grab it. "Hey, whatcha got there?"

Hiccup then shoved him away. "Nothing."

Snotlout frowned at him. "Uh, if it's nothing, then give me it. Hookfang and I am making a ceremonial burst of yours truly and we need all the junk metal we can melt down."

Hiccup immediately turned on him. "What? This isn't junk. It's my betrothal gift to Astrid. It means we'll be together forever."

Snotlout then popped his head over his shoulder. "Forever? Well, not if you give that rusty piece of…" Hiccup sighed and walked away with Toothless. "Hey, you know what would be a great idea? A decorative battering ram. Oh! How about a shiny new ball and chain? Wait! A bludgeon with her initials!"

Hiccup then slammed the door writing his face.

"Ow!" Snotlout groaned.

* * *

Ragnar and Fishlegs then made their way to Astrid's hut and discovered that she was apparently doing some sort of spring cleaning.

"Ah, Astrid," Fishlegs began.

Astrid immediately turned on them. "Guys, unless this has something to do with Hiccup's betrothal gift, the one that I haven't gotten him yet, the one I have no clue where to start."

Fishlegs looked at her. "The ceremonial betrothal gift must be exchanged six moon cycles from the first announcement of a couple's… Well…"

"Betrothal?" Astrid finished.

"Yes!" Fishlegs looked at her in bewilderment. "Ah, look at me. I'm a wreck. You'd think I was the one 48 hours away from complete disaster, but it's you—"

Astrid then promptly covered his mouth with her hand and then he licked it.

"Ew!" Astrid then promptly grabbed Fishlegs tunic and tossed him over her shoulders, which was quite a feat in itself, and slammed him into the floor. She then immediately climbed onto his chest and looked down at him with a fixed glare and began to twist his arm. "What is wrong with you?"

Ragnar then immediately intervened. "Whoa, whoa, whoa," he said calmly. "Let's all take this nice and slow."

"Especially since we can help you," Fishlegs groaned.

Astrid then promptly released his arm.

"Okay. Who knows Hiccup better than me or I?" Fishlegs asked.

"Me," Astrid answered.

"Good point. Then you know what an amazing gift-giver he is."

Astrid then sighed and sat on his stomach. "Yes. That's the problem. Hiccup is not your ordinary Viking." She then stood up. "He's got a Night Fury. He can fly with a suit made of yak hides. He has a sword that ignites on command. And he's going to be the next Chief of Berk."

Ragnar then helped Fishlegs onto his feet.

Fishlegs then could see the problem. "Wow. Well when you put it like that you are really completely—"

Ragnar then pushed Fishlegs aside and placed a hand on Astrid shoulder. "Astrid, I've known Hiccup far longer than any of you, before any of us dragons, and believe me when I say that he would be happy with anything you give him."

Astrid sighed. "Thanks Ragnar, but I—"

Hiccup then chose that precise moment to enter the hut. "Hey, guys, I just got a T-mail from Trader Johann and it didn't sound good."

* * *

A few moments later everyone was in the clubhouse as Hiccup began to explain to them about the mail that Johann had sent.

"All it says is that he needs our help and to come quickly," Hiccup explained.

Snotlout looked at him with his hand around his hips. "And you immediately wrote him back a big, old, 'No, thank you,' I assume."

"Why would I do that?" Hiccup asked.

"That guy is bad luck, Hiccup," said Snotlout strongly. "The last time we got a T-mail from old TJ, we almost got eaten by an island of very angry and very wild dragons."

Hiccup rolled his eyes and approached Snotlout and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Okay. Tell you what, Snotlout, you can stay here."

Snotlout looked at him as he walked away nervously. "By myself? No, thank you. I'm just saying, this sucks."

Hiccup began to fumble with his satchel and then looked at Astrid. "Hey, Astrid, can I talk to you for a second?"

Astrid immediately panicked. "Oh. Uh, better wait on that." She then began to climb onto Stormfly. "Don't wanna leave Trader Johann hanging."

That was not the response that Hiccup expected and watched as he immediately took off.

Hiccup then looked at Ragnar and Fishlegs. "Uh, what-what's happening?"

"Don't ask us," said Fishlegs quickly. "She's your betrothed."

"She's not alone her mind right now," said Ragnar rubbing the back of his head.

* * *

A few moments later all them were in the air making their way to the Northern Markets and Astrid was spending most of the time getting as far away from Hiccup as possible, much to his confusion.

"Astrid!" Hiccup yelled trying to catch up with her.

Astrid imminently pulled away from him in a manner that looked as if she had lost control over Stormfly.

"Astrid, will you just keep Stormfly steady for a minute?" Hiccup asked.

"Sorry. She's feisty today," Astrid lied as she grunted and pulled on Stormfly's saddle. "Must be the excitement to see Trader Johann. She really like him."

Stormfly squawked and took off.

Hiccup frowned. "She really… What? Since when?" Astrid, however, was now quite a distance away. "Astrid!"

Hiccup looked at Ragnar and Fishlegs with a bewildered look and they merely shrugged.

* * *

They soon reached the Northern Markets and, while they're dragons eat all the apples in every cart; they walked their way through the market. As they walked they noticed that there weren't as many people as usual.

"Ugh!" said Snotlout in disgust. "Didn't this stink hole used to be way more crowded?"

"Oh, yeah. Definitely," Tuffnut nodded. "I mean we'd have been robbed at least three times by now. I miss that charm."

"At least we don't have to worry about Dragon Hunters here anymore," said Ragnar.

They soon meant up at Johann as his stand and he began to explain the reason why he summoned them here.

"Everything from glass trinkets to golden chalices, vanished," said Johann. "And the traders? Gone without a trace."

"You seem to be okay, Johann," said Hiccup gesturing to his stand which was covered in different items. "Has anything of yours been taken?"

Johann smiled at him. "Master Hiccup, leave it to you to find the silver lining in a dark, mysterious cloud."

Snotlout rolled his eyes. "Yeah, maybe they just packed their stuff up and left?" He then raised an eyebrow at Johann. "You didn't tell them any of your boring stories, did you Johann?"

Johann narrowed his eyes at him. "I assure you, my tales of adventures and revelry are the preeminent part of any weary traveller's day."

The twins just looked at him blankly.

"Uh…" Ruffnut blinked.

"Case solved," said Snotlout rubbing his hands together. "Anyone wanna race me back to the Edge?"

Fishlegs frowned. "Uh, guys, I don't think this is about Johann."

"Okay, Fishlegs. Then wants it about?" Hiccup asked.

He then waved his hands in front of him dramatically. "The Curse of Tears."

Tuffnut then imminently burst into tears much to the bewilderment to everyone.

"It's that word," Ruffnut explained resting a hand on her brother's shoulder. "Makes him open up like a water spout. Ever since we were kids."

Snotlout then smiled with a gleeful look. "Oh, what word? 'Tears?'"

Tuffnut then cried once more.

Ruffnut glared at him. "Really?"

"Sorry. Jeez, Louise," said Snotlout holding his hands up. Then a small smirk appeared on his face. "Tears."

Tuffnut then cried even harder.

Hiccup sighed and turned to Fishlegs. "Fishlegs, can you explain."

"As I was saying, if the Curse of T—Oh," he said looking at Ruffnut, who gave him a warning look, and Tuffnut, who had finally cared down. "If the curse of the you-know-what is real, and I'm not saying it is, many trader and valuables have fallen victim to it and vanished, never to be heard from again."

"I've head of this," said Ragnar folding his arms. "Personally I believe it's pirates or Smothering Smokebreaths."

"Well, I like a good mystery as well as anyone, but I promised Hookfang we could roll in some yak dung back home. So you can keep your curse," said Snotlout pointing at Fishlegs and Ragnar. He then pointed at Tuffnut. "And you! Tears."

Tuffnut then broke down into tears.

"Hang on," said Hiccup holding his hand up. "We at least need to check this out. All right, let's split up and look around. Look for any signs of a struggle."

Fishlegs then looked at Astrid. "Astrid, you can team up with me and Ragnar." He then leaned towards her ear. "What better place to find a gift for the Viking who has everything?"

"Great idea, Fishlegs," said Ruffnut's voice behind him. They turned and found the twins standing behind them. "Shopping can be so relaxing."

"Therapeutic, so," Tuffnut sobbed.

Ragnar looked at Astrid. "Astrid, you really don't have to go to some much trouble."

Astrid stared at him. "But I have to get Hiccup something special and one of a kind."

Ragnar sighed knowing that nothing he'd say would convince her.

* * *

They then made their way to one of the stalls and the merchant imminently pretended them with a spear.

"This spear is barbed on the head," he explained as he demonstration. "So while the head will slide into the victim, pulling it out is a different story."

He then laughed.

"And a story I, for one, would love to hear," said Tuffnut and leaned on the table. "Chapter and verse, please."

Astrid wasn't so eager. "Hiccup with a spear. Really?"

"How about something portable?" Fishlegs suggested.

"And practical," Ragnar added.

"Hmm. Maybe this seax?" said the merchant as he reached behind his counter. "Made from the bone of a dragon." He then saw the looks that the Dragon Riders were giving. "Right. I suppose dragon bone is a no-no."

"Not cool," said Tuffnut as they began to walk away.

"Oh. I do now carry a wide array of items," said the merchant desperately. He then pulled out a golden dish. "This decorative dish, for example."

Astrid folded her arms and shook her head.

"Uh, how about a working ball and chain?" he said pulling up a ball and chain.

Astrid just remained silent.

Tuffnut laughed. "Hiccup can take off his leg. You really think that's gonna hold him?"

"All right. All right," said the merchant bending behind his counter. "I was reserving this for my host special customer but…" He then pulled out a map.

Astrid looked at him questionably. Um, a map?" She then looked at the others. "He wants me to get Hiccup a map?"

"Ooh, but it's so much more than just a map," said the merchant. "It is told that whoever can decipher it, can find their way to the Treasure of Tears."

Tuffnut then instantly broke down and began to cry.

"Curse of Tears, Treasure of Tears," said Fishlegs and Tuffnut cried even more heavily.

"I'm sensing a theme here," said Ragnar.

Fishlegs' shrugged. "Makes sense they'd go together."

Ruffnut glared at them as she bent down towards her brother, who was now curled up into a ball. "For the love of Thor, have you no soul?" She then gestured to her brother. "Look at this poor man."

"No, and no," said Astrid plainly. She then walked off in a huff. "Treasure map."

* * *

Hiccup and Snotlout, along with Toothless, were in another part of the market looking for clues that could answer their disappearing traders' mystery.

"The first thing we have to figure out, is there really a curse," said Hiccup. "And, if there is, where did it start? Whose curse is it?" He then looked back at Snotlout. "Are you even listing to me?"

He was that Snotlout had his back to him and holding his medallion.

"Snotlout where did you get that?" Hiccup asked.

Snotlout shrugged at him as if it was not a big deal. "Your saddleback." He then smirked at him. "You should be more careful around here."

Hiccup sighed.

"You know what this thing need?" Snotlout asked looking at the medallion.

"To be out of your grubby hands?" said Hiccup as Snotlout walked past him.

"It needs a chain. Then at least Astrid can wear the stupid thing," he said as they made their way to a store selling chains. "Otherwise, it's just an anchor for a very tiny toy." He then held it up to a chain. "See? Looks nice, right?"

Hiccup held out his hand and gave him annoyed look. "Would you give me that?"

Snotlout laughed up to the very point when someone ran past and took it out of his hand. Hiccup glared at Snotlout and then chased after the thief.

"I'm guessing you want that back," Snotlout assumed.

He soon joined Hiccup and Toothless with running after the thief. The thief made a sharp turn around the corner, but they followed his movements.

"Snotlout!" Snotlout yelled.

Then the thief ran towards another Viking and tossed the medallion to him. "Catch, Amos!"

Hiccup recognised both the voice and the name. "Amos?"

He soon realised that they were chasing after the same thugs that kidnapped him a few months ago for Viggo's reward.

Amos ran past a couple of Vikings and then to another Viking running in the opposite direction.

"Look!" Hiccup pointed as Amos looked to be giving the medallion to the Viking.

Then they saw him looking as he was giving something to another Viking and Amos did the same to Berthel. All four of them were laughing as they each ran in different directions.

"Where'd he go?" Hiccup asked.

"I don't know," said Snotlout placing his hands on his head. "I lost track of who we were chasing. I hate being confused!"

Hiccup looked at him as he mounted Toothless. "Really? I figured you'd be used to it by now."

He then took off.

Snotlout glared at him. "Heard that." He then looked around for Hookfang. "Hookfang!"

Once he mounted on Hookfang, he joined up with Hiccup and Toothless. Hiccup was looking down at the marketplace for any hint of the thieves. Then he saw Berthel handing it to Amos, who ran towards the forest.

"There!" Hiccup pointed.

They then flew down after him and gave chase.

They followed him through the forest, but had to duck in order to avoid getting hit by the low branches. Snotlout, unfortunately failed to do so and got thrown off of Hookfang.

"Help! The Curse of Tears is real!" he cried.

Hiccup ignored him and continued to hunt down Amos and soon found himself on the beach. Amos, however, was nowhere to be seen, in was as if he had completely vanished.

They landed on the ground and saw a set of footprints, that they assumed to be Amos, that stopped a few paces into the beach and where they stopped was a small pile of glass.

"Uh… The footprints just stop," said Hiccup. They then looked around for any trace of him. "I mean, couldn't have disappeared."

"Well, maybe it's the Curse of Tears. Ooh! Scary!" Snotlout joked waving his hands around in a spooky manner.

Hiccup then examined the glass on the beach. "Hmm, never seen anything like this."

Snotlout looked at the glass fragments in his hand. "Me neither."

Snotlout then felt something large and scaly warped around his chest. A split second later, he was screaming as something pulled him into the sand.

Hiccup turned in time to see him vanish. "No!"

Hiccup jumped and grabbed his hand, only to find himself being pulled into the sand. Toothless and Hookfang then rushed over towards as quickly as they could.

"Toothless!" Hiccup screamed.

Toothless jumped into the sinkhole and grabbed Hiccup's prosthetic leg and pulled.

"Hang on, bud!" Hiccup cried.

Toothless pulled with all his might, but only succeed in pulling Hiccup's prosthetic leg off. He and Hookfang looked around for the sickhole, but saw that it had vanished along with their riders. Hookfang tried to dig, but his claws weren't suitable for digging.

Hiccup and Snotlout found themselves falling through the sand. They saw something that resembled a dragon of some kind before everything went black.

* * *

When Hiccup regain conciseness, he found they were in some kind of carven.

"Where are we?" Hiccup asked.

Snotlout, who clearly awoke sooner than he did, had a cheerful look on his face. "Who cares? Look around you."

Hiccup then noticed for the first time that the craven they were in was filled with treasure. Gold and silver coins and jewels littered the place, along with empty crates and tables. He also noticed that there were a lot of dead bodies around, which was concerning.

Snotlout, however, failed to realise this and imminently leapt into the loot. "Gold, silver, silver, gold," he yelled tossing the coins into the air. "How I love thee to caress and to hold…"

He then notice that he has holding someone's dead arm and tossed it into the air in surprise. He then jumped back and saw, for the first time, the dead bodies that litter the floor.

"Aw, man," said Snotlout as he got up. "What is with these bones? They're ruining my treasure pleasure."

Hiccup was now leaning on a barrel to support himself and glared at him. "Snotlout, it's not your treasure. And from the looks of things, having it didn't help these guys much. We need to worry less about this useless junk, and figure a way out of here or all the treasure in the world won't help us."

He then looked around for anything he could use as a spare leg. "Okay, first things first. I need something to replace my leg."

Snotlout then grinned gleefully. "Ooh, a leg, you say? I have just the thing."

Before Hiccup could say a word, Snotlout pushed him onto the floor and grabbed the bones of a leg.

"Snotlout, what are you…" Hiccup yelled, but stopped when he saw Snotlout tiring the leg to his stump. It say that it was disgusting would have been an understatement and began to groan in disgust.

"Shush, you! Snotlout snapped. He then finishing tiring the leg to his stump. "There."

Hiccup lifted the leg and couldn't help but thing how terribly disturbing it was. He then narrowed his eyes at Snotlout, showing his displeasure.

"Trust me. He won't miss it," said Snotlout gesturing to the body he took the leg from. "Thank you, dead body."

Hiccup then picked himself up and discovered, to his surprise, that the leg was actually working. "I guess I can live with that." He then turned their attention to the other problem. "Now, we need a plan before that sand thing comes back."

He then noticed that the places was covered in glass, but it looked as if someone dumped the melted sand and it hardened instantly. "Hmm. This stuff is everywhere."

Snotlout chuckled as he looked up. "No kidding. Look."

Hiccup looked up and saw that glass was covering parts of the ceiling. They could see daylight beaming through it, enough to light the carven, but thick enough so they could see a bit of it.

* * *

At the Market, the others were unaware of Hiccup and Snotlout were in trouble. Tuffnut was currently wearing silk scarfs around his shoulders and held a gold bludgeon covered in jewels and in front of him was Fishlegs wearing armour that he and Ruffnut put together.

"And voila!" said Tuffnut. "You, my good fellow, are the model of a modern Viking gentleman."

He then tossed the bludgeon to Fishlegs.

Ruffnut then approached him. "Every Viking leader needs a formal attire. Am I right?" she asked. Fishlegs just remained quiet. She then yelled in his ear. "Am I right!"

"Yes!" Fishlegs yelled and accidently hit himself with the gold bludgeon.

"Indubitably," Tuffnut nodded.

They then looked at Astrid, who was standing with Ragnar, and saw her shook her head.

Tuffnut then groaned. "Her fashion sense is dreadful."

"Uh, just dreadful," Ruffnut agreed.

Tuffnut then walked away. "Scarf exit."

"Time is wasting."

Ragnar shook his head as they walked away. "What made them think Hiccup would wear such outfits?"

Astrid sighed and looked at Ragnar and Fishlegs. "Listen, I think we just have to face the facts, guys. There's nothing I can get Hiccup Haddock that he doesn't have, doesn't want, or doesn't need. I'm useless."

Ragnar placed a hand on his shoulder. "Astrid, you've already given Hiccup something. You." Astrid looked at him with a frown. "You're the greatest gift that he could ever want… but if you want to give him something more tangible I may have thing that—"

He was then interrupted when they heard the sound of Toothless and Hookfang's roars. The two dragons then landed next to them looking distressed.

Fishlegs rushed up to Hookfang. "What is it? What's going on, boy?"

"They seem distressed," Ragnar noted.

The two dragons kept on roaring and Toothless then nudged Astrid and she realised what the problem was. "It's Hiccup. I knew it. Something must have happened to him and Snotlout."

* * *

Hiccup and Snotlout were still trapped in the cavern and were trying to climb out of it. However, Snotlout lost his footing and knocking into Hiccup and they both fell to the floor.

"Ow!" said Hiccup as he hit the floor.

Snotlout, unfortunately, landed on some glass which shattered and he felt hundreds of sharp daggers in his butt. "Ow!" he roared. "If you break this stuff it's really sharp." He then removed the piece that pierced his thumb and began to suck it. "Ow, ow, ow."

"Then don't break it," said Hiccup as he pulled himself up.

"A little late for that. But thank you," said Snotlout as he got up slowly.

Then they heard thudding close by and Snotlout imminently hid behind Hiccup.

"Oh, no," he quivered. "It's back. It's gonna turn us into old dusty bones."

"Would you stop whining and get ready to shoot," said Hiccup as he grabbed two crossbows and gave one to Snotlout.

They slowly made their way to the thudding and Snotlout's knees were shaking. Then jumping at them was Amos holding an axe. Hiccup and Snotlout imminently aimed their crossbows at him.

"You," Snotlout glared.

"You!" Amos glared back.

"Put those things down. Now!" Hiccup ordered. "If we have any chance of getting out of this place, we all need to work together."

Snotlout grunted, but lowered the crossbow.

"Yeah. Together," said Amos and grudgingly lowered the axe.

Hiccup then saw his medallion sticking out of Amos' belt. "And I'll take that, that you very much," he said snatching it.

He then tucked the medallion into his belt and walked off.

* * *

Aboveground, Astrid and the others had followed Toothless and Hookfang to the beach were Hiccup and Snotlout had disappeared. Hookfang was digging into the sand desperately and the others looked aground the beach.

"Hiccup!" Ruffnut called looking under a rock.

Toothless began scratching the sand and Astrid looked at him. "What is it, Toothless?" She then shock her head in worry. "I don't understand. Where are they?"

"The tracks just end here?" said Ragnar shaking his head at the footprints in the sand.

"Guys," said Fishlegs and held out Hiccup's prosthetic leg.

Astrid gasped in horror.

"Woo-hoo!" Tuffnut cried excitedly and grabbed the leg from Fishlegs. "I'll take that." He then looked at it with curiosity. "Wow!" He then saw Astrid glaring at him. "What? It's mine. Hiccup willed it to me. He said if anything ever happened to him the leg was to be bequeathed to one Tuffnut LaVerne Thorston."

Astrid then matched upwards him angrily and snatched the leg from him. "Oh, you want this? You want it? Oh, I'll give it to you," she said threateningly. "Come on. Say it. Say you want it. Say it. Or should I say it? Tears! Tears, tears, tears!"

"Ah, no, no, no!" Tuffnut cried covering his eyes.

He then fell to his knees and began crying.

Ruffnut rushed up to her brother and glared at Astrid. "What's wrong with you? It's not his fault Hiccup's gone. Why do you have to be so mean?" She then gestured to her brother, who was sucking his thumb and acting as if he was a baby. "Look at him! He's just a baby."

Astrid finally cared down and bent down to Tuffnut and reached out to touch him. "I'm sorry, Tuff. I-I don't know what came over me. I think I'm just—"

Ruffnut then knocked her hand away. "You leave him be." She then looked at brother. "Hey. What do you say we look at our new map, bro? Would that make you feel better?"

Tuffnut looked at her and nodded as he continued to suck his thumb.

Fishlegs looked up. "Wait. What map?"

Ruffnut then pulled out a map, the same one the merchant was trying to sell to Astrid.

Astrid looked at her. "You bought that?"

"It's not like we had a choice," she said defensively. "It's got word words we love beyond… Well, words."

Ragnar frowned. "What words?"

"'Treasure' and uh, you know…" she said gesturing to Tuffnut.

Toothless was still digging the sand, catching the notice of Ragnar and Fishlegs. They approached him and saw that he had dug up some chucks of glass.

Ragnar looked at them. "They're made of glass, but the formation… it want made by man."

Fishlegs grabbed one and held it out. "Astrid, I-I hate to admit it, but these glass fragments look a lot like…"

"Don't say it!" Ruffnut yelled as she and her brother got up.

Fishlegs then ran a finger down his cheek and mouthed the word 'tears'.

Tuffnut then broke down into tears again.

"Oh, come one! I didn't even say it," Fishlegs groaned.

Astrid then took the map from Ruffnut. "Well, I'm out of ideas. Might as well give this thing a shot."

She then opened up the map.

* * *

Down in the craven below, Hiccup and the others were still trying to find a way out."

Hiccup sighed. "Nothing but a dead ends. I don't think we're getting outta here anytime soon."

"Great. I'm finally rich, and I don't even get to enjoy my vast fortune," Snotlout groan and then glared at Amos. "Thanks to Amos the Lamest over here."

Amos then glared at them. "If you hadn't chased me, we wouldn't be down here in the first place."

Hiccup then glared at him. "What? If you hadn't stolen from me, we wouldn't have to chase you."

"Well, I guess we can call it even."

Hiccup stared at him. "No we can't. that's not even kind of even."

Snotlout then saw something in the darkness as Hiccup and Amos argued. "Guys, guys. You might wanna save this discussion for later."

Hiccup and Amos turned and saw something moving in the darkness.

It was slightly bigger than Toothless and had a long, snake-like body. It had a large head with relatively small blue eyes. It's neck was long with sharp rows of spikes. It had four legs, each ending with three sharp claws. The back legs were bigger and more muscular than the fore ones. Its wings were big compared to the body. It had two sharp claws on each of them. The tail was very long and has rows of spikes on it.

Hiccup looked at the others calmly. "Okay, nobody…" Amos then ran for it. "Amos, no!"

Too late, the dragon saw him running and roared. It then fired a shot, which bounced off the sand and headed towards Amos.

Hiccup quickly tackled him to the ground and the shot went over their heads. It then bounced off a sand dune and headed for Snotlout, he quickly grabbed a shield and placed it in front of him. Good thing he did, because when it made contact glass covered it from head to toe.

Hiccup looked at Amos. "It thinks you're trying to steal its treasure. Don't move."

The dragon then fired another shot, which bounced off the sand once more and headed towards them.

"Okay, now move!" Hiccup yelled as they got out of the way.

The shot stuck the sand dune and was sent upwards, but not before turning a patch of it to glass. It kept on firing at them and they kept on running and screaming as the shot covered anything it touched to glass. It then fired a shot in front of them to block their path and created a pillar of glass.

"Oh," said Hiccup. The dragon's head then appeared around the pillar. "Take cover!"

He and Amos ran for it and it continued to chase them. Then by accident, it stuck Snotlout with its tail causing him to lose the shield. He slammed into some carts and a crossbow landed next to him, firing a bolt. The bolt went straight through the glass ceiling and created a hole allowing sunlight in.

The sunlight then stuck the dragon's scales and imminently it burnt them. It hissed in pain and dung into the sand and disappeared.

Snotlout then approached Hiccup and Amos with the crossbow in his hands. "Did you guys see that?"

"It's the light," Hiccup stared. "It can't be in direct sunlight."

"Maybe that's why he patched up the holes in the roof," Amso guessed.

"Maybe," Hiccup nodded.

"No 'Thank you. Nice going, Snotlout?'" said Snotlout smugly. "Nothing?"

Amos narrowed his eyes at him. "Oh, shut up, Snotlout."

Snotlout glared at him.

* * *

Above ground, Astrid and the others were following the map to the Treasure of Tears, but so far they found nothing.

"All right, look, Astrid. We'll give up the…" said Tuffnut, but stopped in midsentence.

"The what?" Astrid snapped.

"You know. The Tear—" He then began to sobbed for a second, "those , we can live without. But the treasure? That's gotta be ours. We earned that treasure. I earned that treasure."

Astrid rolled her eyes. "If this works, you can have all the treasure you want. But if it doesn't, you know what's coming," she said looking back at the map.

"Uh, what do you say we stay from going down that dark road again, Astrid?" Ruffnut advised.

Tuffnut nodded. "Yeah. I'm not sure I have any… Well, you know, left to cry."

Astrid then frowned as she looked down at the map and saw a large X and looked up. "Hmm. Do you see that?" She zoomed off. "Hiccup."

Toothless, Stormfly and Hookfang then quickly followed her.

"Astrid!" Fishlegs yelled running after her.

"Wait, for us!" Ragnar called running as well.

The twins shrugged at one another and followed them.

* * *

In the carven, Hiccup and he heard familiar dragon roars above him.

"We're going to die," Snotlout groaned.

"Shh," Hiccup hissed looking at him. "Do you hear that? It came from outside."

* * *

Astrid was running alongside Toothless as quickly as she could.

"Come on, boy," she said. "If this map is real, we need to get there soon."

* * *

In the carven, Hiccup looked at both Snotlout and Amos.

"All right, lift me up," he said. "If someone's out there, we need to make sure they can see us."

Snotlout and Amos then each took a foot and lifted Hiccup closer towards the hole.

* * *

Astrid and Toothless had found a hole and looked down it.

"Is he in there?" Fishlegs asked.

Snotlout looked up at Hiccup. "Is anyone out there?"

"No," said Astrid and Hiccup in unison.

Astrid and the others were nowhere near Hiccup and Snotlout, they were on a ridge which had many holes dug into the surface.

Astrid got up sadly. "Looks like we're not the only ones who got fooled by this map."

* * *

Hiccup looked down at Snotlout and Amos. "Looks like we're on our own."

Once they lowered Hiccup back down onto the ground Snotlout and Amos began looking around for anything that could help them, but with no luck. Hiccup on the other hand was looking up at the glass roof above them.

Snotlout then looked at him. "You know, staring at that thing isn't gonna suddenly help us get outta here."

Hiccup then turned to him. "Hey, you have a better idea for whenever that sand-busting thing comes back?"

Snotlout smiled. "Sandbuster. That's a good name."

Hiccup gave him a blank expression.

"I was just trying to help."

"Oh, you couldn't have gotten sucked down with your dragons, could ya'?" Amos grumbled. "Could've flown right out of here. But no!"

"Why do you even talk?" Snotlout glared.

"It's how I voice my displeasure," He grumbled and gestured towards the hole in the roof above them. "And I'm gonna die with freedom just beyond that hole."

An idea then entered into Hiccup's head. "The hole. Yes. That's our way out."

Amos laughed. "Oh. How do you plan on getting to it?"

"Yeah, I mean the idiot dose have a point," Snotlout admitted. "We can't even reach it."

"Then we'll bring it to us," said Hiccup and looked at the old crats around them. "You two start stacking this junk. Build a tower as high as it'll go."

"It'll never reach and it'll never hold," said Amos.

Hiccup turned on him. "Oh, just do it."

"And what are you gonna do?" Snotlout asked.

"Build a cage, to trap the Sandbuster when he comes back," said Hiccup as he grabbed some wooden beams and a bent nail.

Amos looked at Snotlout with a dubious look.

Snotlout sighed. "I don't know. Just do what he says. He's always right, so there's no point."

"What was that, Snotlout?" Hiccup asked.

"You're like a ray of light. Lighting my way. Super-shiny." He then saw the confused look on Hiccup's face. "Never mind."

"Yeah, yeah," Hiccup sighed.

* * *

On the surface, Astrid was sitting on the edge of the ridge looking down at the map. Ragnar and Fishlegs would tell that she was concerned about Hiccup and approached her.

"He's down there," said Fishlegs. "Somewhere. And we're gonna find him."

Ragnar placed a hand on her shoulder. "We're not going to stop until we find him. Right, guys."

The dragons were certainly eager, but Tuffnut was curled up into a ball sobbing while his sister comforted him.

"Bro, it's like tear. It's spelled the say," she said. "'Tear,' 'tear,' no?" Tuffnut continued to cry. "Okay. All right. Calm down."

Ragnar rolled his eyes and looked at her. "Astrid, it's not the first time Hiccup is stuck with Snotlout and more than anyone knows he can look after himself."

Astrid was about to respond when she noticed something on the map. "Wait a minute." She then got up and handed the map to Ragnar and Fishlegs. "Guys, what do you see here?"

Fishlegs was looking at the twins. "A good reason to throw the twins into our volcano?"

"No," Astrid snapped gesturing to the map. "Look." She then pointed to the helmet on the map and then to the mountain ahead of them. "This helmet in the corner looks just like that mountain peak over there."

Ragnar and Fishlegs looked at one another and back to Astrid.

Ragnar looked at her. "I can see the simulates, but—"

Fishlegs then looked at her. "Astrid, I know you want this to—"

Astrid ignored them and pointed to the axes. "And these axes right here?" She then pointed to a pair of tress that formed a cross shape. "They line up, too. These are all landmarks. All around us."

Ragnar then slammed his head on his forehead. "Of course, the X is just to tell you were you can find the landmarks."

Astrid nodded. "And when you line up the map here, look what happens."

She placed her finger on the tears symbol and removed the map. Her finger pointed towards the beach.

She then looked at the others and rushed off with a new sense of determination. "Come on. We're going to get Hiccup."

* * *

In the carven, Snotlout and Amos had finished staking the crates together so that it almost reached the roof.

Amos looked at Snotlout dubiously. "You don't really think this thing's gonna hold?"

"As long as we get Hiccup to climb it. It'll hold his scrawny butt no problem," said Snotlout confidently.

He then turned to witness Hiccup pulling a rope and saw no signs of a cage anywhere. "I thought you said you were building a cage?"

"Yes, Snotlout. I did," said Hiccup as he tired the rope.

"Okay, don't take this the wrong way, but don't cages have, I don't know, locks, bars, walls?"

Hiccup then backed away slowly. "Trust me. This is going to work." He then looked at them. "Now let's get up that tower. Did you make sure it was sturdy?"

Amos looked at Snotlout. "Snotlout said—"

"It's fine, it's fine, it's fine," said Snotlout quickly.

Hiccup then began to climb the tower and it began to shake. He looked down at Snotlout, who have him the thumbs up and chuckled nervously. Then suddenly something exploded behind him, they turned and saw the Sandbuster had shot of out the sand wall.

"Sandbuster, Sandbuster!" Snotlout cried as he hide behind Amos.

"No, don't!" Amos yelled and quickly climbed the tower.

"Hiccup!" Snotlout yelled doing the same.

The Sandbuster too climbed the tower and nearly got Hiccup, if he hadn't gotten out of the way in time. He then jumped and landed on a makeshift catapult he made, which fired a rock at the glass roof creating a hole. The light stuck the Sandbuster causing it to hiss and retreat.

"Ha-ha," Hiccup smiled and jumped onto another catapult.

Again another rock struck the glass roof and fired another beam of light at the Sandbuster. Hiccup kept on jumping from catapult to catapult, which he made around the carven, and kept on firing rocks at the roof. Soon the Sandbuster was trapped as it was surrounded by beams of daylight from the roof.

Hiccup looked at the others. "See? Cage."

Amos looked at Snotlout. "You wasn't lying. He is always right."

"Shut up, Amos," Snotlout glared.

Hiccup then rushed to the tower and began to climb. "Now, for our exit."

They began to climb and had just reached the top when the Sandbuster made its move. It began to fire up at the roof sealing the holes Hiccup had made and then slammed into the tower.

"Oh, no. No!" Hiccup cried as the tower collapsed.

They landed on the ground had and Hiccup's medallion skidded across the floor, underneath the Sandbuster.

Hiccup looked at the Sandbuster. "Hey, don't you touch that. It is a gift."

"Oh, yeah, I'm sure he cares about that," said Snotlout rolling his eyes.

The Sandbuster then roared at them and advanced towards them.

Snotlout then grabbed a large sword from a barrel. "Snotlout!" he yelled before he toppled over due to the sword's weight. He picked himself up and pointed the sword at the Sandbuster. "Gotcha! Ha!" He then toppled over again and looked up to see the Sandbuster directly on top of him. "Hiccup!"

Amos crawled away screaming and Hiccup saw his medallion and then only beam of sunlight left shining through the last hole in the roof. He then ran towards the Sandbuster and past Snotlout, who was still trying to lift the sword.

Snotlout saw him running past and stared at him. "Hiccup, what are you…"

Hiccup then skidded across the floor and snatch the medallion underneath the Sandbuster.

"Yes," he said as he landed in the beam of light.

He then held up the medallion and reflected the sunlight off of it and stuck the Sandbuster. It imminently roared in pain.

"…doing?" said Snotlout getting to his feet and rested the sword on his shoulder. "Nice job!"

Snotlout then toppled over due to the sword's weight.

Hiccup kept the light on the Sandbuster as it moved. "You guys run. I'll keep it busy."

Amos got up. "Right. Sounds good to me," he said and ran off.

Snotlout then grabbed his ear and pulled him back. "Stand down, Amos the Lamest. We're not going anywhere without that guy. Got it?"

"Then we're all gonna die where we stand!"

Then the glass roof shattered and flying into the carven was Astrid, who was riding Toothless, and the other Riders. Astrid, Ragnar and Fishlegs then fired upon the Sandbuster pushing it back.

Hiccup joined the others and smiled. "You were saying?"

Astrid, Ragnar, Fishlegs and Stormfly then fired more breath attack at the Sandbuster. He clearly had enough, because he jumped into the sand and disappeared. They then flew down to the others to get them out of the caven.

"Woo-hoo!" Hiccup cried as he took Astrid' hand.

Hookfang grabbed both Snotlout and Amos.

"Hookfang!" Snotlout cried.

"No, no, no!" Amos screamed.

Soon they flew out of the hole and into day light.

* * *

It was late in the even when they returned to the Northern Markets and Hiccup explained everything to Johann.

"I must say, Master Hiccup, you and your team always seem to right the wrongs in this mad, mad world," said Johann. "With the vicious Sandbuster beach closed to incoming traffic, the flow of commerce can, once again, commence." He then noticed the sword Snotlout was holding. "And, speaking of commerce, Master Snotlout, I've been admiring your bejeweled weapon. Simply dazzling."

"Save it Johann. It's not for sale," said Snotlout bluntly.

Tuffnut was still crying his eyes out and Ruffnut was trying to comfort him.

"Just start with a 'T' A little t… Just a little…" said Ruffnut and Tuffnut broke into tears again. "Oh. Okay. Okay."

Johann then looked at Hiccup. "And with that, I did you adieu."

When Johann left, Hiccup looked at Astrid. "Astrid…"

Astrid then made a quick exit. "Um, I need to check on Stormfly."

Hiccup then grabbed her arm. "No, no, you don't."

Astrid looked at him. "I don't?"

"No. You need to stand right here and take this in," said Hiccup and reached into his satchel. He then pulled out his medallion which now had a string around it. "This was my father's betrothal gift to my mother." Astrid gasped as Hiccup placed it around her neck. "And he gave it to me, to give to you."

Astrid held the medallion in her hands and Hiccup placed his over hers and looked into her eyes. "Astrid, you're a part of our family. You always have been and I hope you always will be."

Astrid sighed and looked away from in shame.

Hiccup imminently believed it was because she didn't like his gift. "Um, okay. If you don't like it—"

Astrid quickly looked at him. "Hiccup, I… It's beautiful. It's perfect. It's just… I didn't get you a gift. I don't know what to get, or…"

"But you did," said Hiccup causing her to look at him. "Astrid, you got me the greatest gift in the world. You." Astrid stared at him as he grasped her hand. "You, just being here with me. It's the only gift I need."

"Then you won't be needing this," said Ragnar.

Hiccup and Astrid looked at him and saw that he was holding a shield with a sheet over it.

"What's that?" Astrid frowned.

"It's your betrothal that you had me made," Ragnar smiled. "Sorry it took so long, but Bucket can only do so much with a drawing."

He then removed the sheet and Hiccup and Astrid gasped, because the shield had a beautiful painting of Hiccup holding his around Astrid, who was leaning on his shoulder with her eyes closed.

"It's beautiful," said Hiccup stunned and looked at Astrid. "And you were so worried about not getting me anything special."

Hiccup then pulled her into a hug and she rested her chin on his shoulder as she warped her arms around him. She then looked at Ragnar and mouthed the words 'Thank you' and Ragnar winked.

Snotlout then interrupted the moment by playing around with his new sword.

"En garde!" he yelled before he lost his grip and fell into an apple cart.

The sword was sent flying through the air before it headed for Hiccup and Astrid.

"Watch it!" Hiccup yelled pulling Astrid out of the way.

The sword then plunged into the ground and upon closer examination he recognised it.

"Wait a minute," he said getting closer to the sword.

"What is it?" Astrid asked.

"I thought I recognised it that sword," said Hiccup. "That's not just any sword. That's…"

Astrid realised she recognised it as well. "Viggo's." She then looked at Hiccup confused. "But if his sword is here…"

Hiccup's face became grim. "Who brought it here?"


	55. Something Rotten on Berserker Island

It was a beautiful morning and the Dragon Riders were backing their way to Berserk Island after being invited by Dagur and Heather.

"'The Berserks cordially invite you to be their honoured guests at the inaugural Berserker Apprenticeship Graduation Ceremony,'" said Fishlegs reading from a parchment. He then gasped and looked at the others. "Guys, Berserker Island. I'm so excited to see where Heather comes from."

"And Dagur," Hiccup added. "You know, they say you can learn a lot about a people by tracing their place of origin."

"Legend has it the old Nut family tree originated with the wild albino snow monkeys of the Northern Territories," said Tuffnut.

Ruffnut then began to make monkey sounds and scratching the top of her head. "Look, guys. I'm a monkey."

"Case in point," said Astrid.

Ruffnut shrugged. "I'm just excited for the party. Nothing like a good graduation celebration." Tuffnut just stared at her. "I've crashed my fair share."

Then the two of them began to make monkey noises and began to behave like them.

"If they begin to throw poo, I say we lock them in their hut until they evolve into something closer to humans," Ragnar whispered to Hiccup.

Snotlout then flew over Fishlegs and snatched the parchment out of his hands. "You dragged us out of bed for this?" he said.

"You're just mad because Dagur doesn't like you," said Fishlegs.

"He like me, Fishface."

"Yeah, Fishlegs," Astrid nodded.

Snotlout smiled. "Thank you, Astrid."

"I mean you can't really dislike someone you don't know is alive."

Snotlout glared at her. "Shut up, Astrid."

"Now, guys, this is the first time we've ever been asked to Berserker Island," said Hiccup.

"So?" Snotlout asked.

"So, no matter how weird or Berserk it gets, just try to stay calm," said Hiccup.

"Why would anyone stay calm on Berserker Island?" Tuffnut asked. "Doesn't make any sense."

The twins then laughed.

* * *

An hour later, they reached Berserker Island and flew past the catapults that littered the sea stacks and landed on just opposite the bridge that contented to the island and port.

The Berserker guard there woke up when he saw them and looked at them. "Welcome to Berserker Island where dreams become realities," he said in a bored voice. He then held out a piece of parchment. "Name?"

"Haddock, Hiccup."

"Keatson, Ragnar."

"And Hofferson, Astrid."

"Uh, we're here for the ceremony," Hiccup explained.

The Berserker just gave them a blank face. "Did not ask you that. Next?"

Fishlegs then stepped up. "Ingerman, Fishlegs—"

Snotlout then pushed him aside. "Move. Move." He then began to stroll past the Berserker. "Jorgenson, Snotlout Gary."

Berserker then grabbed him and pulled him back. "Hold it. Not on the list."

Snotlout stared at him. "What?"

"Oh, no, it has to be on the list," said Hiccup. "Can you look again?"

The Berserker looked at the list again. "The only Jorgenson I see is a Snothat."

Everyone then snickered, laughed and giggled, apart from Snotlout.

"That's not my name!" Snotlout growled as he raised his fist.

"Brother!" Dagur cried.

They looked up and saw Heather and Dagur flying down towards them on Windshear and Sleuther, as Shattermaster was still badly injured during the Shellshocker attack.

"You all made it!" Heather smiled.

"Stand down, guard," Dagur ordered. "They're on my personal guest list."

"Yes, chief," said the Berserker saluting.

They soon landed and approached the Riders.

Dagur smiled at Hiccup. "You hear that, H? 'Chief'!"

Heather then hugged Astrid and smiled sweetly at Ragnar.

Dagur placed his hands on Hiccup's shoulders. "Any problems getting here?"

"No. it was an easy trip," Astrid assured.

"Right up until the time that my name wasn't on the list," Snotlout complained.

"It wasn't?" said Dagur surprised as he made his way to the Berserker. "Oh, heavens."

"No, no, it was," said Hiccup awkwardly. "It was just a slight—"

Dagur looked through the list and the Berserker whispered, 'Snothat' into his ear.

Dagur then snorted with laughter, but upon seeing Snotlout's face cleared his throat. "I'm so sorry. I'm usually dead on with remembering names, Snotpocket."

Snotlout snarled at him.

Dagur then returned the list to the Berserker. "They are all more that welcome on our little slice of Berserkness." He then patted Snotlout on the back. "You too Snotlip."

"'Snotlip,'" Snotlout grumbled. "You too, Dagfart."

* * *

Soon they were in the air and flew towards the village and on their way there Dagur gave them a tour.

"As you will undoubtedly see for yourselves, the Berserker landscape is only outdone in its majesty by the Berserker people," said Dagur gesturing to the ground.

When the Riders looked down they saw, to their surprise, Savage talking to a few Berserkers.

"Hey, Dagur. Is that Savage?" Hiccup asked.

"Yep, yep. Got the band back together," Dagur nodded. He then waved down at Savage. "Yo, Savage!"

Savage looked up and waved. "Well, look who it is!" He laughed. "One big, happy…" When they disappeared from view his expression changed from joy to frustration.

* * *

They soon came into view of the Berserk village and then the dragons acted strange, uncontrollable.

"Whoa. Whoa!" said Hiccup trying to calm Toothless down. "Easy, bud. Easy, bud."

"Yeah, our dragons have been having a little trouble adjusting," Heather explained as she tried to calm Windshear down.

"Yeah. Had to build the stables high up over the village," Dagur nodded gesturing to a large hill top that overlook the village.

They looked towards the hill top and the stables and noticed that they looked very familiar.

"They look very familiar," Astrid noted.

"We may have stolen…" Dagur then quickly coughed. "Borrowed the plans from you. But having them way up there keeps the dragons much calmer."

Fishlegs frowned. "That's odd. Dragons are normally very adaptive creatures."

Ragnar nodded. "Must be something in the village that is causing this reaction."

"Maybe they're just reacting to living amongst all the crazy Berserkedness!" Tuffnut suggested.

* * *

They soon reached the stables and saw that while the structure was like they're stables, they had added a Skrill figurehead. Once the dragons landed the Riders noticed that they were back to their original selves.

"They seem fine now," Hiccup noted.

"Weird, right?" Fishlegs frowned.

"Defiantly."

"Maybe we can find the cause in the village," said Ragnar.

Snotlout then leaned against the stable door and looked at Dagur. "So, Dagster."

Sleuther growled at him and Dagur gave him a firm look. "Dagur," he corrected. "It's Da-gur. No 'S,' no 'T.'"

"Yeah, no, no, I know," said Snotlout calmly. "I was just, um…" Sleuther growled again and raised his tail menacingly. Snotlout quickly backed off. "Uh, so, Dagur. The Berserker Apprentice Program. What's up with that? Why would you want to be an apprentice? Answer all my questions."

Dagur sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Sleuther growled angrily, but Dagur rasied his hand to calm him down and gestured his thump into the stables.

He then turned to Snotlout. "It's not just an apprentice, Snothole. It's _the_ apprentice. A Berserker apprentice," he explained. "We spent months combing the region for the baddest, smartest, craziest Viking in and out the archipelago."

"You did?" Snotlout blinked.

"Oh, yeah," Dagur nodded. "And who'd have thought the candidate would be right in our neighbour's backyard the whole time?"

"Really? Do we know him?"

"Do you know him?" Dagur then called into the dark stables. "Come out, boy! Reveal yourself and your many skills and talents!" He then faced the others. "The first Berserker apprentice to ever grace this crazy land. I present you…"

Then emerging from the stables was Gustav riding on top of Fanghook and wearing Dagur's old helmet.

"A Gustav," said Gustav.

"Gustav?" Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar gasped.

"Gustav," Dagur nodded as Snotlout's mouth hung wide open behind him.

"The super Berserk apprentice," said Gustav proudly.

"What?" Snotlout yelled in bewilderment.

* * *

A few minutes later, they were standing next to the stables as they listen to Gustav.

"Turns out, some people truly understand the value of the Guster and relish the qualities he brings to an apprenticeship program," said Gustav proudly. "It's like I was born to be Berserk."

"Up high," said Dagur holding out his palm. Gustav then gave him a high five. "Down low." Dagur then lowered his hand and Gustav gave him a low five. They then spun around, high fived each other and fell backwards.

"Bam!" they said in unison.

They laughed and picked themselves up.

Snotlout still looked confused. "I don't understand."

"I didn't either, Snotnose," Dagur admitted. "I thought, 'Who could possibly live up to the high standards that I, in particular, would demand of an apprentice to call my own?'"

"This guys?" said Snotlout pointing at Gustav.

"This guy," Dagur nodded.

"But it's Gustav. He's just a fake me," Snotlout stared. "Why accept imitation when you can have the real thing?"

Dagur shook his head. "Silly, Snotface. He's been studying Berserk history, learning all the Berserker songs."

"And I've been practicing all the latest Berserker fighting techniques," Gustav added.

To demonstrate he grabbed a spear and began to spin it around and thrusting it all over the place.

Dagur quickly took the spear away from him and tossed it aside. "Can't wait to see that."

Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar could tell instantly that something else was up, but said nothing.

Dagur then placed a hand on Gustav's shoulder. "My little super apprentice is even graduating two weeks early."

Gustav smiled. "Oh, stop it, you."

"No, you stop it."

"No, you stop it."

"You stop it."

"No, you stop it—" Gustav yelled.

"No, you stop it," Dagur cut across.

Gustav was taken aback. "Oh."

Dagnut then snickered and soon they were both laughing.

"Oh, I'm gonna be sick," Snotlout groaned.

Then he heard a rumbling sound and saw a rock falling from the mountain and heading for Dagur.

"Dagur! Dagur!" Snotlout yelled running towards him.

He quickly tackled Dagur and Gustav to the ground just in time as the rock landed where they stood five seconds ago.

"Boulder!" Gustav cried, a little too late.

Dagur laughed. "Good lookin' out, Gusterama!"

"Gusterama's on the spot, bro," said Gustav proudly.

Snotlout picked himself up and stared at them. "What?"

Dagur then lifted himself and Gustav onto their feet. "What do you say you lead these guys on a tour of my domain?"

"It would be my pleasure, oh, chiefly one," said Gustav and walked past him.

Dagur laughed and followed him.

"Everyone choose a buddy," said Gustav gesturing them to follow him. "Don't want anyone to get lost in the ol' tour _de la_ Berserker."

"Is that French?" Dagur asked looking at Hiccup and Astrid as they walked down. "I love, French! _Oui, oui_.

Snotlout had his arms folded and was grumbling to himself. "French. He doesn't know French. What's French?"

The moment they left someone tossed a jar into the stables and a few seconds later purple gas emerged from it knocking the dragons out cold. Then the stable doors began to close sealing the gas and the dragons inside.

* * *

Hiccup and the others were making their way down the hillside towards the village and the twins were very excited.

"So, just how Berserky you think we're talking?" Tuffnut asked his sister. "Majestically speaking of course."

"Mini boar toss?" Ruffnut offered.

"Mini berserker toss?"

"Mini berserker toss on a mini boar toss?"

"Don't toy with my emotions."

"This is what we call phase one," said Gustav as the entered the village.

To the surprise of all the Berserkers, men and women were sweeping the ground with brooms and upon seeing them gave them forced smiles and waved.

"What is that, a smile?" Tuffnut stared. "Wait, you happy? That's the best you can do one Berserker Island?"

"Boring!" Ruffnut called.

The villagers just gave them blank looks.

"What's a Nut gotta do to see some action around here?" Tuffnut asked.

Ruffnut nodded. "I'm tellin' ya."

Tuffnut then yawned and his sister then immediately whacked him across the head with his own hand.

"Ow!" he yelled. He then smiled. "That's what I'm talking about."

* * *

They made their way through the village and to the outskirts.

"And this will be phased two," said Gustva gesturing down into the valley.

All they saw were wooden cutouts of buildings and people and one of the cutout buildings collapsed onto the ground.

Hiccup looked at them. "And what will be the difference between phase one and two?"

"The number. Hello?" said Gustav as if it was so obvious. He then turned and looked at Dagur. "Little slow on the uptake over on Dragon's Edge."

They both laughed and walked off.

"Yeah, right. It was a stupid question," said Hiccup as they follow them.

* * *

They soon found themselves in another part of the village which was filled to the brim with weapons and targets.

"This will be our trading zone," Gustav explained. "You want it, we got it. You need it, we'll get it."

"Tell them what you wanna call it, Gusmaster," said Dagur proudly.

"The Wall Market!" said Gustav, his face beaming as he jetted to a large cut out next to them. "Get it? Wall Market. Wall Mark-et. Get it?"

Hiccup just shook his head. "I don't. But okay."

"Genius, this kid!" said Dagur placing an arm around Gustav. "G-nius. Get it?"

"Oh, oh!" said Gustav dashing off. "And for _la piece de resistance_ , _le_ Skrill!" He was soon standing in front of a hedge that was shaped like a Skrill. "Oh. Yeah. Cue lighting sounds."

He then began to try and mimic the sound of lightning, very poorly as everyone just stared blankly at the hedge.

"Isn't he amazing, Snot-rag?" said Dagur placing a hand on Gustav's shoulder. Snotlout just grumbled furiously. "Can't believe you let this gem of an apprentice getaway."

Gustav then began mimicking liking again. "Shootin' 'em out!"

Then they heard the sound of a horn being blown in the distance and they both laughed excitedly.

* * *

They soon found themselves in an open stage, Hiccup and the others were sitting with the other villages on some wooden seats as they looked at Dagur, sitting on his throne which was covered to the brim with weapons, and two Berserker guards.

Dagur got to his feet and made his way to the edge of the stage and looked to his people. He cleaned his throat again everyone's attention, but they were still busy talking.

He then cleaned his throat even louder. "Shut up!" he yelled.

Everyone immediately stopped talking and looked at Dagur nervously.

Dagur cleaned his throat and began to begin. "It is times like these that I'm reminded of something my great-uncle Haggard used to say, 'There we were, three against a thousand. Toughest three we ever fought.'"

He then laughed with hysterically and Gustav joined him, but they were the only ones.

Dagur then calmed himself down and turned back to the crowd. "Anyhoo, today is about one man. One man who I'm going to miss as an apprenticeship comes to a sad… but beautiful end. There will be a huge hole here and a bigger hole here."

He gestured to the entire island and to his heart and the crowd went 'Awww' and began to clap. Snotlout however was still grumbling to himself and that's when the Berserker guards on the stage made their way towards Dagur.

Hiccup was the first to notice this. "Hey, Astrid," he said shoving her shoulder.

She looked at him and he gestured to the guards.

Dagur was unaware of this as he continued to preach the crowd. "And that man is none other than—" Then the guards grabbed his arms and pulled him down onto one knee on the stage. "What the?"

"Uh, part of the ceremony?" Fishlegs asked hopefully.

All hopes of that vanished when they saw emerging onto the stage with sword in hand was Savage.

Dagur showed one of the Berserkers holding him down and saw Savage. "Savage?" Savage then placed his sword next to his throat. "What in Thor's name do you think you're doing?"

"Something I should have done a long time ago," Savage snarled. "I'm takin' control." He then looked towards the crowd. "Seize them!"

Immediately more the Berserker guards raised their weapons.

"Go! Move!" Heather yelled.

They quickly got up to their seats and Heather slipped one of them straight at the guards knocking them to the ground before then made a run for it.

"Finally, something berserk!" Tuffnut cheered.

Ruffnut quickly grabbed her brother and pulled him back.

* * *

The Riders and Gustav managed to get outside the village and were making their way through the forest as quickly as they could.

"Toothless!" Hiccup yelled.

"Meatlug! Meatlug!" Fishlegs cried.

Unfortunately the dragons were still locked in the stables and knocked out by the gas there was no doubt created by Savage.

Fishlegs looked at them confused. "I don't understand, Hiccup. Why won't they come?"

"They must be locked in the stables," Hiccup assumed.

"What about Dagur?" Gustav asked.

"What's wrong, Gusto? Lost without your hero?" Snotlout mocked.

"Snotlout!" Hiccup scolded.

"We need our dragons," said Astrid.

Hiccup nodded. "Astrid's right, everybody. We have no chance on our own. We're outnumbered."

"First things first we need a find a place that save and come up with a plan of action," said Ragnar.

Hiccup then saw Heather running towards them. "Heather!"

"Follow me!" she gestured. They quickly followed her deep into the woods and reached the cave. "In here! Quickly!"

They quickly entered into the cave and hid just as some of Savage's men ran past.

"It's clear," said Hiccup.

Heather shook her head in disbelief. "A coup? Really? How did this happen?"

"Don't look at me, I had nothing to do with it," said Gustav.

"I wasn't looking at you," said Heather.

"Unless we should be looking at you," said Ruffnut.

Tuffnut quickly grasped Gustav. "Tell us what you know turncoat! Your coat is turned around. You're wearing it like a bib or a smock!" Gustav looked at him terrified, and to a large smile appeared on his face. "Ha! You should have seen your face. It was all like…" He then screamed.

Ruffnut shook her head. "No, I'd say it was more like…" She then grunted.

"That's pretty convincing," said Tuffnut and turned to Hiccup. "Hiccup, what say you?"

"I say that was as terrifying as you both could be, we need to act fast," said Hiccup. He then turned to Heather. "Heather, you, me, Astrid, Ragnar and Fishlegs will go get the dragons." He then turned to Snotlout and Gustav. "Snotlout and Gustav, go see if you can get a bead on Savage and Dagur."

"He's probably in a cell," said Heather. "Fastest way to the prison is through the maze of caves under the island."

Gustav frowned. "Hey, how come I don't know about those?"

"Oh, it's probably a need-to-know basis, and you don't need to know," said Snotlout.

Heather made her way towards the tunnel. "You can reach them if you continue through here."

They nodded and made their way down towards the tunnel.

"What about us?" Tuffnut asked gesturing to him and his sister.

Behind them Snotlout was looking Hiccup and was giving up a pleading look begging him not to put them in his team.

"Uh…" said Hiccup as he looked at his group, who were also shaking their heads.

"I know it's a hard decision," said Ruffnut.

"Because of our innate value," said Tuffnut.

"Inane, maybe," said Snotlout quietly.

"Yeah, insane maybe," said Tuffnut misunderstanding him. "But we feel our skills can best be used with…"

Ruffnut then began to spin around very fast and when he finally came to a start they both saw that everyone was gone. A few seconds later, Tuffnut tumbled over and landed on the floor.

"Ba-boo!" he said.

* * *

The prison was well guarded by Savage's men and Savage himself was watching as his men were dragging Dagur, who hands were bound, to one of the cells.

"Savage! I'm the one who took you in when you had no one else would," Dagur reminded. "I accepted you as a Berserker. As my friend." Savage raised an eyebrow. "Okay, maybe not bosom buddies, but, over time, I believe it would have grown into something meaningful." Savage gestured to his men towards the cell and they shoved him inside.

"And the fun," Dagur continued laughing hysterically.

"Shut up!" Savage roared furiously. "You and that stupid laugh. I always hated that laugh."

Dagur was taken aback. "Well, that hurts."

"I was willing to put up with you when you were deranged. But the minute you went willy-nilly and allied yourself with Hiccup and the Dragon Riders, ooh, that when I knew I had to take over." He looked at Dagur with a furious pace. "You're a disgrace to villainy, Dagur!"

"Disgrace? Disgrace?!" Dagur roared. He then took a deep breath and calmed himself. "That's a bit harsh. Personally, I prefer terms like renegade, recreant. Even flip-flopper is more linguistically creative than disgrace."

Savage then kicked him into the cell. "How about prisoner? I like the sound of that best," he said as he slammed the cell door shut.

* * *

Snotlout and Gustav were making their way through the tunnels towards the prison. Snotlout was holding the torch as they walked down the dark tunnel.

"Okay, Gusteronimo, time to level with me," said Snotlout. "How did you really end up in this apprentice program?"

"Dagur obviously saw something in me that you didn't," Gustav answered. "Heroism. Loyalty. I spend a lot of time with him when he captured me and Fanghook."

Snotlout then looked at him. "Which is exactly what I don't get it. Anyone who spends time with you want to kill you."

Gustav folded his arms. "I guess we'll have to agree to disagree."

"'I guess we'll have to agree to disagree,'" said Snotlout mimicking Gustav's voice.

Gustav scoffed. "And I'm in the annoying one? Please."

Snotlout narrowed his eyes as he walked away.

Gustav then found himself in a large cavern and saw a large chunk of ice emerging from the ceiling. He also noticed the large gaping hole directly in front of him, so did he couldn't see the bottom.

"Whoa," he breathed.

Snotlout soon joined him and was equally stunned. "Wow." He then smirked at Gustav. "I wonder what kind of huge, nasty, venomous Dragon lives down here." Gustav was quibbling slightly. "Boo!"

Gustav was so surprised he nearly lost his footing and Snotlout laughed at his displeasure.

"Mutton-head. Let's go, Gust-egg," he said as he made his way to the ledge and began to shimmy across it.

Gustav on the other hand was terrified, but he took a deep breath and began to shimmy across the ledge. "You got it, man. Stay focused. Come on, Gustav."

Snotlout groaned and rolled his eyes.

They continue to shimmy across the edge and Gustav were trying to keep himself calm as he did so.

"Stay calm, just keep, keep going. Keep going," he said to himself until he finally reached the end of the ledge.

He then gasped, because directly in front of them was a large gap between the ledge they were on and the one opposite them.

He gulped and looked at Snotlout, who wasn't concerned in the slightest. He watched as Snotlout made a running jump and let across the gap with plenty of room to spare on the other ledge.

"Ha-ha!" he said triumphantly. "Snotlips! Snotlout!"

Gustav looked at the drop and immediately his legs turned to yak butter.

"Come on, you can't be afraid of heights. We fly dragons," said Snotlout.

"This is different," said Gustav defensively.

Snotlout gave him a questionable look.

Gustav could see that he had no choice and took a deep breath. He then made a running jump and managed to jump over the gap, but unlike Snotlout he did land on the ledge. He immediately try to hold onto the lead with his hands, but felt himself slipping.

"Snotlout!" he screamed.

Snotlout groaned and made his way over to Gustav.

"Snotlout!" Gustav whimpered as he closed his eyes.

It was at that moment that Snotlout grabbed his arm and pulled him up. "Will you shut up? I've got you. Even though I should drop you."

"Don't you dare drop me!" Gustav warned.

Snotlout then tossed him onto the ledge to safety and immediately hugged Snotlout's legs.

"Thank, Thor, thank Thor, thank Thor," he said with relief.

"Get a hold of yourself," said Snotlout.

* * *

Hiccup's group and managed to make their way towards the stables now looking over a hillside and discovered that Savage had placed guards around it.

Astrid looked at Hiccup. "What are you thinking?"

"That they look like they're waiting for us," said Hiccup.

One of the guards then looked at the direction they immediately hit behind the rocks. Hiccup then looked at Heather as she knew the terrain better than they did. "Heather, is there any other way to get inside there?"

Heather shook her head. "No, unfortunately."

"Then we have to take the man," Fishlegs concluded.

This was a surprise for the others as this was the first time that Fishlegs ever suggested about a full frontal attack or even attacking anyone in general.

"What? My Meatlug is in there," said Fishlegs defensively.

"Unfortunately we're weaponless and there's just too many of them for us to fight," said Ragnar.

Hiccup nodded in agreement. "Rag's right. We're gonna need some sort of—"

It was at that point that the twins made their way towards the stables drawing the attention of the guards.

"No, no, no. I completely disagree," said Tuffnut.

"Well, I disagree with your disagreement," said Ruffnut.

The guard immediately drew their weapons and aimed them at the twins, who did not seemed concerned in the slightest.

"Well, then let's have these fine fellows settle it," said Tuffnut as he moved a spear pointing at his face aside with his finger.

"Suit yourself," said Ruffnut then turned and looked at the guards. "Gentlemen."

She then immediately began to spin her brother, much to the confusion of the guards, and they all watched as he spun around. This created an ideal distraction allowing Hiccup and the others to reach the stables without being seen.

"Will you call this a legal battle tactic?" Ruffnut asked.

The guards frowned and looked at one another and then they saw Hiccup pulling down on the lever at the stables.

"How's it going?" he said smiling.

Two of the guard immediately advance towards him, but Ruffnut nudged her brother who spun right into them knocking them out cold.

"Seems legal to me," Ruffnut smiled. The three remaining guards then aimed their weapons at her. "Whoa!"

Then appearing out of nowhere was Stormfly's spikes that quickly disarmed them. Then emerging from the stables, which are still covered in the purple gas, was Toothless with his mouth glowing. Realising what the dragon was about to deal the guards quickly ran for it dropping their weapons as Toothless fired his plasma blast at them.

Tuffnut picked himself up. "Well?" He then hiccup. "What did they think?"

"I don't know if they loved it so much, but we certainly did," said Hiccup as he strokeToothless.

"Uh-huh," Tuffnut nodded before he collapsed.

* * *

Snotlout and Gustav were now directly outside the prison inside the well located not too far away from it. Snotlout popped his head out of the well and saw two guards securing the entrance and then he looked back at Gustav.

"All right, we're gonna go old-school and simple," he said to him. "You create a diversion, draw the men away, I'll rush in and spring Dagur."

"Sounds too risky," said Gustav.

"Okay, fine. I'll be the diversion and you go rescue Dagur."

"Well that sounds too risky, too."

"It's all risky, Gustav," Snotlout pointed out. "Where is the super apprentice Dagur's been bragging about?"

He then rubbed Gustav's head almost causing him to lose his grip. "Well, I'm just much better with my dragon."

"Oh, really? You're stronger and more confident with a fire-breathing, flying war machine?"

"Yeah," Gustav admitted.

"Oh, okay. Well, we all are, Guster," said Snotlout. "But they aren't here. How do you think I feel having you instead of Hookfang? Now, grow some hair on that barren, scrawny chest of yours, and just do what I tell you."

Snotlout then climbed out of the well and Gustav gulped as he did the same. The moment he was out of the well Snotlout made some noises that drew the attention of the guards and he immediately ran towards the bushes.

"Hey, have you guys seen the Dragon Riders? Oh, wait. You know what, I'm a Dragon Rider," said Snotlout.

He then ran off as two of the guards chased after him only leaving one to guard the prison. Gustav poked his head out of the well and saw Snotlout running.

"Go! Now!" he whispered as he ran past.

"I got this, I got this," said Gustav as he climbed out of the well.

Unfortunately his helmet got caught in the rope and as he moved he lost his balance, lost his helmet and landed into the guard's chest. He tried to run for it, but the guards grabbed him before he could take a single step and the Berserker soldier pointed assorted his throat.

"Snotlout! Snotlout!" Gustav cried.

Snotlout saw that Gustav was in trouble, but one of the guards then swung his axe at him. Thankfully he was able to catch it in time and tossed him into a tree. The other guard entrusted the spear towards him, but he was able to dodge the point and grabbed hold of the pole. He then slammed the guard into a tree and saw more guards were making their way towards him.

"Apprentice, my…"

He then quickly ran for it.

Gustav could only watch as he was being forced into the prison.

* * *

Hiccup was flying over the village on Toothless and discover that no matter where he went, Toothless kept on losing it.

"Hey, hey! Hey, hey," said Hiccup as he led Toothless back to the stables.

"You would have thought that on Berserker Island, the people would be normal and the dragons crazy?" Tuffnut laughed.

Hiccup then landed back onto the ground. "I've never seen him like this."

"Well, there was the Red Death. That made him act all weird," Fishlegs reminded.

"True," said Hiccup as he jumped off Toothless.

"And Melody Island. And there was that time he ate that eel and started shooting at you."

"Okay, fine. Fishlegs, I have rarely seen him like this," Hiccup corrected.

"Sorry, Hiccup," said Fishlegs apologetically. "Perhaps the dragons have an allergy to some flora on the island. Maybe there's some wild Dragon Root around here. I can gather samples."

"We don't have time for that," said Ragnar.

Heather nodded. "Ragnar's right we don't have time to figure this out. Dagur is in danger. Our whole island is in danger."

"Not to mention Snotlout and Gustav," Astrid added. "Who knows what those to have gotten themselves into?"

* * *

Gustav was in the same prison cell as Dagur, who was busy meditating on the other end of the cell.

"Om," said Dagur peacefully. "Breathe in the light, let out the darkness. I'm centred and calm. Om."

Gustav immediately looked at Dagur. "I got caught on purpose, you know."

"Double breath on fire. Om," said Dagur loudly and began to inhale ferociously.

"This plan was Snotlout's, not mine."

"Om. You know what the third eye is, Gustav?" Dagur asked. Gustav thought for at the moment and then looked at Dagur. "Of course you don't. When one is focused on the third eye, one is meditating, and it's unearthly impolite to interrupt said third eye seeker."

Gustav quickly backed away towards the cell door. "Okay, see ya, third eye."

Dagur growled with frustration and then commence with his meditation once again. "Om. Om. Om."

The guard that was sleeping outside the cell was unaware that allow us to was wrapped around his leg, which led outside to where Snotlout was standing tying a large rock to the edge of the well. He quickly hid as a guard appeared, but he heard the sound of him jumping into the bushes.

"What was that?" he said as he began to investigate. He then found the rock at the edge of the well. "Well, this doesn't look safe."

Snotlout smiled as he saw another guard was looking at the rope in his hand and immediately jumped out of his hiding spot in front of him.

"Excuse me, I was wondering if you could tell me where I can find Savage," he said.

The guard immediately swung his sword at Snotlout, who immediately caught his wrist and used his body weight to flip them over. This caused him to collide with the other guard and soon the two of them and the block fell into the well.

The locks waited and pulled against the rope which tightens the last two around the guard's leg inside the prison. The garden found himself flying across the air at a rapid speed and as he flew past Snotlout, he stole his keys.

"Snotlout!" Snotlout yelled triumphantly as he saw the guards entering the well with the others. He then laughed as he made his way towards the prison. "I could watch that all day."

* * *

In the prison cell, Dagur was still meditating when Gustav looked up and saw Snotlout approaching them with the keys in his hand.

"Well, hello. Fancy meeting you to hear," said Snotlout. "You should've seen the way the Snotman took out those guards." He then began to unlock the cell door and treat them. "It was beautiful. Poetry in motion."

Dagur then held his hands to Snotlout, who then began to unlock his shackles. "Well, now, now. Um, Gustav deserves a little credit, now," said Dagur as he rubbed his wrists the moment they were freed. "He did for those guards to sleep with his long, long story."

Gustav stuck his head out of the cell as Dagur walked away with a confused look. "Huh?" It only took a few seconds to realise that it was a compliment. "Oh. Oh. Yeah, yeah."

Snotlout was now furious. "What?"

"So long," said Gustav and immediately chased after Dagur.

This left Snotlout behind who was grunting furiously. He followed them and they all took a weapon from the weapons rack.

"Oh, my Thor," Snotlout grumbled.

* * *

It was evening now and Hiccup and the others were observing the village from the hillside. They saw that Dagur's men have the complete village in lockdown.

"Savage's men are everywhere," Hiccup noted. "If the dragons are sick, we can't risk taking them into battle."

"I'm a Berserker, Hiccup," said Heather as she approached him with her double bladed axe in hand. "Dragon unknown or no dragon I'm bringing back my brother."

Astrid nodded in agreement as she held her axe and Hiccup saw that Ragnar and Fishlegs were carrying a sword each. The twins however was busy fighting over a bullhook.

"Give it to me! I want it," said Tuffnut.

"Come on, give it!" said Ruffnut.

The argument ended when Tuffnut, stupidly, stabbed his own hand with the point of the bullhook allowing Ruffnut take full property of it as he screamed in pain.

* * *

It was night and Snotlout and his group were running around the outskirts of the village as Savage's men chased them down.

"Fire!" a voice yelled.

They immediately ran as quickly as they could as arrows flew overhead. Unfortunately emerging from the opposite path were more of Savage's men.

"Over here!" Snotlout gestured to a fallen down tree.

They immediately jumped behind it and press themselves against it.

"We're trapped," Gustav panicked. "What do we do?"

"Like my great-uncle Haggard used to say, 'There we were, three against thousand,'" Dagur began but was interrupted when an arrows flew past him. He then looked at Snotlout. "My doesn't anyone one think that's funny?" He then turned his attention to the problem at hand. "Anyhoo, if my calculations are correct, it just against 20 or so of Savage's men. We go seven apiece, Berserker-style."

Snotlout smiled. "Me liking."

"On my count. One, two—"

"Wait!" Gustav cried. "We-we can't. I mean, I can't."

"You can't what?" Dagur asked.

"I'm not the super apprentice you think I am," Gustav admitted. "I cheated and all the history tests. I was lip-syncing when everyone was singing the Berserker songs. And I never learned a single fighting technique. Look, I'm a terrible apprentice."

"I knew it!" said Snotlout.

"Come here," said Dagur dragging him away so they out of earshot from Gustav. Once they were safely out of earshot he looked at Snotlout. "You don't think I knew that, Snotpit? The kid's only here because Stoick needed a break from the little beast. The entire apprenticeship program is made-up. A sham."

"I'm terrible," Gustav sobbed as arrows sored over him.

"He's not even close to being ready for this like this," said Snotlout.

Dagur looked at him. "Negative, Snotrider."

Snotlout narrowed his eyes at him. "Look, can you please stop messing with my name? I know you know it."

"Aww. But it's so fun," Dagur complained.

Snotlout narrowed his eyes.

Dagur shrugged. "Fine. I'll do my best." They then turned to face Savage's men and raised his sword. "Two against 20?"

"Could be worse," said Snotlout as he held his axe firmly in hand.

Dagur then laughed.

"Snotlout!" Snotlout yelled.

Then immediately the two of them charged at Savage's men like true Berserkers. Gustav looked over from the voluntary and saw them engaging in battle.

* * *

In the village, Savager's men were patrolling as they had forced everyone back into their house. Then one of the guards felt someone tapping his shoulder.

"Huh?" he said as he turned and soon his face came into contact with Fishlegs' fist knocking him out cold instantly.

He then yelled out a battlecry as Astrid and Heather charge at the soldiers followed closely by Hiccup holding both his shield and _Inferno_ in hand. Astrid and Heather quickly knocked out the two of the guards and high-fived each other as they ran to the next opponents.

Ragnar blocks the attack from one guard and managed to disarm him by twisting his blade. He then jumped and performed a powerful spinning kick right at the guards face knocking him out cold. Another guard was making his way towards him, but Hiccup blocked the attack with Inferno and the flaming sword because the guard to fall back to avoid the heat, but he was then hit in the face by his shield.

A soldier swung his sword at Ruffnut, whopole vaultover him and then was not in the head by Tuffnut's mace when he turned to face her. They quickly ran as two more guards chased after them and Fishlegs was being overwhelmed by a couple of guards, but Astrid round one with a shoulder and blocked the attack from the other as Fishlegs did the same with another garbage joined the battle.

Heather was doing battle with two guards simultaneously, she deflected the spear of the guard quickly spun around the block the spear of the other guard. Hiccup had just knocked a guard of his feet with his shield, but another guard appeared out of nowhere and struck his sword so hard against _Inferno_ that Hiccup lost his grip.

He then raised his sword ready to strike Hiccup, but out of nowhere came a plasma blast knocking him right off his feet. Hiccup immediately turned towards the hills and saw that Toothless had taken a position up there and was surveying the battle.

Hiccup picked up _Inferno_ and pointed his blade at another group of guards. Toothless, understanding the gesture, unleashed more plasma blast right at the guards that were doing battle with the twins knocking them out cold. Hiccup kept on doing the same process taking out the guards were doing battle with the others.

With the path now clear Hiccup and the others made their way towards the Berserker throne pavilion where Savage and the remainder of his forces remained.

Savage was sitting legally in Dagur throne but quickly woke off when Hiccup and the others charged in with their weapons raised.

"Dragon Riders!" he yelled as he drew his sword and his men engage them.

Soon the Riders and guards did battle with one another and the guard were being completely overwhelmed. Fishlegs had managed to tackle a guard to the ground and Heather dealt a powerful kick into another one knocking him to the ground.

Savage then joined the fray making his way towards her who had just another guard. "Oh no you don't!" he said grabbing Heather's arm and pulled her towards him. He then placed his sword against her throat and looked at the Riders. "Stand down! All of you."

With no other choice Hiccup and the Riders lowered their weapons and Savage laughed at his triumph. However it was proving to be short lived as Snotlout and Dagur came out of nowhere swinging on a rope.

Savage was so stunned that he released Heather and failed to get out of the way as Snotlout slammed his speed right into his face. Dagur then landed upon his throne and sat there nice and comfy.

"Ah, it's a good day to be me," he sighed with relief.

Savage just looked at him dazed. "I still hate your laugh."

* * *

The next morning, after all of Savage's men had been apprehended, the entire village was back at the pavilion.

Dagur cleaned his throat. "Shut up!" he yelled to his people. "This trophy goes to the most deserving Viking in the land, a Viking that exemplifies what it truly means to be a Berserker."

Gustav was on the stage looking proud of themselves and wearing Dagur's helmet again. Snotlout the other and was muttering to himself grumpily against the wall with Hiccup.

"It's a fake anyway," he sighed. "I don't care."

Dagur then looked apologetically at Gustav. "Unfortunately, it's not you, Gusthat." He then turned to Snotlout. "Snotlout, get out here and take what is rightfully yours."

Snotlout stood up straight completely surprised and Hiccup edged him onto the stage. He gladly did so as the entire crowd cheered.

"Welcome to the Hat family, pal," said Snotlout as he walked past Gustav.

Gustav just folded his arms and pouted.

Dagur then presented Snotlout with a golden statue of himself, who immediately raised it into the air.

"Oh, my Thor! You like me, you really like me!" Snotlout cried.

* * *

Later that evening they started to make their way back to the Edge and Snotlout was holding his trophy proudly in his arms.

"Well, Snotlout, pretty please with yourself, huh?" said Hiccup flying alongside him.

"To be named the baddest, smartest, craziest Viking in and outside the archipelago? Uh, yeah," said Snotlout smugly. "And I got the proof right here." However he took a closer look at the initial and his eyes widened. "Yeah! What? 'Snotknuckles'? He wrote Snotknuckles?"

Everyone laughed as Snotlout through the statue of Dagur into the sea in frustration.


	56. Snotlout's Angels

The twins were leaning against the door to Snotlout's hut as the voices of both Astrid and Snotlout could be heard in a very heated argument.

"I mean how was I supposed to know?" Snotlout asked. "Do you know how many axes there are on this island?"

"That have my initials on it?" Astrid countered as she raised her axe, which clearly had her initials written on it. "One."

Snotlout looked at the Norse markings. "Oh, those are your initials."

"It's bad enough you took it without asking, but you used it to clean in between your dragon's dirty claws," said Astrid gesturing to Hookfang, who was scratching himself. "Do you know what kind of disgusting crud is in there?"

"Do I? That is some seriously nasty goof."

Astrid was now completely furious and had a murderous look on her face. A few seconds later she immediately attacked Snotlout.

From outside the twins can hear Snotlout screaming and the sound of fists flying.

Tuffnut looked at his sister. "Sounds like she's got him in the Hofferson Head Press."

"How long 'til he blacked out?" Ruffnut smiled eagerly.

"Less than 30 seconds."

It was at point that Hiccup, Ragnar and Heather landed just outside the hut.

Tuffnut looked at Toothless. "Hey, T, how you been?"

Hiccup turned the tide and heard the sounds of Snotlout pathetic screams. "Okay, not the ear hair. Anything but the ear hair!"

They then heard a tearing sound and the sound of Snotlout screaming.

"Oops," said Astrid's voice.

Hiccup hopped off Toothless and approached the twins. "Snotlout took her axe again?" Hiccup assumed.

"Hmm," Tuffnut nodded. "And milady is not too pleased with Snotsalot."

"You would have thought he would learn by now, no one take Astrid at without permission," said Ragnar shaking his head. "Every time he does I burn half our medical supplies."

"Do you think they'll be long?" Heather asked. "I wanted to say goodbye to Astrid before I had a home to Berserker Island."

They then heard Astrid screams. "Did you really just say that to me?" she said in a furious voice.

"Yes," Snotlout whimpered, who was on his knees looking terrified at a murderous Astrid. "Please don't hit me."

Astrid scoffed and walked out of the hut and past Hiccup, Ragnar and the twins.

"I'll just go talk to Astrid myself," said Heather nervously and flew after her.

The four of them then rushed over towards Snotlout.

"What did you say to her?" Ruffnut asked.

Snotlout got up and whispered something in her ear.

She laughed. "Yeah, right. You did not say that."

Snotlout just gave her a small nod. Ruffnut then leaned towards Ragnar and whispered in his ear.

Ragnar stared at Snotlout. "Do you have a death wish?"

He then leaned over and whispered into Hiccup's hear.

Hiccup immediately gave Snotlout a concerned look. "Okay, this could be a problem."

They then heard strange noises outside and Hiccup immediately rushed out to see several sharp weapons being tossed out of Astrid's hut.

"Okay, just… nope. Okay. Nope," she said as he tossed weapon after weapon outside the hut.

Snotlout was looking at him with concern. "Uh, okay. What is she doing?"

"Searching for something. Most likely a bludgeon," Hiccup assumed.

"Or any other deadly weapon," Ragnar added.

Hiccup looked at Snotlout. "All right. Here's what you're gonna do. You're gonna get on your dragon and fly out of here immediately."

"Yeah, right, I'm not afraid of her," said Snotlout firmly.

Ruffnut then whispered into her brother's ear, who looked at Snotlout as if he was crazy. "You said, what? Are you insane?"

"You should go," Hiccup advised. "Now. It's literally the only chance you have."

Snotlout panicked and rushed over to Hookfang. "Okay."

He then took off immediately.

* * *

After about half an hour, Snotlout was still flying through the dark night sky.

"I can't believe this is happening," he said in disbelief. He then looked down at Hookfang. "Can you? I mean, seriously. She needs to not being so sensitive."

He was so busy flying that he failed to notice that he flew straight into a storm and only realised this when he heard the sound of thunder and the flash of lightning. In a few seconds and then started to pour down with rain.

"Great," Snotlout moaned. "Wow." Then lightning shot right past him. "Perfect."Another bolt of lightning nearly struck him. He then looked up to the sky. "That's right! Punish me, Thor! Bring everything you got! I can take it! The Snot can take…"

He immediately regretted those words, because another bolt of lightning struck his helmet knocking him off of Hookfang.

"I was kidding!" Snotlout screamed as he fell towards the ocean below.

Hookfang look around wildly for him, but there was no trace.

Snotlout landed in the ocean hard as he desperately tried to keep himself aloft which wasn't easy in this storm.

"Rider down! Rider down! Hookfang, where are you?" Snotlout cried.

He then heard a roar in the distance and immediately turned towards it.

"Oh, Thor. What was that?" he moaned. "Hookie? Is that you? Hookfang?"

Then a flash of lightning struck and Snotlout saw silhouette in the night sky. At first he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, because the shadows look a lot like women with large wings.

"Of course it's not," Snotlout moaned. He then immediately swam for it. "Hookfang!"

Hookfang was in the sky ablaze trying to find Snotlout, he then dived towards the ocean. However, by the time he got there was no sign of Snotlout.

"Help! Help!" Snotlout cried.

Hookfang turned and saw Snotlout being carried away by winged women and then immediately chased after them.

* * *

At the Dragon's Edge, everyone there was at the clubhouse having dinner. Hiccup, however, was concerned that Snotlout had yet to return and judging from everyone he was the only one.

He was playing around with this food with finely couldn't stand it anymore. "All right, are we all just gonna sit here and pretend nothing's wrong?"

They answered by continuing eating their food.

"Nothing is wrong," said Astrid plainly as he ate her beans.

Hiccup looked at them. "He should have been back by now. Okay? He never leaves a very long. You know Snotlout. He's too big a chicken."

Tuffnut then coughed. "Ahem. Hiccup? _El pollo_ ," he said gesturing to Chicken, who was sitting on his lap.

"Oh, yeah," said Hiccup realising his mistake. "Sorry, Chicken."

" _Muchisima gracias de yo y Chicken_ ,' said Tuffnut gratefully.

Ragnar sighed. "Hiccup got a point, he would never missed dinner."

Fishlegs nodded. "You know there is a chance that he got caught in that storm," he said looking outside the raging storm. "It's pretty brutal out there."

"Of course, he's got caught in the storm," said Ruffnut. "He's Snotlout. The only question is do we—"

Hiccup got to his feet immediately. "You know the answer to that question, and it's yes. Come on."

"Ugh!" Astrid groaned.

"Ugh!" said everyone else.

They immediately got up and made their way to the stables, but not before Fishlegs took a bit of his steak.

"You sure it's not a question, I feel like it's a question," said Ruffnut.

* * *

Snotlout awoke to find himself in a hut and discovered that he was completely barefoot and resting on my will dried leaves.

He then looked up and saw several beautiful women are merging into the hut wearing armour.

"Huh?" he stared dumbfounded. "Okay, you guys. Joke's over. Ha-ha. Take off that beautiful native woman costume, Fishface. You don't have the legs for it."

He then collapsed completely exhausted.

One of the women looked at the others. "Who is this Fishface he speaks of?"

They merely shrugged.

"Ah. You're awake," said a new voice.

Then emerging into the heart was another beautiful woman with shiny green eyes and brown hair tied in a bun. Judging from the crown on her forehead she had to be the leader of this group and like all them she was wearing armour.

"My name is Atali," she said.

"What?" Snotlout stared.

"You are safe here, young Viking," she said gracefully.

"Wait. I am? I am," he said revealing his entire body. "Then, this must be…" He then stared up at the women. "Wow. You know, I thought I'd be really distressed to be, well, you know, but this is awesome."

He then laughed as the women just gave confused looks.

"Okay, so when do I get to meet Odin. I mean—"

Atali raised a finger. "Well—"

Snotlout then picked himself up. "He obviously handpicked me to come to Valhalla, so he must want to hang out with Snotman, catch up, lay down some warrior gifts on the…"

"You are not in Valhalla, 'Snotman,'" said Atali.

"Yeah, it's actually Snotlout," said Snotlout. He then turned and faced Atali. "Okay, let's go see the 'O' guy."

"My Wingmaidens rescued you from a terrible storm," Atali explained. "You are alive and well and on our island home."

Snotlout then rubbed his chin. "Well, if I'm not dead then where's…" Snotlout face widened in horror. "Hookfang!"

"Just calm yourself," said Atali calmly. "You are safe from all dragons while you are here." She then gestured to a women holding the golden goblet. "Now drink from this golden goblet. This is the purest of all herbal tea." Snotlout took it and looked at Atali. "It will give you great strength."

"Don't mind if I do," said Snotlout happily and drank it, though some of it did dribble on his tunic. He then smiled at Atali. "This is delicious, Me-likey." He then looked at the women. "Ah. Grab another bottle of this, will ya? I wanna take this with me."

He was about to walk off, but then saw the women's eyes narrow at him.

"Uh… please?" he said politely.

* * *

Elsewhere, Hiccup and the other Dragon Riders and Heather were trying to find Snotlout in the storm.

"Man, this is impossible!" Tuffnut yelled through the wind. "It's like looking for a bonehead in a thunderstorm."

"Is that supposed to be a metaphor?" Ruffnut asked.

"Yeah, little one on the nose? Well, my brain is wet."

Hiccup looked down at Toothless. "Hey, Toothless? Let's try again."

Toothless then roared in order to find his way through the storm and possibly looking for any trace of Snotlout and Hookfang.

"Still nothing," said Astrid. "Hiccup, we're never gonna find anything out here. I can barely see Stormfly's head in front of me."

"Astrid's right, Hiccup," said Fishlegs. "Maybe we should go back to the Edge and waited out, then when it's more—"

"Guys, wait," said Hiccup holding out his hand as he saw something in the distance. "Do you see that?"

They saw bright light in front of them and it appeared to be heading straight towards them. When they got closer they saw that it was a very familiar shape.

"Is that…" Fishlegs asked.

Emerging through the maelstrom was none other than Hookfang, who had set his entire body ablaze. He immediately stopped directly in front of them looking a bit distressed.

"Hookfang!" said Hiccup.

"But I don't see Snotlout with him," Ragnar noted.

"He must have fallen off during the storm," Heather assumed.

Hookfang then immediately unleashed a burst of flames and began flying around as if trying to tell them something.

"We've seen him do this before," said Hiccup.

"He wants us to follow him," said Fishlegs.

"Because he knows where Snotlout is," Ragnar added.

Hookfang then immediately flew in deep into the storm and they quickly followed him making sure to stay close so the flames illuminated their way. Eventually he let out of the storm and immediately the Riders and their dragon quickly dried themselves.

"What's Snotlout gotten himself into?" Astrid asked as she dried her hair.

"No doubt something that getting himself killed as per usual," Ragnar assumed.

* * *

Snotlout was currently having a nice meal that was being served to him by the Wingmaidens and was opening his big fat mouth to them.

"So he says to the other Viking, 'You're Thor?' 'I'm tho Thor I can barely thit down,'" he said and laughed.

However the women sitting next to him doing even crack a smile and in fact they were looking slightly disgusted.

Snotlout, naturally, failed to notice as he bit into a chicken leg. "Now this is how you treat a man. Astrid should be here taking some notes. You feel me on that?"

Atali then stepped forward. "Mr. Snotlout, although we are honoured to have you as our guest, your attitude towards women is completely unacceptable."

"Hey, I always talk like this," said Snotlout. "I did chicks, uh, women…"

"And that is why you must respect them, revere them. Do you understand?"

Unfortunately was that point that Snotlout was guzzling down the golden goblet. Once he finished he placed the goblet down. "Loud and clear."

Atali smiled. "Perfect. Get some rest. For this evening, you will be the guest of honour at our 'Feast of Freya.' We've been preparing the sacred stew for days now." She then gestured to some of her Wingmaidens that were busy sterling a large pot. "Just a few final ingredients and it will be ready to ingest. You, Mr. Snotlout, will be the centrepiece of our celebration."

"So, this sacred stew, what exactly makes it so 'sacred'?" Snotlout asked.

"Oh, I'm afraid we couldn't reveal that, Snotlout," said Atali. "If we did, well…"

"Oh, let me guess. You'd have me kill?" Snotlout laughed.

"That's one way to put it."

Snotlout immediately stopped laughing. "Huh? You guys are kidding, right?" He then looked precariously at the women sitting next to him. "I mean, with all of my respect and revering I'm doing here, you wouldn't…"

He then saw one of the women stuffing a silken napkin into her breastplate and pulled up a knife and fork. He immediately panicked and crawled over the table watched as more women approach the table with a knife and fork.

"I'm no one's stew," he said in a panic voice. "I don't care how sacred or delicious it is."

He immediately ran towards the door.

"Run if you must, Snotlout," said Atali. "But, I'm afraid we cannot let you leave Wingmaiden Island."

Snotlout saw the smile on his face and screamed and ran as quickly as he could away from the village.

* * *

"This is so typical," Snotlout groaned. "I finally meet some cool chicks that I can hang out with, who get my jokes, dig me as a leader and as a warrior, and it turns out all they want to do is make me to some crappy stew."

He then immediately found an armoured woman looking down at him from a boulder and quickly ran in the opposite direction. He jumped through the bushes to see another armoured woman directly in front of him and ran in the opposite direction yet again.

He exited from the bushes and stop just in time before he reached the edge of a cliff and saw Atali and more of her Wingmaidens emerging from the bushes.

"You don't think I'll do it, do you? You don't think I have the guts?" said Snotlout. He then began to pat his chest. "Well, guess what, baby? I'm all guts. Check this out. Nothing but gets here."

Atali and her Wingmaidens just smiled as they advanced towards him. Then to their surprise, he leaned back and toppled over the edge.

A few seconds later, Snotlout was screaming and clutching onto his helmet as he felt towards the water. "Oh, no!"

He struck the water hard, but thankfully he went legs first and quickly swam back to the surface.

"I did it," he said in disbelief. "I'm alive. I'm in one piece. Those lunatics will never have the stones to…" He stopped when he saw Atali and her Wingmaidens jumping right after him. "What in the name of Thor?"

He quickly swam as quickly as he could, but then from out of nowhere Atali and her Wingmaidens sprouted metallic dragon like wings and flew towards him. They then immediately picked him out of the water much to his disbelief.

"No. You can't do this. I'm not edible. I'd be tough, gamey," Snotlout yelled. His attention then focused upon the flying women were carrying him. "Wait, are you flying?" He looked up and saw Atali smiling. "How are you flying?"

Panic then covered his entire body. "Help me!"

* * *

Hiccup and the others were chasing after Hookfang, but the dragons were starting to get tired. Hookfang eventually stopped on an arch in the middle of the sea roaring at the horizon.

"Okay, Hookfang, I get it," said Hiccup as they landed and immediately jumped off Toothless. "You're worried about Snotlout. Why don't we just take a little break and give the rest of us a chance to…"

Hookfang then immediately took off.

"Okay, who need to catch their breath anyway?" said Hiccup. He then turned to the others as he mounted Toothless. "You guys relax, I'll go."

Fishlegs shook his head. "No way, all right? We are going with you. Meatlug just got her second wind."

Meatlug looked a bit tired, but upon hearing Fishlegs' word she immediately got a massive boost of energy.

"I can go as well," Ragnar added. "Snotlout could be injured and if so I have to treat him immediately."

The three of them then took off and began to chase after Hookfang. It in take them long as Hookfang immediately flew out of the crowds as if he was frightened by something.

"What the…" Hiccup stared.

They then turn towards the clouds and saw flying around them were… well, there was no other way to put it, women with dragon wings. Upon seeing them they immediately dive down back into the cloud bank leaving the three young men completely bewildered.

Hiccup stared openmouthed. "What the—Are—are those…"

"Flying women?" Fishlegs finished.

"Uh. Am I crazy or is that impossible?" Hiccup asked looking at the others.

Ragnar just rubbed his eyes. "Okay, we've fall day without food or best."

It was that point Astrid and the others emerge from the clouds.

"What are you guys talking about?" Astrid asked.

"Nothing. Nothing," said Fishlegs quickly. "We're just having some friendly hallucinations."

"Wait, so, you didn't see the angelic flying native women?" Tuffnut asked bewildered. "Man, did you miss it."

"Okay, we clearly need to know more about these, whatever they are," said Hiccup still trying to get over the shock.

* * *

They immediately flew back towards the arch and Hiccup quickly pulled out his spyglass. He immediately turned his sights to the island in the distance and saw something that caught his eye.

"Hey, Fishlegs, take a look at this," said Hiccup.

He then handed the spyglass to Fishlegs, who immediately looked towards the island. "Amazing. Just amazing," he said in awe. "The density of that vegetation is unparalleled for an island in this area of the…" Hiccup then removed the spyglass to an inch to the right. He then immediately saw a village and flying around it were the same women they saw earlier with dragon wings. "Oh. You were talking about the giant village women with wings."

Ragnar was looking through his own spyglass and lowered it. "At least we know that were not hallucinating."

Hiccup took a spyglass back from Fishlegs. "Hold on. I think I found Snotlout," said Hiccup. He had indeed found Snotlout, whose arms and legs were tied to a stick carried by two of the women. "They've got him and they're taking him into a cave."

"If I didn't know better I'd say they were about to eat him," said Ragnar.

Astrid didn't look entirely surprised. "Yeah, he probably said something he would say, and now they're gonna—"

"Hey, at least our hands are clean," said Ruffnut.

"As a whistle," Tuffnut added to demonstrate he whistled. "Just such we didn't get to watch."

"We're not gonna let them do anything to Snotlout," said Hiccup flatly. "We're gonna go in there and get him and bring him home."

"The very least we can save them from getting food poisoning," said Ragnar who was still looking at the island through his spyglass.

"Who is this 'we' you speak of?" Ruffnut asked doing hand quotes.

"All of us," said Hiccup plainly.

"Look it's all women down there," Astrid pointed out. "If we have to save him, and I'm not convinced we do, I just think it would be easier for Heather, Ruffnut and I did take the lead. You know, put 'em at ease."

"What if we all went in on Windshear?" Heather suggested, who had taken Ragnar spyglass and was looking at the women, but more precisely their wings. "There's something familiar about those wings."

"All right, then it settled," Hiccup agreed. "We'll be there if you need us. You might not want to mention anything about Snotlout, until you know why they have locked up in that cave."

* * *

A few moments later the three women were riding on top of Windshear and were heading towards the island.

"What a beautiful Razorwhip," said a voice beneath them.

Suddenly emerging from the clouds was Atali, who was facing. She then flew down Windshear's stomach brushing her hand against her chest and then flew beside them.

"And so well behaved," she added.

Heather stroked Windshear and smiled. "I've had her since she was a hatchling. She must have gotten separated from her mother."

"I am, Atali," she said introducing herself as more Wingmaidens appeared. "We're not here to harm you, but ask how it is you find yourselves within our island's borders."

"There was a terrible storm. We were on our way back to our own island and we must have gotten blown off course," Astrid explained.

Atali then looked at Ruffnut. "I'm afraid that we don't usually allow men on our island, so your friend will have to—"

Naturally Ruffnut was insulted by this comment. "Hey, I'm more woman then you'll ever be, sister," she glared removing her helmet.

"My apologies," said Atali apologetically. "Follow us. We will provide you with shelter this evening and a hot meal."

"Now we're talking," Ruffnut smiled. "What's on the menu?"

"We're having stew. Sacred stew."

The three women looked at one another and shrugged and followed Atali and her Wingmaidens back to the island.

* * *

Atali then began to give them a tour around the village.

"As I said, we do not allow males to integrate into our tribe on a permanent basis," she explained.

"Why is that?" Astrid asked curiously.

"We have important work here, a higher purpose, if you will. Males would neither understand, nor would they be helpful."

"Ahem to that, sister," Ruffnut nodded.

"Ruff, you couldn't really feel that way about the guys," said Heather.

"Don't I?" said Ruffnut placing a hand on her hips. "I can't remember us ever having this discussion, Heather."

"If you'll excuse me for a moment, I have some business to attend to," said Atali. "But feel free to take in the beauty our island has to offer."

Astrid then turned to the others having a good feeling what business she was talking about. "Well, that's the end of Snotlout."

"Hey, at least he died surrounded by beautiful women and the smell of sacred stew," said Ruffnut cheerfully.

"If he's still alive, we need to get him before he says anything to make them any more angry," said Heather. Both Astrid and Ruffnut each raised an eyebrow at her. "Yeah, that ship's sailed, huh?"

"Hey, can you guys keep their chief busy?" Astrid asked.

"We can try," said Heather.

"I'll find Snotlout," said Astrid, not able to believe that she had just said that. "He's a muttonhead, but he's our muttonhead."

"Come on, Heather," said Ruffnut placing a hand on the woman's shoulder. "I thought I saw a boar pit when we were flying in. Hey, maybe they're up for a game of doubles."

Heather didn't really like the idea of that.

* * *

Snotlout was currently hanging upside down in a cave with a chain around his ankle and was at that moment snoring when Astrid came in.

"Ugh," she groaned as she made her way towards him.

Thankfully she found the key to the chain around his ankle, which was on the floor directly in front of the snoring Snotlout. She picked it up and made her way towards him and saw the chain was too high for her to reach.

She sighed. "Snotlout. Snotlout, wake up." When shaking him around in work she then flicked his nose and his eyes slowly began to open. "Hey, muttonhead."

"Astrid," Snotlout gasped as his eyes shot open. "You came for me." He then immediately grabbed her. "I knew you would. I knew it." He then released and looked at her in confusion. "Wait a minute. No, I didn't. You hate me. Why would you?"

"I don't hate you, Snotlout. You frustrate the living… you know," she said and held out the key. "But you're one of us. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."

"Astrid, you really care about me," said Snotlout surprised as tears began to form his eyes. "You really, really care."

"Don't push it," Astrid warned. "Now what exactly is it that you said to them to get them so mad at you?"

"All I did was fall in the ocean and these clearly unstable natives are planning on using me in their sacred stew," Snotlout explained.

Astrid sighed and walked away.

"That's exactly what happened," said Snotlout. Astrid continue to walk away. "All right, maybe I said a few things that were taken out of context…"

Astrid looked at him and held out the key. "Snotlout."

"Fine. I'm learning. I'm a work in progress. The archipelago wasn't built in a day," said Snotlout folding his arms.

"All right, the others are gonna meet up with you at the base of the mountains north end of the island," said Astrid giving him the key and he immediately began to unlock the shackle around his ankle. "Do you know which way is north?"

Snotlout managed to unlock the shackle, but it was all according to fall to the ground.

"Seriously, did you just ask me that?" Snotlout asked as he picked himself up and placed his helmet back on his head. He then pointed west.

"It's that way," said Astrid pointing north which was directly behind her.

"Oh, got it," said Snotlout and immediately ran to where she was pointing.

"Oh, yeah, you're welcome. No, any time, sure. My pleasure," Astrid grumbled.

"Snotlout!" Snotlout yelled.

* * *

Astrid soon met up with Heather and Ruffnut and discover that the two of them were completely covered in head to toe in mud.

"Whoa. What happened to you two?" Astrid asked.

"Turns out there was a boar pit," said Heather as she tried to get the mud out of her hair. "And they did want to play doubles."

Astrid was fighting back a laugh as Heather stood up. "Well, I'd ask you how you did, but…"

"Don't," said Ruffnut as she picked herself up. "I do not want to talk about it." She then looked directly at Heather. "Some people do not take the game as seriously as they should."

Heather looked annoyed, but said nothing.

Astrid shook her head. "All right, let's go. Where's Windshear?"

"You're not leaving, are you?" said a voice behind them.

They turned and saw Atali flying her way over to them.

"Oh, yes, I'm afraid we have to," said Astrid.

"We have a long way to fly, and it'll be dark soon," Heather nodded.

"Such a shame. I so wanted to show you the newborns," Atali looking slightly disappointed.

She then turned her back onto them and they soon realise that the wings on her back were connected to a baby Razorwhip, which was clinging onto her back.

The three girls gasped upon seeing the baby.

* * *

With their curiosity intrigued, Atali took them to a clearing where they saw more baby Razorwhips.

Heather looked confused. "I don't understand. Where are their mothers?" She looked at Atali shaking her head in disbelief. "How could you keep them from—"

"We're not keeping them from their mothers. We're saving them," Atali assured. "Heather, are you aware that nearly a thousand years ago, the Razorwhip almost became extinct?"

Heather stared at her. "No. I had no idea."

"It's true. And it was then that our Wingmaiden tribe was changed with a divine mission. A mission given by Freya herself, and one we fulfil with great honour to this day."

Astrid looked at the baby Razorwhips and noticed something. "There's something about them. Are they…"

"Blind?" Atali finished. "Yes. All Razorwhips are born blind. They are helpless and the mothers cannot protect them against male Razorwhips."

"Been there," said Ruffnut standing up straight.

Astrid gave her questionable look. "When?"

"Uh… just sounded like the right response," Ruffnut shrugged.

"Adult male Razorwhips will feed on the babies unless someone is there to stop them," Atali explained.

"And that's where you come in," Heather assumed.

Atali nodded. "Exactly. We have a mutual understanding with the mothers that the hatchlings will stay with us until they are able to stand and are strong enough to fly. Then they fly on our backs until they are old enough to defend themselves. It is only then that they are released back to their mothers and then into the wild."

Heather's eyes widened. "So, what you're telling me is that—"

"Your dragon was once part of our family," Atali nodded as the baby Razorwhip on her back crawled into her arms. "She was raised by us until she was strong enough to go on her own."

"Windshear was so little when I found her, but she bonded with me right away," said Heather as she hugged Windshear.

"Well, the first contact with another living being creates a lifelong bond," Atali explained as she stroked her Razorwhip. "One that shall never be broken. You are very lucky woman, Heather."

Heather smiled. "I am."

"And here we thought you were these crazy babes who flew with dragons and a stew made out of fat annoying guys," said Ruffnut.

Astrid quickly covered her mouth. "That is not what we thought."

"It's all right," Atali assured. "What we are—"

"The man has escaped," said a voice from above them and saw a Wingmaiden looking down at them from the cliff. "Someone set him free."

"Sorry. We didn't know. He's meeting our friends at the base of the north mountains," Astrid explained.

"That's unfortunate," said Atali.

"Why? Why is that unfortunate?" Heather asked.

"Because those are nesting grounds of the Razorwhips," Atali explained. "And if the female sense any sort of male presence there, they will attack. To kill. He'll have no chance."

"I sent him right into that. I just sent Snotlout to his death," Astrid groaned.

* * *

Snotlout was making his way to the north mountains as quickly as he could, unaware of the danger that laid before him.

"There it is," he said as the mountain came into view. "I think I'm gonna make it. I'm gonna actually live."

He was running so fast that he failed to notice the Razorwhips sleeping above him and as he walked past they awoke. They immediately flew after them and one of them dive towards him, but Snotlout tripped over his own feet and rolled out of the way to avoid her.

"Where did you come from?" he panicked as he looked around wildly. "Hey, uh, I actually know your cousin Windshear. We get along great."

He then saw one of the Razorwhips making another dye towards him and he quickly ran for it. He died beneath a boulder to avoid her, but then saw two Wingmaidens flying in the air, unaware they were trying to save him.

"Oh, come on," Snotlout groaned. "Are they serious?" He then looked directly at them. "Save your breath, ladies. The dragons are gonna kill me before you even get here."

He then laughed, but then quickly realised the stupidity of his statement. He then quickly ran for it as another Razorwhip appeared overhead.

"Ugh," Snotlout groaned as he ran. "This is all my fault. All I had to do was to be nice to Astrid. That's all I have to do. But, no. Snotlout had to go and open his big fat yap."

He immediately jumped and grabbed hold onto a vine and swung to safety before a Razorwhip could snap at him. He then quickly began to climb it with a triumphant look on his face.

"Hah! You gotta get up way earlier than that to…" He stopped when he came face-to-face with a Razorwhip. "Like this guy. Early riser. Great."

The Razorwhip then roared at him.

"Okay. Gotta go," said Snotlout and released a vine.

As he felt he quickly grabbed hold of a branch and began to jump from tree to tree until he reached the ground. He then skidded across the ground and found himself in a hollow stump, which protected him from the Razorwhip chasing him.

"Yes," he said triumphantly. "Snotlout!"

* * *

Astrid and the others along with, Atali and one of her Wingmaidens immediately head towards the arch where Hiccup and the others were waiting.

Hiccup then approached Astrid. "Astrid. Are we okay here?" Or…"

"We're fine, which is more than I can say for—"

"Let me guess. Snotlout."

"Unfortunately, your friend has found himself in a Razorwhip nesting area," Atali informed him.

"I think old Snotty is a ways away from 'finding himself,'" said Tuffnut looking at his sister. "And does anybody really ever 'find themselves?' Isn't knowing who you are a journey that never ends with beginning that never starts?"

Fishlegs shook his head and looked at the ladies. "What's he doing there? Doesn't he know how female Razorwhip respond to male presence while they're nesting?"

Ragnar raised an eyebrow. "You do realise this is Snotlout were talking about. You know he's terrible with women."

"Okay, point taken," said Fishlegs. "But he should know better than to wander into a dragon's nesting area."

"He does now," said Tuffnut. Hookfang then growled at him. "Oops, sorry. I'm sure he's fine."

"All right, the way I see it, the only shot he has is for us, and when I say 'us,' I mean, Ragnar, Fishlegs, Tuff and I to ride over the forest and distract all the female Razorwhips."

"Then, we can go in and rescue Snotlout's boneheaded butt while they're still distracted," Astrid finished.

Hookfang immediately got up and tossed Tuffnut onto his saddle.

"What's going on?" Tuffnut panicked. Hookfang then immediately took off before he could jump off. "I don't think this was the plan!"

Immediately they all mounted their dragons, though Ruffnut went with Heather, and immediately took to the skies with Atali and her Wingmaiden.

* * *

Hiccup, Fishlegs, Ragnar and Barf and Belch will fly directly over the forest near the north mountain. In no time at all female Razorwhips took to the sky and headed straight towards them.

"Here they come," said Hiccup. "They're just trying to protect their eggs, so we don't need a fire on them."

"Evasive manoeuvres. Gotcha!" Fishlegs nodded.

They immediately split up and a Razorwhip began to chase each and every one of them.

* * *

Elsewhere in the forest Astrid, Heather, Tuffnut and Atali and her Wingmaidens were flying through the forest searching for Snotlout.

"There's acres of forest down there," said Heather. "Uh, how are we gonna find him?"

"Just listen to the high-pitched screams. That'll be him," said Astrid.

* * *

Snotlout was still hiding within the hollow stump, unaware that the Razorwhip had just landed beside it and could hear his voice are merging from it.

"I can't believe I'm gonna die in a tree stump," Snotlout whimpered. "Why can't I have a heroic death? Is that too much to ask for? Is it?"

It was at that moment that the Razorwhip smashed the trunk and revealing him in broad daylight. The Razorwhip roared at him and Snotlout immediately screamed in a high-pitched voice.

* * *

Astrid and the others could hear his screams close by and saw many Razorwhips leaving the forest.

"Like that?" Heather asked looking at Astrid.

"Exactly like that," Ruffnut nodded.

They immediately flew down towards the screams.

* * *

Snotlout was holding out a piece of bark to fend off against the Razorwhip.

"I take it back, Odin," said Snotlout quivering. "I don't want to be heroic. And why'd you only listen to me when I say stupid stuff?"

The Razorwhip then raised onto her hind legs and was about to attack, but then it was blasted back by a fire blast. Snotlout recognise the flames and looked up to see Astrid flying above him.

"Astrid. How did you find me?" Snotlout asked.

"Your screen is unmistakable," said Astrid. She then pointed behind him. "Look out!"

Another Razorwhip was charging towards him, but Windshear's tail struck her knocking her to the ground. Unfortunately, two more Razorwhips appeared out of nowhere and were advancing towards him.

"Uh, Astrid," Snotlout whimpered.

"Yes, Snotlut?" Astrid asked.

"Can you, I don't know, hurry?!" he screamed as several Razorwhips surrounded him.

Astrid then flew down and grabbed Snotlout just before a Razorwhip try to take a bite out of him. Unfortunately, they quickly took to the sky and began to follow them.

"Uh, Astrid," said Snotlout.

"I see them," she said.

She immediately performed a loop to loop in order to avoid the Razorwhips, but they were just too nimble and were soon back on her tail. Snotlout then screamed and the moment they Razorwhip grabbed hold of his legs with her hind legs.

"Let go of me! I am not a piece of meat," Snotlout screamed.

Hiccup arrived just in time to assist, unfortunately his path was quickly blocked by another Razorwhip.

"Whoa! Man, they really don't like us," said Hiccup as he backed away from the Razorwhip.

A Razorwhip then fired a blast right in front of Stormfly, causing her to release one of Snotlout's arms. This sudden in balance also freed the Razorwhip and Snotlout his other hand slipping from Stormfly's talons.

"Astrid," Snotlout cried as he plummeted towards the ground.

Then from out of nowhere Hookfang appeared with Tuffnut and immediately unleashed a burst of fire straight at the surrounding Razorwhips, knocking him out cold. He then flew down and grabbed Snotlout, who initially for that he was grabbed by a Razorwhip.

"No!" he cried.

He opened his eyes and realise that he was no longer plummeting and it wasn't a Razorwhip that caught him, but Hookfang.

"Hey, bro," said Tuffnut as Hookfang flipped him onto his saddle. "You know, I gotta say, this is one cool dragon. Do you know he can fly so fast it almost rips your face off?"

"Yes. I know that, Tuff," Snotlout nodded placing his hands on his hips.

"Oh, okay. And, Snotlout, you mind holding onto something else?" Tuffnut asked. Snotlout instantly removed his hands from Tuffnut's hips. "I just don't want the Wingmaidens to think I'm taken."

They can waste any time leaving the nesting grounds and once they were gone the Razorwhips flew back into the forest to take care of their eggs.

* * *

Later that night at the village, the Dragon Riders and Heather were enjoying the hospitality of the Wingmaidens after assuring Snotlout that they don't want to eat him.

A pair of baby Razorwhips were playing in front of them before they scampered off to play somewhere else.

Snotlout then looked at Astrid, but was unable to say anything. He was finding it extremely painful to apologise to her.

Astrid nudged his arm. "Something you'd like to say?"

Snotlout looked at her. "Astrid, I learned my lesson this time. I swear," he said raising his hand. "No more disrespect. No more cleaning Hookie's body parts with your favourite axe. I'm just, well, sometimes I can be a bit of a muttonhead."

"But, you're our muttonhead," she said punching him across the shoulder.

"Yeah. I guess I am," he said rubbing her shoulder.

"A toast and greetings to our new friends from Dragon's Edge," said Atali raising a gauntlet. "You have taught us a lesson in tolerance and acceptance. You will always be welcome here on the Island of Wingmaidens." She then looked directly at Snotlout. "Every one of you. And to the conclusion of the nesting season." The Razorwhip on her back and began to nuzzle her affectionately. "Now that it is all over, there is much work to be done, but no other task brings us such joy."

She then raised a gauntlet and the others did the same as he began to toast the new alliance.


	57. A Matter of Perspective

At the Defender of the Wing's island, the volcano had overflowed and lava was almost upon the village. The people began to panic as the lava was getting close to the houses close to the canyon.

"Where is the Great Protector?" a woman cried.

"I don't see the Great Protector," a man panicked.

Mala and Throk were looking at one another with great concern until they heard the roar of the Eruptodon.

"There!" Throk pointed.

The Eruptodon was heading straight towards the mouth of the canyon, but the lava had already reached the first of the houses.

"Fire! My house is on fire!" a woman cried as he ran away from her burning house as lava touched it.

The Eruptodon was making its way quickly towards the volcano as possible, but it was far slower than normal.

"It won't make it," said Mala. "It's too late."

They then heard a seconded roar and flying above them was the baby Eruptodon, no longer a baby. It was now five times as big and was flying far faster than the original Eruptodon as surging reached the mouth of the canyon first and began eating the lava much to everyone's relief.

"Oh, praise the Ancestors," said one of the Defenders. "The new Protector has saved us all."

The original Protector then landed on the ground just as the new one had finished eating at the lava. It looked at its child and realise that it was now too old and then bowed to the new Protector, who nodded. The old protected and looked to the sky as if it was drawn to it.

Throk quickly rushed over to it knowing what this meant.

Mala then placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's time. I'm sorry, Throk."

Throk just stood there solemn looking at his old friend.

* * *

At Dragon's Edge, Hiccup was completely covered in darkness within his hut. He was looking at certain materials as if pondering on how to assemble them. In truth these were the parsley he acquired from Johann was working on a secret project, so secretive that he can told the others.

Of course he had no idea how to start his secret project, much to his frustration. "Come on!" he yelled in frustration. "Think, Hiccup. Think."

He looked at his design and then immediately coupled it into a ball and tossed it over his shoulder. Toothless immediately awoke from his nap and began to play with the ball of paper and then burn to ashes.

Hiccup just sat there thinking. "What am I missing? I…"

It was immediately brought out of his thoughts when someone knocked on his door.

"Gah, gah, gah!" Hiccup yelled as he stepped away from his desk and began stammering. "Just a minute!"

Hiccup rush towards the door and opened it to find Astrid standing there. He immediately used his body to block a side of his desk, to prevent from figuring out what he was working on.

"Hey!" he said chuckling nervously.

"Hey. Whatcha up to?" Astrid asked, though she had a pretty good idea.

"Oh, you know. Not much," said Hiccup as he began swaying his body constantly to block a site of his desk. "Just, uh…"

"Working on a secret project?" Astrid assumed.

"It's not a secret, Astrid."

"Okay," said Astrid with a smile. "So, uh, then tell me what it is."

"It's, uh, well, you know," said Hiccup awkwardly.

Astrid then leaned in close smiling victoriously. "Yeah. Secret." She then leaned back and gave them a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. You can tell us when you're ready." She then held out a piece of parchment. "In the meantime, from Mala."

Hiccup and opened the parchment and began to look through it.

* * *

The next morning they were at the Defender of the Wing's island and noticed there was some sort of celebration going.

"Were so glad you all were able to attend our Changing of the Guard celebration," said Mala. "It wouldn't be the same without you."

Ruffnut then tapped her brother, who was holding a notebook and pencil. "Changing of the Guard celebration?" she said.

"Interesting," said Tuffnut as he wrote something down in the notebook.

Snotlout notice this and the moment he looked at them, Tuffnut stopped. He rolled his eyes and turned his focus back onto the celebration that was going on.

"Now, how often does this guard changing occur? Hmm?" Tuffnut asked curiously to Mala.

"Once the Eruptodon is unable to fulfil its duties, it leaves us to live out its golden years on Vanaheim," Throk explained, looking a bit heartbroken.

"Ah," said Tuffnut as he wrote in his notebook. He then looked at confused. "Vana-what?"

"Vanaheim," said Throk he then looked proudly at the Eruptodon and placed his arm over his chest. "It will be its final resting place. This Great Protector has honoured us with its presence for four decades."

The twins just gave him blank looks.

Fishlegs rolled his eyes. "Come on. Forty years."

Tuffnut blinked. "He must have some serious vacation time coming."

Ruffnut nudged him. "Especially when you consider that most Vikings don't live that long."

Fishlegs looked at them curiously. "What are you two up to?"

"Nothing," Tuffnut lied.

"More secrets," said Astrid and gave Hiccup a gentle shove in the arm. "Great."

Hiccup merely rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"No secrets here," said Snotlout snatching the notebook from Tuffnut. Tuffnut tried to grab it back, but Snotlout tells him back as he began to read from it. "'How to do the great beyond on 10 gold pieces a day'?"

Tuffnut then snatched it from him. "It's a Viking travel guide. Just take that in."

Hiccup rubbed his chin. "The Vanaheim legend, it's the mythical last resting place of all dragons."

Ragnar nodded. "My great-great-great-great grandfather made several mentions of it. Though he was never able to confirm that it existed."

"Vanaheim is very real," Mala assured. "It's been part of our culture for centuries."

Hiccup stared at them. "So you've seen it?"

"By the Ancients, no!"

"Umm. Not to burst your bubble, but you gotta see it for it to be real," Snotlout pointed out.

"We have had no way to follow it," Mala explained.

"Not unt—" said Tuffnut, but quickly stopped. He then smiled towards his sister. "Not until now."

"And nor would we. There are certain corners of the animal kingdom where humans mustn't tread," said Mala firmly.

"Well, couldn't agree more, Mala," said Hiccup. He then looked directly at the twins. "We have to stay away from dragon culture that pure and undisturbed."

"Is he eyeballing us?" Tuffnut asked looking at his sister.

Ruffnut scoffed. "He's always eyeballing us."

Hiccup gave them a firm look and the twins then placed their fingers over their eyes as if the holding a spyglass in each eye.

"If he wants a free travel guide, he's barking up the wrong tree," said Ruffnut.

"Ha! Yeah," Tuffnut nodded. He then frowned and looked at his sister. "Hiccup barks?"

"With the best of 'em," said Ruffnut. "It's quite regal. More like a how."

Hiccup sighed with exasperation before turning his attention back to Mala and Throk. He then noticed that Mala placed a gentle hand on Throk's shoulder and he started to make his way to the ageing Eruptodon.

"It's going to be difficult for Throk," Mala explained to Hiccup. They then watched as Throk began to rob a silk cloth over the dragon's rocky body, giving it a good polish. "He and the Dragon have a special bond. But it is with great happiness that they part."

"Happy?" Hiccup frowned. "I don't know about that. If I had to say goodbye to Toothless, I'd be pretty sad."

"Sadness is a matter of perspective, Hiccup," Mala explained. "It is how you choose to view something that makes it happy, scary, intriguing or sad. We don't view this day as a day to mourn. It's a day to rejoice. This is a well-earned rest for the Great Protector. We should all be so lucky to have lived such a meaningful life."

They then witnessed as the ageing Eruptodon nuzzled the younger Eruptodon affectionately.

* * *

Later that morning they were at the edge of the cliff looking at a sunrise. Throk was standing next to the ageing Eruptodon and placed a gentle hand on its rocky body.

"Goodbye, old friend," he said with a smile on his face. "Until we meet again in Valhalla."

The ageing Eruptodon looked at him and nodded and then took to the sky and flew towards the sunset. With that done the all started to make their way back to the village, but the twins just stood there.

"Quick. Look sad," said Tuffnut. Ruffnut did a pretend sob, but Tuffnut nudged her in the arm. "No, sadder."

"This is as sad as I get," said Ruffnut.

Tuffnut responded by slamming his foot right on top of her toes and she winced in pain as tears began to roll down her cheeks.

Throk then approached the two of them. "Will you be joining us for breakfast?"

"Oh, my sister," said Tuffnut with a sympathy. "I mean, look at her. Look at how this has affected her." He then raised her face to Throk, which was cheering up though that might have something to do with the broken toes she now had. "She's sad. She… This is the saddest she can be, apparently. She's an emotional wreck. She can't even talk."

He then pulled her into his chest and she began groaning as she tried to free herself from his grip.

Throk apparently were completely buying this. "Yes. It is a difficult day for us all."

"Indeed," Tuffnut nodded as Throk walked away. "It is a difficult day for us all. Obviously, for Ruffnut more, 'cause she's, you know, kind of weak and fragile."

Once Throk was gone, Tuffnut released Ruffnut and the two of them chuckled mischievously as they turn towards the Eruptodon flying off into the distance.

* * *

The other Dragon Riders were enjoying a meal that the Defenders had produced.

"Hey, has anyone seen the twins?" Hiccup asked. "I mean when was the last time they missed a free meal?"

"Your twins departed our island at sunup," said Throk.

"Departed?" Hiccup stared. "To where?"

Then realisation struck him like a ton of dragon dung. "Oh, no."

* * *

They didn't waste any time getting on their dragons and began to follow the twins trail and Hiccup was completely furious at the twins, but mostly to himself.

"Why did I ever let them out of my sight?" Hiccup roared. "I can't even have a breakfast anymore!"

Snotlout was enjoying this. "Gee, Hiccup, when you fail, you fail big time."

"Thanks a lot, Snotlout," said Hiccup through gritted teeth.

"Okay, we know the Eruptodon travels north," said Fishlegs as he began looking through his cards. "So, based on its size and speed, we should be able to close the distance."

"Mala gave me this," said Astrid holding out the piece of silk that Throk used to polish the Eruptodon. She then placed the silk next to Stormfly, who began to sniff it. "Although, she was not too pleased we were going."

"Oh, I'm with you on that," said Hiccup. "None of us should be anywhere near that place, which is why we need to catch up to those two… twins."

Stormfly then squawked.

"All right, she's got the sent," said Astrid. "Here we go."

They then all followed Stormfly as he began to fall the trail of the Eruptodon and hopefully reach the twins before they reached Vanaheim.

* * *

Sadly that was not proven true, because soon they came into view of a large island and they had yet to met up with the twins. They knew that this was Vanaheim instantly, because there were dragon statues littered all over the place.

The dragons however were very uneasy about the statues which Toothless demonstrated by coming to a full stop and growling at it.

"Easy, bud. They're just Sentinel statues," said Hiccup calmly.

"I don't understand," Fishlegs frowned. "If no human has ever been here…"

Hiccup quickly caught up on what he was getting at. "Who carved those Sentinels?"

"Just because Queenie and Throkster haven't been here doesn't mean nobody has," Snotlout pointed out.

"True," Ragnar nodded looking closely at the Sentinel statues. "But I don't see any erosion whatsoever. Staying out here to face the elements they should have been warned away or pieces broken off, but they look as if they'd just been made."

Snotlout scoffed. "You worry too much."

They then made their way towards the island and found something quite extraordinary.

Fishlegs gasped upon seeing it. "Guys, check this out."

They were flying directly over what looked like to be mounds, large ones big enough to fit a dragon or several of them. There are more mounds than they could count, but Hiccup then saw a very familiar looking Hideous Zippleback in a tree.

Inside said tree were the twins and Barf and Belch were feeding them a strange kind of fruit and they appear to be enjoying it. The eyes are open when they heard the flapping of familiar wings and a familiar shadow flying over them.

"Uh-oh," said Tuffnut. He looked to have a new they were instantly. "Oh, buzz kill."

* * *

They immediately climbed down the tree and were immediately scolded by Hiccup.

"How are we supposed to know what that look meant?" said Ruffnut defensively.

Hiccup couldn't believe his ears. "Well what did you think it meant?"

"I don't know," Tuffnut shrugged. "I mean, we're not existential."

"Uh, I think you mean extrasensory," said Fishlegs.

"You don't know what we mean because you can't read our minds," said Ruffnut.

"That'd be a curse," said Snotlout rolling his eyes.

"Yeah. But what if we could? Read minds," Tuffnut pondered.

Ruffnut smiled at him. "Try me."

Tuffnut placed a hand on her helmet and they close their eyes as Tuffnut concentrated. A few seconds later he opened them and started laughing.

"You shouldn't say that about Hiccup," said Tuffnut. "'Hiccup barks.' 'Which tree?' 'The wrong one.'"

"Not funny. None of this is funny," said Hiccup.

"I knew you were thinking that!"

"We shouldn't be here. We can't upset the natural order of things when it comes to dragons, gang." Then placed his hand over his mouth so that Toothless couldn't hear him. "Especially as they transition over into the afterlife." He then looked at them firmly. "We're leaving. Now."

They immediately hop onto their dragons and took off to the air.

Unfortunately they soon discovered that leaving the island was not as easy as one might think. For suddenly the stone Sentinels surrounding the island awoke, it turned out that they were not stone statues, but my real actual dragons.

The way they moved sounded as if rocks were cracking and then they flew into the air and immediately flew towards the Riders.

"Oh, what the Thor?" Fishlegs yelled.

"Those aren't statues, they're dragons!" Ragnar yelled.

"Stay together," said Hiccup as the dragons began to fly around them. "There's too many of them to take on alone." The dragons and kept on flying around them which was a bit distressing. "Guys, we have to bust through them."

They immediately charged at the dragons, but one of them flew up directly in front of them and performed a very powerful wing blast. The gust of wind was so powerful that it knocked all them of course.

Toothless quickly recovered and began flying back towards them, but the dragon was soon joined by two other bids brethren and together they performed another powerful wing blast. This time it was so powerful that they were sent crashing towards the ground.

Hiccup had been knocked out cold, but was awakened when Toothless nudged him gently.

"Huh. Thanks, bud," he said gratefully.

He then looked up and saw the Sentinels flying around them in a circle.

Snotlout groaned as he picked himself out of the tree he landed on. "I'd just like to point out that, once again, Mala and Throk have conveniently left out the part where we almost get killed!"

He was so frustrated that he accidentally lost his balance on the branch and fell to the ground. Fortunately, Hookfang caught him before he hit the ground, but then promptly released him and he struck the ground hard.

Fishlegs then approached him as he picked himself up. "How could they know that, Snotlout? They've never been here. No humans have ever been here."

"Still, they should have…" It quickly dawned on him that sentenced made no sense. "I mean… Shut up, Fishface."

"Well, at least we know the reason how come no one knows about Vanaheim," said Ragnar as he brushed the dirt off his clothes.

Hiccup nodded as he looked up at the Sentinels. "Ragnar is right, these Sentinels of the reason that no one knows about this place."

They then watched as the Sentinels rested upon the perches then suddenly became dormant. They looked like statues again, only this time they knew the certainty that they weren't statues.

"If anyone ever shuck in here, they'd never get out," said Astrid.

"That's it!" Ruffnut cried as he emerged from the bushes. She then quickly brought out a notepad and pencil and began to scribble down in it.

Barf and Belch then pulled Tuffnut out of the bushes and hovered him next to Ruffnut. " _Vanaheim. A Once in a Lifetime Adventure._ " He then looked at his sister. "Jot that down. And also make little heart over the I's."

"Ooh, way ahead of you. Because I knew you were thinking that," Ruffnut smiled.

"There's no way that's true," said Hiccup with an emotionless look on his face. "We need to find a way out of here."

"Maybe we could, you know, just hang out for a bit," Fishlegs offered. Hiccup then gave him the look. "As long as we're here." Hiccup kept on giving him the look and he immediately backed down. "Or we could leave immediately."

Hiccup then turned to the others. "All right, I think these guys' power comes from as a unit. So, if we split up, they split up. Let's go in two waves, opposite directions. We'll cut them in half first, then take them on, one on one. Astrid, you, Snotlout and Fishlegs go first." He then looked at the twins. "And, uh, can you guys tell what I'm thinking?"

"Yes," said Tuffnut. "Yak barf. Yak lice. Yak nose. Yak breath. Rocks. Water. Trees." Hiccup gave him an annoyed look. "Hmm. None of those, huh?" His face then beamed. "I knew it! So I'd rather not say."

Hiccup mentally kicked himself from asking. "That's 10 seconds of my life I'll never get back." He then looked at the others. "Let's move it!"

Astrid launched the first wave and the moment they took to the air the sentinels awoke and advanced towards them.

"Now!" Astrid ordered.

Snotlout and Fishlegs immediately separated from her as did the Sentinels. Astrid then immediately launched several spines at the Sentinel in front of her. However, it skilfully counted by striking them with its tail and deflected them back towards her.

"Stormfly, look out!" Astrid yelled.

The spines then struck Stormfly's wing, thankfully the spines don't cause any damage, though it did cause it to lose balance and the Sentinel began to advance towards her pushing him back towards the ground.

Fishlegs was running away screaming from another Sentinel was chasing him down. "Oh, Thor! Oh, Thor!"

He was so busy panicking that he wasn't watching here is going and slammed right into Astrid and Stormfly. They then crashed to the ground as Snotlout flew over and cringed once he heard the crash.

"You guys are so lame," said Snotlout smirking. "Watch, you might learn something." They then immediately turned around and faced the Sentinels. "You want a piece of this? Hookfang, fire up!"

Hookfang then immediately ignited and roared, but the Sentinel merely unleashed a powerful gust of wind from its mouth. It was so powerful that the flames around Hookfang dispelled and they were sent flying towards the ground.

"All right, let's make literary history!" said Tuffnut as he and his sister hopped onto their dragon and took to the air.

"A little something to remember us by!" Ruffnut yelled.

Barf then unleashed a burst of gas towards one of the Sentinels, but it perfectly counted by forming a wing blast sending the gas right back at them.

Tuffnut screamed at the gas covered them. "Wait, what?"

The Sentinel then unleashed a burst of flames of the gas causing it to ignite, the explosion caused them to fall to the ground.

"Looks like it our turn," said Ragnar as he mounted Skull.

Hiccup nodded as he mounted Toothless. "Toothless!"

They immediately took to the air and Hiccup immediately caught the twins.

"That just cost you a star on our rating scale, pal!" Ruffnut yelled as she dotted something down in her notebook.

Ragnar, on the other hand, kept on flying towards the Sentinels until one cut his path.

"Skull, bone smash!" Ragnar yelled.

Skull then immediately swung his tail towards the Sentinel, who then immediately stopped flapping its wings and fell about feet avoiding the tail. He then flapped its wings and appeared beneath Skull and fired a blast right into his chest causing both dragon and Rider to fall to the ground.

Ragnar groaned as he picked himself up. "I think you're going to need another plan."

The Sentinels then went their separate directions.

* * *

Once everyone was recovered, they began to discuss their next plan of attack as their dragons drank from the river.

"All right, if we can't fly out, maybe we can leave on foot," said Hiccup as he tossed one of the pink fruit from the tree in his hand.

"Ooh, it will give us a little longer to investigate this place," said Fishlegs eagerly. Hiccup gave him the look. "What? Hiccup, the dragon knowledge we could find here could be immeasurable."

"And that knowledge, my friend, could make its way into…" Ruffnut began.

" _The Idiot's Guide to Secret Island Crashing_?" said Snotlout and took a bite of the fruit he was holding.

"Ha. That's not bad, you know," said Tuffnut. "Don't expect a piece of the pie though."

"Yeah. Don't expect a piece at all. Don't even expect to see pie," Ruffnut nodded.

The Eruptodon was close by and had just roared.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," said Hiccup getting to his feet approaching the dragon. "What is it? You okay?" He then looked at the others. "It's almost like he's warning us."

"Great timing, GP," Tuffnut grumbled. "Could have used that morsel of information yesterday." He then leaned towards his sister, who immediately began to scribble in her notebook. "However, it will make it into the book. And also, the work 'morsel…' I'm hungry for a piece of pie."

"10 more seconds of my life I'll never get back," Hiccup groaned pinching the bridge of his nose. He then focused on the others. "Look, the number one priority is getting past the Sentinels. Let's split up again so we can cover more ground. And don't touch anything! This place is sacred. It's not meant for human interaction."

The twins then raise their hands informing them that they swear not to touch anything. However when they all separated, the twins held out the hands they had put behind the back, which had their fingers crossed. Even Barf and Belch at the necks crossed.

* * *

The twins went with Ragnar and Fishlegs they soon found themselves in what appeared to be the burial mounds of the dragons.

"Whoa," said Fishlegs staring at the mounds. "Amazing."

"You took the words right out of my mouth," said Ragnar.

The twins rushed towards the nearest mound and judging from the spikes they were protruding from the entrance, it was the final resting place of the Deadly Nadder.

"Ha-ha!" said Tuffnut as he looked around the mound and of the bones in the far corner.

Ragnar and Fishlegs knew exactly what they were going to do next. Just as they predicted the twins then immediately rushed into the mound and began playing with the bones.

"Did you guys not hear what Hiccup literally just said?" said Fishlegs.

"Yes, I heard, but chose not to listen," said Tuffnut.

Ruffnut then placed a skull over her head. "Or did you listen but not hear? Hard to say."

"Guys, show some respect," said Ragnar angrily.

"Yeah, you're standing in the final resting place of what appears to be the Deadly Nadder," Fishlegs added. "You can't just walk around in there. That's sacred ground!"

"The fact remains we're talking about bones here, people," said Tuffnut placing his hands on his hips.

He then immediately leaned back and landed in the bones and soon reappeared at the top of the bone. "Bones piled to the ceiling. Bones on top of bones." He then whacked Ruffnut on the head with a bone causing the score on ahead to spin around wildly causing it to topple off her. "And skulls! Then bones on top of the skulls. Skulls and bones!"

Fishlegs had had enough and immediately grabbed the two of them and carried them outside on his shoulders.

Tuffnut looked at his sister. "I did know he was so strong. Did you know that he's that strong?"

"Uh, yeah. I was married him," Ruffnut reminded.

Once they were out of the mound, Fishlegs tossed them onto the ground. However, before he could scold them he heard Meatlug's growls and ran up to her. He found her staring at another mound and judging from the bones they belonged to Gronckles.

"Gronckles," Fishlegs gasped. "The bones in their must go back centuries. I bet some of them are even related to Meatlug."

Meatlug then whimpered.

"Oh. You're a long way from this, girl," Fishlegs assured and fed her a rock. "But it will be such a nice way to spend your elder years."

Meatlug then licked him in joy.

"Fishlegs, you might want to look at this," said Ragnar's voice.

Fishlegs made his way over to Ragnar and found him looking at another mound. It only took Fishlegs seconds to realise which dragon it belonged to.

"Boneknappers," said Fishlegs.

"Yep," said Ragnar. He then looked at Skull, who surprisingly was keeping a safe distance away from the mound. "Obviously even the Boneknappers know that this place is sacred. In this place would be the perfect place for them to create the perfect bone armour, but they leave the mounds alone."

Fishlegs nodded. "But in other places where dragons have died, they don't seem to care and take the bones anyway."

Ragnar's eyes widened when he realised that there were no other dragon bones inside the mound. "You don't think that they only just take the bones to protect themselves?"

Fishlegs put his hands over his mouth. "They also take the bones here for the dragons to be properly buried."

The twins were now making their way to another mound and found that the bones were covered in fire.

Ruffnut was holding her notebook and writing as she walked. "I'm guessing that this is—"

"Wait! Don't tell me," Tuffnut yelled.

He then leaned his head over to his sister and began to concentrate.

"The monstrous Nightmare tomb," said Ruffnut.

Tuffnut was mumbling at the same time she was talking. "…tomb!"

They immediately high-fived one another.

Ragnar and Fishlegs were now in the middle of the burial mound looking at all the mounds with intrigue.

"The organisation is uncanny," said Fishlegs. "And the fact that the dragons do this on their own, that they can understand abstract ideas, this place indicates a structure to the dragon world we never knew existed."

Ragnar nodded. "Every dragon in the archipelago must come here when they reach a certain age. It explains why we have not seen very old dragons before, I always assumed that they were killed by other dragons, but now it's obvious. They have some sort of instinct to come here automatically and seek out a place of tranquillity before they take their final rest."

"Abstract organisation. Place of tranquillity," said Tuffnut as his sister continued to write in her notebook. "Man, this book just writes itself."

* * *

Hiccup's team were wondering around the edge of the island in order to find a safe place to take off. Snotlout climbed onto a few rocks and approached the Sentinel and waved his hand in front of it, but it did not move an inch.

"Hello?" said Snotlout trying to get a reaction out of it. "What's the deal with these things?" He then took a bite of his fruit and looked back at the Sentinel. "Hey!" He then smote a familiar smell and recognised at the same aroma from the fruit he had been eating. He then bite down upon the fruit once more. "Fruity. They smell exactly like this stuff."

Hiccup then mounted Toothless and the moment he did the Sentinel came to life. It roared so loudly that Snotlout rolled off the rock and collided with the others. Astrid caught the fruit even holding, located in disgust and then tossed it to Hookfang, who immediately ate it.

Hiccup chuckled nervously as he hopped off Toothless. "Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere."

Astrid then carefully made her way over to him. "Hiccup, sneaking out isn't gonna work."

"Clearly," Snotlout added.

Hiccup nodded. "Yeah, I agree. We just need out-strategize them."

"So how are we gonna do that?" Snotlout asked.

"I have no idea."

The Sentinel then immediately relax and became a stone statue once more.

* * *

It was night and none of them had come up with a plan to get past the Sentinels. Meatlug was spewing lava for the Eruptodon, but the some reason he didn't want to eat it.

"What's its problem?" Snotlout asked as it walked away.

"Well, clearly, it's unsettled being here," said Fishlegs.

"Or it's unsettled that we're here," said Hiccup.

"Well, it may have to get used to it," said Astrid. "There's no walking out of here either."

"The bright side we released found evidence that dragons can be organised at the deepest level," said Ragnar. "Though I don't see how that's going to help us considering that be stuck here for what seems to be forever."

Hiccup frowned. "Hey, have you guys noticed that no matter what dragon attacks, the Sentinels always have the perfect defence?"

Fishlegs nodded. "Yeah. It's because they've seen every type of Dragon over and over. They've crowned all the strengths and all the weaknesses."

Tuffnut then cleaned his throat and tossed the piece of food at Fishlegs. "Point of order, my good man. We beg to differ." Then he and Ruffnut jumped off the dragon's head and landed next to Hiccup. "We've been compiling a list of dragon tombs for our book."

Hiccup had had just about enough from the twins. "Yeah. That's great, guys, but—"

Ruffnut interrupted him by slamming her notebook into his face. "Look closer, my one-legged comrade in arms."

"It's not what on the list, but what's not on it," Tuffnut explained as Hiccup looked through it. "Think, Hiccup! Use the brains Thor gave you and disregard how he gave you puny stick-like biceps."

Hiccup looked at the list and realise that one dragon was in on it. "The Night Fury. There are no Night Fury bones."

"That raises an interesting question like if the Night Fury doesn't come to Vanaheim, then where did they go for the final resting place?" Ragnar frowned.

"An excellent question for another time," said Hiccup as he looked through the notebook. "Right now this is proof that the Night Fury does not come to Vanaheim."

"Which means if Vanaheim is the last resting place for the Night Furies, then they might not try and stop you and Toothless from leaving," said Fishlegs.

"And even if they do, they won't have deployed the same defensive tactics that they have all the other species," Hiccup finished. "Yeah, if we can make out of here, I could go and get help."

He then tossed the notebook back to Ruffnut and immediately mounted Toothless. They then watched as they immediately took to the sky.

Immediately the stones Sentinels awoke and dived down towards Hiccup.

"Just keep climbing, bud," said Hiccup. He waited until they got a little bit closer and then acted. "Barrel roll, multiple blasts!"

Toothless immediately spun around and unleashed a barrage of plasma blast. The Sentinels were ill-prepared for such an attack and two of them were knocked off balance. Hiccup was still climbing at the final Sentinel dived down towards them.

They quickly turned to avoid the Sentinel, but as they passed Hiccup noticed something about the dragon. Its eyes were completely pale and he soon realised that it was blind, they were all blind.

"Look at that," he gasped as a past the Sentinel. "They're blind. These guys can't see a thing."

Now they had gotten past the Sentinels they flew up to safety hoping that they wouldn't chase after them.

"All right, bud," said Hiccup as he looked down at the island. "Let's go to Berk and bring back some help." He then started to make his way south when he immediately stopped when he realised something. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait. Wait a minute. What am I thinking?"

He then looked back at the island. "We can't tell anyone about this place. It belongs to the dragons, not to us, or any other humans." He then looked at Toothless. "We're gonna to have to figure something else out, Toothless."

Toothless roared in agreement.

Hiccup patted him on the side. "Mala was right. I need to find a new perspective. And I need to find a quick."

* * *

Hiccup then took up an advantage point on one of the nearby sea stacks that overlooks the entire island.

"Okay, what do we know so far?" said Hiccup as he pulled out his spyglass and began to observe the Sentinels. "Hey? The Sentinels were this place with an iron fist. They eat nothing but that fruit. They've never encountered Night Furies before, and that would be about the only dragon they haven't seen. And, speaking of seeing, they don't. But they seem to track very well for something that's blind."

Toothless merely roared.

* * *

A few hours later they were still observing the Sentinels and Toothless were starting to get tired as he just yawned. Hiccup too was dozing off until Toothless nudged him.

Hiccup immediately sat up panicking. "Huh? What?" He then quickly grabbed his spyglass and looked down. He saw that the Sentinels had vanished and saw them flying over the others as they were sleeping. "What are they doing?"

Immediately the worst came into his mind. "No! No, no, no, no. Come on, guys, wake up!"

Hiccup then quickly mounted Toothless and they flew down towards them. He then noticed something that caused him to stop just-in-time.

"Wait a minute," he said as he landed on a rocky ledge. "They're not attacking." He then saw that the Sentinels were cleaning up the place and sorting the bones out. "They're working. They're tending to the island."

He then watches the Sentinel dropped several fruit next to the Eruptodon. It ate one of them and looked at the Eruptodon, who then began to lift them up.

"And that explains the smell," said Hiccup. He then struck his forehead as he realised something. "Oh, gods! How could I not think of that before? I guess it really is all about perspective."

He then looked down at Toothless. "Come on, bud. When those dragons are done working, we begin."

* * *

The next morning, Hiccup arrived at the campsite with a large sack which he placed down on the ground. This caused the other Riders to wake up and Snotlout was the first to approach him.

"Aw, thank Thor!" said Snotlout with relief. "Where's the help?"

"No one's here. And no one's coming," said Hiccup.

"What?" Snotlout roared as he put on his helmet. "You can't be serious."

"Oh, I brought something way better than backup," said Hiccup as he opened up the Sakae brought with him.

He then reached inside and held out a piece of fruit.

Snotlout wasn't very impressed. "Really, Hiccup? Sorry, but that fruit, isn't going to be my last meal, no matter how delicious or juicy it is." He then turned his back on him and folded his arms. "And it is juicy and delicious." He then held out his hand. "Give it to me. I want it."

Hiccup shook his head. "Listen, the Sentinels dragons ignored us, but reacted to the sound of me getting on Toothless. The Sentinels easily picked the fruit from the tree, not because they could see it, but because they could smell it."

Fishlegs then caught on. "Oh! They're blind, so they must hunt using other senses. Smell, sound—"

"Exactly," Hiccup nodded and held out the fruit. "So, we cover ourselves in this stuff, cover are dragons in it. We'll smell just like the Sentinels."

"And should be able to fly outta here," Fishlegs finished.

"So long as we remain quiet," said Ragnar looking at the twins.

"Why looking at us?" Tuffnut asked.

They then each grabbed a food and Hiccup began to rub himself with it. However the skin proved to be quite hard as Fishlegs discovered when he tried to slam it into his chest. Snotlout was trying to squeeze it to no avail, but the twins discovered how to apply it.

Ruffnut has slammed the food right on to warn of Tuffnut's helmet. She laughed until Tuffnut slammed the fruit in her face covering her in the juice.

Snotlout laughed as he tossed the fruit at Hiccup, who quickly ducked in time. The fruit, however, slammed right on Astrid's shirt and much to her annoyance.

"Oh no, you did not," she said with a murderous look.

She then tossed the food right at Snotlout's face and he soon found himself flat on his back. Hiccup laughed as he tossed the fruit and soon they were all tossing food at one another.

* * *

They kept on going through to one another until they ran out, but thankfully they had managed to cover themselves and their dragons in the juice. It was sticky, but they would do anything to escape the island.

Fishlegs took a taste of the juice and smiled at its taste.

Astrid then looked at them. "All right. Let's do this."

"Now, remember, we have to act like them or it won't work," said Hiccup clearly as he mounted Toothless. "That means no talking, no playing around, no firing." Hiccup then looked at Tuffnut as he was about to open his mouth. "And, yes, Tuff, most of those after you and your sister."

"Here I thought profiling was beneath you, Hiccup," he said.

* * *

They immediately took to the sky and almost instantly the Sentinels awoke. They began to fly around, but unlike last time they were. It looked as if they were in the clear, but when a few of the Sentinels got too close to Snotlout, he allowed his temper to get the better of him.

"Hey, we're flyin' here!" he yelled.

Hookfang then ignited burning the juice off of him.

Hiccup shook his head. "Keep going. I'll get Snotlout."

Astrid stared at him as he turned around. "But—"

"Just go, Astrid."

The others began to follow Astrid as Hiccup dived down towards Snotlout, who completely surrounded by Sentinels.

"Toothless, now! Multiple blasts!" Hiccup ordered.

Toothless then performed a barrel row and fired multiple plasma blasts that the Sentinels. The Sentinels quickly separated to avoid the last creating an opening for him to dive to Snotlout. Unfortunately, they quickly sealed the gap and began to surround them.

"Hiccup! We need more delicious and juicy fruit!" Snotlout panic. "Do you have any more delicious and juicy fruit?"

The Sentinels then dive down towards them.

"Oh, no."

Hiccup had no idea how they would get out of this one, but then they heard a roar. They looked down and saw that the Eruptodon was flying towards them, it then blocks the path of the Sentinels causing them to hit straight into it. It then looked at them and roared.

"Uh, Hiccup?" Snotlout asked.

The Eruptodon then flew away forcing the Sentinels a chase after it.

"It's leading the Sentinels away," Hiccup gasped. "It's protecting us!" He then looked at Snotlout. "All right, let's go, Snotlout. Who knows how long that'll distract them?"

They immediately flew into the air avoiding the Sentinels completely. As they left, Hiccup looked back at the Eruptodon and smiled.

Astrid and the others had seen the entire thing from a safe distance away.

Tuffnut then began to jot down something in his notebook. "And, to the end, and for all eternity, it shall be known as the Great Protector. Our Great Protector."

"Nice, Tuff. Very nice," said Hiccup as he flew up to him and his sister.

"Now, I just need to finish the chapter on the island's charm, and how it's impossible to leave," he said pondering. He then gave a large smile. "Get it?"

Hiccup rolled his eyes and Toothless gave him quizzically growl.

"Like I said, this being writes itself," said Tuffnut holding out the notebook.

Toothless then fired a plasma blast destroying the notebook.

Tuffnut then glared at him and Hiccup. "Hiccup, the profiler, and Toothless, the censorship chieftain."

"Maybe," Hiccup shrugged. "But no one can ever know about this island. Sorry."

With that they all flew back home and then Eruptodon flew back to its new home being guided back down by the Sentinels.

The Eruptodon flew back to the ground and then entered into a deep dark cave which was actually the inside of a massive skeleton that looked as if it was the size of the entire island. It was hard to tell what kind of dragon it was, but it appeared had very long tusks.

The Sentinels then took their positions on their perches and then immediately return to their stone like position.

* * *

Later that evening on, Dragon's Edge, Astrid was curious and how Hiccup discovered the Sentinels weakness.

"So, tell me again how you figured that out," she said as they walked back to the huts. "That was pretty ingenious."

Hiccup turned and looked down at the Edge. "It's all about perspective. Astrid, when you look at things differently, you see things that you might never have seen before. It's pretty cool when you think about it."

Hiccup then grasped her hand and she gave it a good squeeze.

Astrid then looked at him. "You know what? I've had enough thinking to last me an entire week. I'm going to get some sleep."

She then kissed Hiccup good night and made her way to her hut.

Hiccup then made his way over to his hut and immediately sat down at his desk.

"Okay, bud, what do you say we take a look at this like we never have before?" said Hiccup looking at Toothless.

Hiccup then promptly trust one of his designs into a ball and tossed it over to Toothless, who immediately started to play with it. Hiccup then got set to work on his secret project, with a new perspective in mind.


	58. Return of Thor Bonecrusher

Krogan was wondering through the cavern looking for someone, until he found. He immediately shot past a couple of berserkers as he made his way to the table where he was sitting in a corner completely covered in shadows.

"Your hard man to find. And harder to kill, apparently," Krogan smiled.

"What do you want with me?" said the man.

"That's the wrong question," said Krogan as he sat down opposite the man. "The real question is, what can we do for each other? Allow me to fill you in on what transpiring as we speak. Hmm?"

Then the man said nothing as he narrowed his eyes at Krogan.

Snotlout was flying around on the Edge, doing morning patrol. Hookfang then saw something below them.

Snotlout looked down. "Hmm. Yeah, I see 'em, Hooky."

He could see a small sailing boat making its way to the airport and on it he could see some long blonde haired women.

"What do you say we go and introduce ourselves?" he said looking at Hookfang. Hookfang then immediately dive down towards the port. "Comin' in hot!"

Snotlout then got up and began to walk casually off of Hookfang's wing and onto the port. He then walked all match show as he approached the women, who were just about to get off the boat.

"Well, hello, ladies," he said with a large smile. "What brings you—"

The 'ladies' then turned around, and he soon discovered that they were in fact Outcast men wearing a pair of wigs that resembled Ruffnut's hair.

He immediately cried out in shock. "This is false advertisement."

"Sorry, we couldn't risk being seen," said the Outcast with the large black beard.

"Besides, we rather like the look," said the Outcast with no facial hair as he began to stroke his fake hair.

So as not to focus on the disturbing thought of that, Snotlout turned to the real question. "What are you Outcasts doing on Dragon's Edge?"

"Alvin has been kidnapped by a group of bandits," the Outcast with the beard explained. "We've tried everything to get him back, paying ransom after ransom, but nothing works and we fear for his life."

"We're desperate," said the Outcast with no facial hair. "We need someone with the power, strength and charisma to return our morale and our chief. Someone like…"

The Outcast with the beard then looked up and pointed. "Thor. Thor Bonecrusher."

Snotlout looked up and saw that they were pointing at Fishlegs, who were that moment had just tripped over his big feet and dropping the rock he was carrying full Meatlug.

Snotlout just stared at them.

* * *

A few moments later he explained the situation to be other Riders, who was bewildered as he was.

"I couldn't believe it either," said Snotlout. "I guess they heard about his exploits on Berk, his 'heroic acts of unparalleled bravery' and are convinced that he's the only one who can go against the bandits." He then laughed. "No way."

"They don't want our help?" Hiccup asked surprised.

"Yeah. I mean, they won't risk bringing in Dragon Riders, because these bandits seem to be on edge," Snotlout explained. "Hair trigger stuff. They might just see us and kill Alvin on the spot."

"In fairness we do sometimes go a bit half cocked," said Ragnar scratching his chin and his eyes immediately fell upon the twins.

The twins just looked at one another and shrugged.

"They got 'em pretty freaked out," said Snotlout. "But there is one brave man who can really rally these Outcasts and run point in getting Alvin back." He then gestured to Fishlegs. "Big props to TB."

Everyone gasped in shock. "What?"

Hiccup rubbed his forehead. "Oh, for Thor's sake."

Ragnar looked at Snotlout. "You can't seriously think that getting Thor Bonechest back is a good idea."

"Well, I think if they need, Thor Bonecrusher, we should call him, right?" said Fishlegs.

"Great idea, Fishface!" Snotlout smiled.

"Terrible idea, Snotlout!" said Hiccup. "Bring Thor back is way too dangerous. For you included."

"Stop it. He was fine. In fact, he was perfect," said Snotlout.

"He use you as a decoy in its attempts to wrestle with a Scauldron, and a lightning storm," Ragnar pointed out.

"Nearly got you killed," Hiccup added.

"Are you saying I'm not brave enough?" said Fishlegs looking at the two of them. "Not powerful enough? That I can't do this, guys?"

"Oh, yeah?" Snotlout smirked. "Is that what you're saying about my boy?"

"We're saying, Fishlegs, that you don't even know Thor Bonecrusher," said Hiccup. "He took over. Sure, he was brave and awesome. But, he was almost too heroic. He was reckless and out of control. You just aren't that guy in your core."

Ragnar then bit his lip. "Actually, Hiccup. Hypnotism doesn't make you do something you're not, there's a hero in everyone deep down inside that sometimes a bit out of control."

Hiccup narrowed his eyes at Ragnar. "You're supposed to be on my side, Rag." He then looked back at Fishlegs. "Look, we'll figure something else out. But no Thor Bonecrusher for now."

* * *

Of course later that night, Fishlegs went to meet Snotlout and found something he never expected to see. Snotlout was actually rubbing lotion onto Hookfang in a peaceful calm full manner.

"So, you do this every night?" said Fishlegs surprised. "I, uh, has no idea."

Snotlout shrugged. "There are sides to the Snotman, my fine fishy friend." He then got up and placed his helmet back on his head. "The Snot can be bald and bad. The Snot can be brash and courageous. And the Snot can be tender and insightful." He then leaned against his fireplace. "Now, onto what you're really here about. You want to know about Thor Bonecrusher."

"I do. I do," said Fishlegs nodding uncontrollably.

"Well, sit back while I tell you a story. A story of bravery, chivalry and just a hint of insanity."

Snotlout then began to talk about Thor Bonercrusher's exploits, his deeds of bravery, his heroic deeds and finally his crazy deeds. Fishlegs was completely entranced with everything that Snotlout had said.

He then got up and started cheering. "Wow. He sounds so awesome."

Snotlout then tossed aside the broom and the stuff animal he was holding, which fell into the fire. "Thor is the best thing that ever happened to me."

"Okay, let's just say…"

"We hypnotise you?" Snotlout finished pulling out a ball and chain. "Great idea!"

"Wait a minute, Snotlout" said Fishlegs holding his hands out. "Hiccup is right. I don't know Thor Bonecrusher. I don't remember a single thing about him. Shouldn't we get Gothi?"

"I got this, okay," said Snotlout strongly. "I know Thor better than that old bag. Bam!"

"Okay," said Fishlegs, though he was still uneasy. "But wait, wait, wait, wait!" He then immediately began to hug Meatlug. "This time when I get hypnotised, add in the Thor loves Meatlug, because it would kill me if I pushed her away again."

"Loves. Meatlug. Got it," Snotlout nodded.

"And that there should be an easy way to snap me out of it, like, uh, you clapping three times."

"Thrice clap. Check-a-roo."

"Finally, just as a safety measure, make sure I'm not a heroic as last time, you know? I think that's what really concerned Hiccup."

"Got you, my bone-crushing brother," Snotlout assured. "Trust. Have faith. Believe. And watched the ball."

He then held out the ball and chain and began to wave it in front of Fishlegs. "I don't know, Snotlout. Can you really—"

Fishlegs then class in his chair began snoring like a dragon.

"I did it?" said Snotlout completely surprised. "I did it!" He then laughed triumphantly. He then placed the ball and chain down onto the floor and began walking around. "Now, what did we agree to do? Okay, okay, okay, okay. This is gonna be so fun!"

He then leaned to Fishlegs' ear. "Thor. Thor Bonecrusher. We need you, Thor," he whispered. "We need you to be strong. Brave. Powerful. Charismatic."

Fishlegs response were only a few groans.

Hookfang then growled at Snotlout, reminding him of what Fishlegs wanted him to do. "Right. Right, right." He then turned his attention back onto Fishlegs. "You shall love Meatlug." Fishlegs sighed adorably as he smiled. "You shall wake when the Snot clapped three times." He then clapped three times. "You shall… Uh…"

Hookfang growled.

Snotlout turned on him. "Will you stop? I got it. Jeez!" He then turned his attention back onto Fishlegs. "Okay. You won't be so heroic like last time. You'll be, I don't know, what's it called? Anti-heroic. Anti-heroic! You'll be anti-heroic Thor."

Fishlegs grunted.

"The thing that's it," said Snotlout excitedly. "Okay, on my snap. Come out, come out where ever you are, Thor Bonecrusher."

He then snapped his fingers.

Fishlegs immediately awoke and Snotlout was speechless with excitement as he got up and began cracking his bones.

"Well, hello," he said saluting Snotlout in his deep voice. Meatlug growled nervously, she remember the last time Thor Bonecruhser came to visit. He then immediately turn to Meatlug and gave her big hug. "And so good to see you, Meatlug, my love."

Snotlout was virtually edge of tears. "I've missed you so much."

* * *

The next day they were at Outcast Island and Snotlout presented Fishlegs to all the outcasts who immediately cheered upon his presence.

Fishlegs immediately began to demonstrate his new personality by forming a perfect split with his leg supported by some small rocks and began juggling a flaming sheep, axe and chair around.

"That's right, Outcasts!" Snotlout yelled. "Give it up for, Mr. Thor Bonecrusher!"

"Ha-ha! Easy as pie!" Fishlegs yelled.

"Whoo! It's a flippin' flaming axe," an Outcast yelled.

Once he was done demonstrating he began to high-five every single Outcast that came near him. He then winked an Outcast carrying a crate of apples, who immediately acted like a little girl and started giggling and then fainted.

"Thank Thor," said an Outcast with relief. "Literally. There's another ransom due today."

"Tell me about said ransom," said Fishlegs in a commanding voice. "Show me what these no-good doers are attempting to extract from you wholesome Outcasts."

An Outcast then brought out the wagon covered by a sheet. Snotlout laughed and made his way to the wagon, only to have Fishlegs pinches pressure points on the shoulder causing him to collapse to the ground. Once the sheet was removed it was revealed that the crate was filled to the brim with fish.

"Now, do explain, kind people," said Fishlegs.

"We offered gold, Mr. Thor. But they only wanted this Ice Tail Pike," said the Outcast very confused. "They were very specific. It is rare and indigenous to Outcast Island."

Fishlegs rubbed his chin and pondered. "Hmm. The love of this tasty little fish will be the demise of these bandits." He then stuck his hand into the pile, grabbed a fish and then ate it raw."

Naturally this caused mostly Outcasts to be either very impressed or very disgusted.

"Mm. And I have just the plan," Fishlegs smiled and eat the raw fish whole.

* * *

An hour later, Fishlegs was at the meeting point for the bandits. He could tell that the leader was the one with the eyepatch.

"Ooh! Bandits," said Fishlegs he then nodded to everyone behind him.

With that now they all took their positions, even Snotlout, who had recovered from Fishlegs' surprised grip move. Two Outcast and immediately jumped into the fish wagon and Fishlegs leaned in towards it.

"Now, remember, brave soldiers," he whispered. "You must stay still. Once the wagon has been taken to their holding station, jump out and fire into the air."

"Aye," said the Outcasts.

Fishlegs then slowly backed away from the wagon. "Thor shall appear and do what Thor does so well."

Snotlout then immediately rushed over to Fishlegs excitedly, as if he was a little boy on Snoggletog morning. "What do I do, TB? What do I do?"

Fishlegs then grabbed his shoulder and pinched his pressure points causing him to collapse to the ground once again.

"Right," Snotlout nodded. "Hang back. Ready for action. Got it." He then looked an Outcast with a crossbow. "He's so cool."

The Outcast just shrugged.

Fishlegs then made his presence known with the bandits as another Outcast pushed the crate so they could see.

The bandit leader than just a gesture with his arm and immediately several armed bandits appeared with crossbows on the edge of the crevice.

"It is as you asked," said Fishlegs gesturing to the wagon. "Ice Tail Pike in exchange for the lead out the Outcast tribe." He then looked around and found that Alvin was not with them. "Where is Alvin? Not with you, I'm guessing?"

"And who are you?" the bandit leader asked.

"Who am I?" Fishlegs scoffed. "Who am I?" He then laughed maniacally and soon everyone in the vicinity joined with him.

"Who is he?" an Outcast laughed.

"I'm the answer to your prayers," said Fishlegs.

"And what prayers would those be?" the bandit leader asked.

"Wait a minute!" said Fishlegs suddenly. "I see something moving under that fish pile."

Snotlout blinked. "Huh?"

Fishlegs then pointed out Snotlout. "I saw this man planning in all!"

Snotlout eyes widened. "What? Who? Me?"

"Seize them!" the bandit leader ordered.

Immediately the bandit leader grabbed Snotlout from his hiding place and the bandits began looking through the fish pile.

"Oh, no!" Snotlout cried.

Fishlegs sneered at Snotlout. "Aw. What is it? Scared? Broken-hearted?" He then leaned in towards Snotlout. "You poor, naive little man."

Snotlout couldn't believe this was happening. "But you're Thor Bonecrusher. You're a hero. I created you. I loved you."

"Love, hate. Hero, anti-hero," Fishlegs shrugged. "They all exist across a razor's edge." He then turned to the bandits, who had overpowered the Outcasts in the wagon and were now taking it away. "This is Thor Bonecrusher that is here now." He then looked up to the sky. "This is Thor Bonecrusher reborn!"

He then laughed maniacally and Snotlout just whimpered.

* * *

Thankfully, Snotlout was able to get out of the mess and return to Dragon's Edge to inform the others. Unfortunately, Hiccup wasn't best pleased when he told them that he had turned Fishlegs into Thor Bonecrusher."

"When you hypnotise him, what?" Hiccup stared.

"Well, he wanted to make sure that he loved Meatlug, and he didn't want to be as heroic as last time, so he'd be, I don't know, safe or something like that," Snotlout explained.

"And?" the twins asked eagerly.

"Well, I think I messed up and told him not to be heroic at all."

"Well, that's good," said Hiccup. "Means you can't get in that much trouble."

"Or he's unheroic," said Tuffnut shoving past both Hiccup and Astrid.

"As in anti-heroic," said Ruffnut.

"As in, the anti-Thor!"

Hiccup then glared at Snotlout as he marched towards him.

"Oh. That actually what I said. Anti-heroic," said Snotlout.

"Snotlout!" Hiccup yelled.

"What? It sounded so good at the time," said Snotlout.

Ragnar rubbed his forehead. "Next time how do you read the word up in a dictionary or something?"

"What a dictionary?" Snotlout blinked.

Hiccup shook his head. "Oh, gods." He then looked back at Snotlout. "So, where is he?"

"Okay, don't get mad, but he double crossed me and joined the bandits. And they still have Alvin," said Snotlout.

"Why didn't you snap him out of it before he went off gallivanting with them?" Ragnar asked.

Snotlout wiggled his fingers awkwardly. "I didn't want to lose him again."

Hiccup groaned.

"Great. So now we have to rescue both of them," said Astrid.

Snotlout nodded awkwardly. "Uh-huh."

* * *

On Outcast Island, Fishlegs was now with the bandits and the bandit leader eyed him carefully.

"So. Bonecrusher, you say?" he said.

"Did I stutter?" said Fishlegs following his movements.

"You know, you look exactly like one of those Dragon Riders," said the bandit leader curiously. He then placed his sword next to his neck. "The stocky one. Fishlegs."

"Fishlegs. Fish, legs," said Fishlegs, not recognising the name. "Can your Fishlegs do this?"

He then quickly turned around and grabbed the bandit leader's arm and lifted him off his feet. He then began to spin around in his arms.

"Or this?" he said tossing the bandit leader into the rocks and he bounced back towards him.

He then spun around and slammed him onto the ground, before finally placing his foot on top of his chest. "You may applaud now."

The bandits looked at one another, and not wanting to be on the receiving end of his fists, they began clapping. They then started to cheer his name like mad and he began to high-five their high-fives.

"Ah, this never gets old," he said joyously.

The bandit leader was steadily getting back onto his feet when Fishlegs kneeled in next to him.

"You know what? I'm having so much fun here, instead of simply joining your ranks, I'm going to leave them," he said getting to his feet. He then looked at them seriously. "Now, the first order of business. We need to get ready for some unwanted guests."

* * *

Later that night, Hiccup and the other riders had managed to reach Outcast Island.

Their plan was simple, there are going to use the secret network of tunnels that Alvin showed Hiccup when they rescued his father from Dagur. They would then free Alvin and return Fishlegs back to normal and then take out the remaining bandits.

Hiccup looked at Toothless. "Toothless."

Toothless then roared using his echo ability down onto the island, there he found the tunnel that led underneath Outcast Island. They then dive down into the water and made their way into the secret caverns.

However, he soon discovered that there was a torch in the middle of the cavern and it had been burning recently.

"I thought no one knew we were coming," Astrid whispered.

They then looked into the caves and then suddenly firing towards them were several arrows. Thankfully Astrid and Meatlug got out of the way just in time, but then a net by nowhere entrapping the twins.

"Toothless!" Hiccup yelled as they jumped out of the way to avoid a bolt from a crossbow.

Then Fishlegs came charging in with some of the bandits.

"The water. Cover the water!" he ordered. "It's their only way out."

The bandit immediately rushed over towards the water in the hopes to prevent the Riders from retreating into it.

"He knew we'd try to sneak in this way," said Hiccup.

Skull then came flying in blocking a few bolts from the bandits with his armour. "We shouldn't be surprised Fishlegs knows every one of our tactics and our behaviour."

Snotlout was flying alongside the chamber. "Keep going, Hookie. If I can get close enough to him, I can clap—" He then made the mistake of looking down at the spun around and felt his dinner coming up his throat. "Oh, boy."

Then they crashed right into a stalactite and crashed to the ground. Hookfang was knocked unconscious leaving Snotlout vulnerable. Fishlegs laughed as he approached him.

Snotlout was still a bit dizzy from the impact and could barely make Fishlegs out. "Uh-huh. Three, four, five Thors." He then tried to clap, but he kept on missing his hands. "Must clap hands."

Sadly only succeeded in slapping his own face.

The twins laughed as they pull themselves out of the net.

"We had an Uncle Dullnut who used to do that," said Tuffnut. "We could watch him for hours!"

Tuffnut then yelled as a bolt landed next to him. He then quickly rush towards their dragons and mounted on Belch.

Fishlegs stopped as he looked down at Snotlout. "Child's play."

Hiccup then immediately clapped his hands three times in the hopes to bring Fishlegs back. "Come on, Fishlegs," he said as he kept on clapping.

Unfortunately no matter how many more times he clapped, it didn't work.

"No, Hiccup," said Snotlout weakly. "It has to be me."

He then began to clap his hands, he had managed to clap two times before Fishlegs stopped him by grabbing him by the leg. He then immediately tossed a bola at Hiccup.

"Oh, no!" Hiccup yelled as they took off and the bola wrapped itself around a stalactite.

Fishlegs then yelled as he ran back down the tunnel. "Onward, Snotman. Destiny awaits."

The bandits then got an arrow launcher set up and immediately fired on the remaining Dragon Riders.

"Guys, the water! Now!" Hiccup yelled.

Hookfang had ignited himself and didn't want to leave Snotlout.

"We'll come back for him!" Hiccup promised.

Hookfang then immediately unleashed a burst of flames causing the bandits to retreat. Astrid and Ragnar then unleashed their dragon breath attack on the bandits before they dived into the water just as the Hunters fired.

Hookfang and Meatlug the next to enter the water followed closely by the twins. Hiccup then dive towards the water avoiding the arrows that were being fired at them in all directions and were able to avoid the next just before they wrapped themselves around.

* * *

Snotlout finally regained consciousness and felt his head spinning.

"Uh. Ow. My head?" he groaned. When he opened his eyes he found that Alvin was opposite him in a cell. The strangest thing was that Alvin was upside down. "Huh? Alvin?"

It only took a few seconds to realise that he was bound was hanging upside down in a prison cell.

"I see you guys have made quite the improvement to your rescuing over the years," said Alvin chuckling slightly.

Snotlout grunted as he tried to free himself.

He then heard a door opening and saw Fishlegs entering his cell.

"Well, hello, little man," he said kicking Snotlout's helmet aside. "I do hope these accommodations are to your liking."

Snotlout smiled nervously. "Come on, Thor. It's me. Your buddy."

Fishlegs then grabbed his head and looked at him firmly. "What is Hiccup's next plan? Reinforcements from Berk? Help from the Defenders of the Wing? And that clapping. What was that? Some sort of dragon-related signal?" He then began to shake Snotlout vigorously. "Tell me!"

He then slapped him across the face.

Then a bandit entered the cell. "Sir, the men are all assembled. Just like you asked."

Fishlegs growled at Snotlout and walked away, but not before pushing Snotlout causing him to swing around in his cell.

* * *

Fishlegs then made his way to the bandits and found a lot of wagons filled with fish.

"I'm instituting a little change in our operation," said Fishlegs. "From now on, we will be taking gold from Outcasts. Not fish."

The bandits with one another confused.

Fishlegs was confused as well by this confusion. "What's the problem? With gold, you can buy all the fish you can carry."

"But not this fish," said the bandit's former leader, Jarg. "We've been charged with procuring as much of this specific Ice Tail Pike as possible." He then took one of the fish and made his way over to Fishlegs. "And, uh, our leader, he's someone to be feared if crossed. We have one wagon load left and then we returned with our bounty."

"And the hostages?" Fishlegs asked.

"We are to toss them overboard. No loose ends," said Jarg tossing the fish back onto the wagon.

Fishlegs smiled. "Ah. I like the way he thinks. If it's Pike fish he wants, then it's Pike fish he shall receive. But Thor Bonecrusher will deliver it personally. He needs to meet this leader of yours."

* * *

The next morning, Hiccup and the others were in the Outcast village and the Outcasts were getting a bit concerned Alvin safety.

"We need Alvin now! Bring us Alvin!" an Outcast yelled.

The other Outcasts then join him.

"We will get Alvin back," Hiccup assured. "And we will defeat this group of bandits. We just need a little more time."

At that point Astrid soon returned her scouting mission.

"We found them," she said as he jumped off Stormfly. She then retched was disgust. "With all that fish, I could almost track them myself. They followed the caves to the other side of the island. Definitely accessible from the outside. But how are we going to defeat an enemy who knows all of our tactics?"

"She's right," Ragnar nodded as he joined them. "Thor would have no doubt stationed guards and I don't think that he would flinch about executing either Alvin or Snotlout if we're not too careful."

"We need to try something completely unexpected and out of the box," said Hiccup. "Something Fishlegs would not expect."

* * *

On the other side of the island, the bandits were preparing their wagons were transport. Snotlout was with them with his hands tied and guarded by two of the bandits.

Then they heard a roar and saw Hiccup flying overhead on Toothless waving a white flag and flying close to them was Meatlug.

"Dragon Rider!" a bandit yelled. He then looked at one of the bandits. "Better get Thor."

Fishlegs soon emerged from the caves and found Hiccup standing there with a white flag and heavily guarded with some of his men.

"I come in peace, Fishlegs," said Hiccup calmly. He then remembered that Fishlegs wasn't quite himself. "Thor. I even brought an offering."

Then emerging from the rocks behind them was Meatlug, who immediately rushed over towards Fishlegs and hugged him affectionately. Fishlegs immediately returned the hug before he returned back to Hiccup.

"Thank you," said Fishlegs gratefully. "I appreciate the third hostage."

"Sorry. But you only have two," said Astrid's voice behind him.

Fishlegs turned and saw Astrid and Ragnar standing there after taking out his men. The two of them were standing beside Snotlout with smiles on their faces with the dragons directly behind.

"Look! After doing something nice for Snotlout," she said.

"Or Ragnar for that matter," Ragnar added.

Astrid smiled. "Bet ya didn't see that one coming."

Fishlegs growled in anger and turned to the remainder of his men. "Seize them!"

The bandits immediately charged with their weapons drawn.

"Toothless!" Hiccup yelled.

Toothless then fired a plasma blast at the bandits knocking them aside and destroying the wagons of fish. Fishlegs glared at him before he charged at Astrid and Ragnar.

Hiccup looked at Toothless. "Now, bud!"

Toothless fired a plasma blast that destroyed the other wagon sending degree Fishlegs' way. However, Fishlegs merely jumped onto a crate and performed a cartwheel in mid-air to avoid the debris. Toothless fired several of plasma blast that struck the crates, but Fishlegs just jumped onto the debris with relative ease and then jumped straight towards Astrid and the others.

"Wow," Snotlout breathed.

"Snotlout!" Astrid yelled.

Astrid had just cut the rope around his wrists just as Fishlegs came falling towards them. They immediately jumped out of the way before he hit the ground and Snotlout quickly clapped his hands three times.

Fishlegs then landed on the ground on his hands and feet and everyone just looked at him, hoping that he was back to normal. He then turned and looked at Snotlout.

"Snotlout, you're here!" he said his normal voice.

"Fishface!" Snotlout yelled and rushed over to him and giving him a big hug.

However, Fishlegs merely spun him around and placed a sword against his throat. It soon dawned on them that Fishlegs was not back to his old cheerful self.

"No!" Hiccup yelled as the others raised their weapons.

"Nice try, Hiccup," Fishlegs smirked. "Now, back off! All of you! Or I will run him through!"

Snotlout just kept on crying pathetic screams as the blade got closer to his throat.

With no other choice, the three of them had to get on their dragons and take off.

* * *

Fishlegs then showed Snotlout back into his cell with his hands bound once more.

"Ow!" he said as he hit the ground. He then picked himself up ignoring the pain. "Aw. This is getting old." He then shook his head in confusion. "Why didn't the clapping work?"

* * *

Fishlegs soon returned outside to see that the bandits were getting things back in order.

"We aren't leaving just yet, men," said Fishlegs.

"It's way too dangerous, Thor," said Jarg. "Now with the Dragon Riders on to us."

"We lost a bit of bounty in this skirmish," Fishlegs reminded gesturing to the ruined fish on the ground. "We do not have the requisite amount of fish necessary to appease your leader." He then pulled out a bit of parchment and began to scribble on it. "One more handsome ransom, and then we go."

He then giggled slightly much to the confusion of Jarg.

"And we'll add in a little bonus," said Fishlegs making his way over to Meatlug. "What would your boss say to some Dragon Riders dragons?" He then attached to the node to Meatlug's leg and then slapped on the booty. "Go, dragon! Go tell the others we are waiting for them!"

Meatlug immediately took off.

* * *

At the same time Hiccup and the others met up with the twins at the village.

"Hiccup, what are we to do now?" Astrid asked.

"Firing on Thor is firing on Fishlegs," Hiccup concluded.

"Yeah, but Snotlout should have been able to snap Fishlegs back to his senses," Ragnar reminded.

"We'll find a way," said Hiccup positively.

"But what if we can't snap him out of it?" Astrid asked. "He doesn't even know he's Fishlegs."

"Meatlug does," said Tuffnut.

"Tuffnut, Meatlug doesn't help us right now," said Astrid folding her arms.

"Then, should I just take her back to the Edge?" Tuffnut asked pointing above him. "Bing!"

They all looked up and saw hovering above them was none other than Meatlug.

"What?" Astrid stared.

Hiccup saw there was a noted tied to her leg and immediately read it. "Huh. Well, at least now we know what we have to do."

* * *

Fishlegs was in the crevice watching as the Dragon Riders came with a wagon filled with Ice Tail Pike. Snotlout was being restrained by Jarg, who had a sword against his throat and Alvin was also restrained by several bandits.

To make matters worse there were many more bandits in the rock face holding bows and arrows and Snotlout was unable to warn them of the danger.

Astrid looked at Hiccup with uncertainty. "I don't know about just walking into this, Hiccup."

Ragnar nodded. "This is a perfect place for an ambush."

"They think they have the element of surprise, but it's the other way round," said Hiccup.

He then handed Astrid the scroll that had been wrapped on Meatlug's head and Ragnar leaned over her shoulder. That's when the two of them realise that it wasn't the message, but in fact it was a map of the crevice with crosses all over it.

"This is where the lookouts should be positioned," Hiccup explained.

Astrid looked at Hiccup dubiously. "Hiccup, we don't know who this came from."

They soon reached Fishlegs and came to a stop.

"On my mark," said Hiccup. "And…"

"It's a trap! It's a trap!" Snotlout yelled.

Then suddenly the archers on the cliffs began raining arrows down on top of them.

Hiccup immediately ran over to Toothless. "Run, Toothless!"

He immediately jumped onto Toothless and they took to the air.

The twins however were running around in circles.

"And there goes the element of surprise," Astrid sighed.

"We'll just have to think on offbeat," said Ragnar as Skull blocked an arrow with his armed and wing.

Soon all of them were on their dragons and they soon joined Hiccup into the sky with Hookfang and Meatlug.

"Now! Give 'em everything you've got!" Hiccup yelled.

Immediately the riders began to attack the locations where the lookouts were located. Astrid made the first move and immediately unleashed a barrage of spines causing the archers to retreat, one of them unfortunately got struck in the bottom as they jumped into the crevice.

Meatlug then began unleashing lava blasts at another squad of archers causing them to retreat. Ragnar was leading Skull straight down to another group of archers, who immediately fired every single arrow they had at him only for the arrows to bounce off Skull's armour. Skull then roared causing him to cover the ears and while they were defenceless unleashed a burst of flames at them causing them to retreat.

The twins then unleashed a circle of gas around Fishlegs, Snotlout, Alvin and Jarg. Once that was done immediately ignited the gas creating a ring of fire around.

Fishlegs then immediately took the sword from Jarg and grabbed Snotlout. "Let me at him!"

Then they heard a roar and saw Hookfang flying down towards them unleashing flames. This caused Fishlegs to release Snotlout and they quickly moved away as they were blocked by a line of fire.

Fishlegs looked up at Hookfang. "Hey, watch it, Hookfang!" he said speaking in his normal voice.

Snotlout stared at him. "Fishface?" Fishlegs smiled indicating that he was back to normal. "Fishface!"

"No time to explain," said Fishlegs as he slice the ropes around Snotlout's hands. "We gotta free Alvin."

They immediately ran towards Alvin, but were then blocked by Jarg, who nearly killed Fishlegs with his sword. He then began swinging pushing him back, Fishlegs then tried to block another attack, but Jarg dealt a powerful backhand knocking him aside.

"No!" Snotlout yelled.

Jarg then advance towards Fishlegs and raised his sword high.

"Oh, no," said Snotlout and grabbed a rock and then tossed it at Jarg. "Hey, you."

Jarg blowing his blade just in time to slice the rock in two, but that left him open for Fishlegs, who performed a leg sweep knocking him to the ground. He then picked himself up, grabbed his sword and pointed it at Jarg.

However, Jarg quickly recovered and knocked the sword out of his hand. He then got to his feet and swung his blade at Fishlegs' chest. Fishlegs was able to dodge the sword, but not the kick that Jarg dealt him when his guard was down.

He was then sent to the ground hard and Jarg chuckled as he advanced towards them.

"Snotlout!" Snotlout yelled jumping onto his back.

Jarg then began spinning around just to pull him off. However, he then grabbed Snotlout's arms and tossed him over his shoulders and he landed beside Fishlegs.

"Snotlout!" Fishlegs yelled.

He then glared angrily at Jarg and then charged at him just as he raised his sword. Jarg was completely taken surprise as Fishlegs tackled him.

Snotlout just stared openmouthed. "Whoa."

Fishlegs then slammed him into the ground and performed a perfect flip before finally landing on his feet. He then turned and saw that Jarg was knocked out.

"Ha-ha!" Fishlegs cried.

Hiccup soon arrived on the field and saw Jarg on the ground. "Fishlegs?" he called.

Fishlegs then gave her big thumbs up. "Whooo!"

Hiccup turned and saw that Astrid was now completely surrounded by bandits holding crossbows. He immediately flew down towards them and they ducked just as he flew overhead. Toothless then fired a plasma blast at a rock formation causing the rocks to fall, catching the bandits completely offguard.

He then landed beside Astrid and both their dragons growled at bandits who immediately raised their hands in surrender. Meatlug was doing the same with another group of bandits, but she turned around when she saw Fishlegs running towards her.

"Meatlug!" he cried.

Meatlug growled playfully and the two of them had one another.

The bandits were trying to make their getaway, but was stopped by Ragnar and Snotlout, who was now riding on top of Hookfang. They immediately tried to run the other way only to be stopped by the twins.

"Going somewhere boys?" Ragnar smiled.

Fishlegs then went to free Alvin and at first he was a bit nervous, but that changed when Alvin smiled at him.

"Come here," he said giving him a good pat on the shoulder.

Jarg had regained consciousness only to find that his men were now captured. With no other choice he immediately ran as far away from the Riders as possible.

* * *

The bandits were soon captured and tossed into an Outcast prison.

"I tried to get them to tell me who they worked for, but they were tight-lipped," said Fishlegs.

Alvin chuckled. "Don't you worry. They will," he assured. He then smiled menacingly at the bandits. "I have a few old school techniques I'd love to dust off that will pry those lips apart in no time."

"Just tell us if you find anything, Dad," said Ragnar folding his arms.

"You'll be the first to know, son," Alvin promised.

Snotlout was still very confused and looked at Fishlegs. "Okay. I'm so confused. Did the clapping work not?"

"It did," said Fishlegs raising his hand suddenly causing Snotlout to panic. He then laughed and Snotlout soon joined him. "But if I let them know in that moment that I wasn't Thor, they would have taken part with the bounty and make you an Alvin shark feed."

"Wow. So, it was Fishface who saved us and not Thor?" said Snotlout surprise looking at Alvin. "Did not see that one coming."

Hiccup placed a hand on Fishlegs' shoulder. "That was a crazy risk, Fishlegs. But it proved I was wrong and Ragnar was right. In your core, you do have a lot of Thor Bonecrusher."

Fishlegs then pulled him in close. "I'd like to think it's the other way around."

Snotlout then came out of nowhere and helped him.

"Group hug!" Tuffnut yelled as he and his sister rushed over to the two of them and gave them a big hug.

While they were busy hugging one another, Hiccup noticed that Astrid and Ragnar will looking concerned at the wagon of fish.

"What's up?" he asked approaching them.

"Well, the question still remains, Hiccup," said Astrid. "What did the Dragon Hunters want with these fish?"

"And who is leading them now," said Ragnar folding his arms.

Hiccup too was troubled by this information and he wished he had an answer.

* * *

In the Dragon Hunter camp, Krogan was leading Jarg to his tent and he wasn't best pleased with his failure.

"So, you see, Krogan, sir, it was impossible to have seen what was coming," said Jarg.

"Impossible, you say?" said Krogan as the entered the tent. "And what say you?"

Jarg saw that someone else was already in the tent and it was none other than Viggo.

"There will be a setback," said Viggo. "The Ice Tail Pike are essential to our training programme. Unlike this gentleman." Jarg quivered in fear as Viggo turned his back on him. "Failures have no place in my army. The bar must remain at its highest. I'd throw him down a Whispering Death hole. But that's just me."

Krogan then grabbed Jarg. "Relax, Jarg. There will be no Whispering Death hole for you. If I did that, I wouldn't get to see you suffer. Then that will take all the fun out of it."

He then clapped his hands together and immediately two Hunters grabbed Jarg and began to drag him away.

"No! Come on now. No! No, no!" he cried as he was dragged away.

Krogan then turns attention onto Viggo. "Now, Viggo, how do you plan to withstand the extreme heat? It was so kind to you the last time."

"I was just assessing that myself," said Viggo as he turned to face Krogan. Turning his face revealed that the left side of his face was badly burnt, his eye was completely white and his ear looked as if it was melted. "I have some… thoughts."


	59. Dawn of Destruction

It was morning and Fishlegs was searching around the Edge for Hiccup.

"Hiccup?" Fishlegs called. He made his way to the stables in search for him. "Hiccup!"

There was no answer and all he accomplished was scaring himself when Meatlug growled next to him.

He then looked for him in his hut. "Hiccup, are you in there? Hello?" He frowned of the place was completely empty and then saw the sheet that covered Hiccup's secret project. "Huh. Interesting." He then shook his head. "No, can't do that. It's private prop…"

However, as soon as he said as he started to make his way closer to the sheet and extended his hand to it. "But…" He then pulled his hand away, "no."

He then turned his back towards it and began humming, the 30 seconds later he was looking back at the sheet and immediately reached out towards it.

"Oh! No! No, Fishlegs!" he said pulling his hands back. "Yep… No, no, no, no, no."

He then leaned in closer towards it fighting the urge not to take a sneak peek. Eventually his curiosity won over and began to leaning towards the sheet.

"Fishlegs!" Snotlout's voice yelled.

Fishlegs was startled and slammed into Hiccup's desk knocking a few items onto the floor. "Snotlout! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Well, don't sneak around, you won't get snuck up on," Snotlout counted.

Fishlegs began picking up the items off the floor. "I wasn't snea…" He then looked at him. "Have you seen him?"

"Why?" Snotlout asked.

"It's none of your business."

"Then, no."

The two of them glared at one another for about a minute.

"Oh, fine," said Fishlegs finally.

Snotlout yelled in triumph.

"Johann just got here, and he wants to see Hiccup," Fishlegs explained.

"Oh," said Snotlout looking disappointed.

"Where is he?" Fishlegs asked.

"No idea. No one sees Hiccup now that he and Astrid are all…" He then turned his back, her himself began making kissing sounds. "Me-likey." He then stopped and looked back at Fishlegs. "Now that they're a couple, they don't care about us anymore. It's all about Hiccstrid!"

He then continued making kissing sounds, but only ended up making himself sick. "Eww!"

They then heard Astrid yelled coming from the arena and the sound of clashing metal.

* * *

They immediately made their way down to the arena to find Ragnar and the twins already there and watching as Hiccup and Astrid was sparring with one another.

Fishlegs looked at them. "Um…"

Tuffnut then placed a finger on his lips. "No. Shh. Behold."

They then watched as Hiccup's blade, which was on fire, clashes with Astrid's axe. Astrid then spun performing a roundhouse kick, but Hiccup managed to dodge it. He then slammed _Inferno_ towards her and she blocked it with the handle of her axe.

Astrid was then able to push him back in the class once more, but Hiccup then used her own weight against her causing her to fall forwards.

The twins watched at them back and forth not wanting to miss a single thing.

"Yes. Yeah," said Tuffnut stroking Chicken.

Astrid then jumped at Hiccup with her axe held high screaming. Hiccup immediately sidestepped to avoid the attack and then began swinging his blade and she did the same with her axe and sparks flew upon contact. She then dealt him a roundhouse kick which he was able to block and then he swung his fist at her, but she was able to avoid it and avoided his left hand as he slammed his blade towards her.

However as Astrid began to run around him, Hiccup chuckled as he performed a leg sweep. Astrid knew she was not off her feet and landed on her butt. She smiled at Hiccup as he helped her up and Toothless performed a dragon-like laugh at Stormfly.

"Watching these two reminds me of gazing upon the giant water Buffalord as they graze against the tender auspices of wheat fields of yesteryear," said Tuffnut.

Soon Hiccup and Astrid were sparring once again and soon their weapons clashed and they looked at one another with very firm expressions.

"Call it a draw?" Astrid asked.

"Not on your life," said Hiccup. "I got you right where I—"

Astrid then disengage suddenly and promptly grabbed the helm of his armour. Hiccup suddenly found himself being flipped over her shoulders and slammed into the ground and Astrid finished by placing her put on his chest and pointing her axe at him.

The twins then cheered as Ruffnut tossed flowers down on top of them and Tuffnut then tossed Chicken just as Astrid helped Hiccup. She landed right on top of Hiccup's head, much to his surprise.

"Would you to stop?" said Fishlegs he then looked down at Hiccup. "Hiccup, I've been looking all over for you. Johann is here, and he wants—"

Hiccup beamed. "Johann. Oh, great! Where is he?"

"Uh, at the dock," Fishlegs blinked.

"Of course. The dock," said Hiccup and he immediately made his way towards the dock.

"I'll come along," Astrid volunteered.

Snotlout rolled his eyes. "Oh, unexpected. All you to do is hang out together. It's like we aren't even here."

Astrid mounted Stormfly. "Was that jealousy? So not you."

"I'm just making a point, Astrid. A good one, at that. So good that I don't even have to tell you to shut up, Astrid. So shut up, Astrid."

"You know, a strong, lasting relationship is a balancing act between work, friends, a stable home life, you know, the amount of jellybeans that you're eating," said Tuffnut counting each point of his fingers.

However both Hiccup and Astrid then took off as they made their way down to the docks.

"Yeah! Fly off! We're just saying!" Tuffnut yelled.

Ragnar rolled his eyes. "Give them a break, guys. They are still new to this whole relationship thing."

"But Ragnar, Hiccup hasn't even told you or me what he's working on, even though we could help," Fishlegs pointed out.

Ragnar knew that he had a point, Hiccup hadn't been this secretive since they were trying to hide Toothless and even then Hiccup trusted Ragnar enough to hide the secret. However, he couldn't say this to them because he knew that Hiccup had a good reason.

* * *

Hiccup was at the docks with Astrid on Johann's boat as he began to offload his supplies.

"I can't apologise enough, Master Hiccup, for failing new on this endeavour," said Johann apologetically. "I was unable to procure you your oil on this recent trip, as I was otherwise engaged with in Northern Native…" He then chuckled slightly.

"Oil?" Astrid blinked. "For what?"

"Oh, just a little something I've been tinkering with," said Hiccup.

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Oh, right, your secret project."

"Astrid…"

Johann then jumped in. "However, I'm ecstatic to tell you that the oil you seek can be found in the rarest of the Sassafras Albidum plans that grow only on the Isle of Thizzain, the current location of which I have included for you in its description," he said handing him the scroll. "I had hoped to procure it in the dark markets of Aberdine, but as I mentioned, my trip took the strangest turn."

Soon the other Riders arrived at the docks on their dragons.

"Hey, Johann, you telling your famous stories again?" Snotlout asked as he hopped off Hookfang. "I've got spare few hours."

"A few hours would only begin to describe the adventures of my recent past," said Johann pulling Snotlout towards him. "Wow! And I mean, 'wow.'"

"Oh, I don't care," said Snotlout shoving his arm aside. "I think you're boring."

"Ooh, what's that?" Fishlegs asked eagerly looking at the scroll that Hiccup laid out.

"A map. An island that has something I need," said Hiccup.

Fishlegs looked at him waiting for him to continue.

"For your secret project I assume," said Ragnar folding his arms.

"Uh, yes," said Hiccup.

"And let me guess, the power couple is going on vacation," said Snotlout hotly. "Well, bon voyage, muttonheads!"

* * *

Later that day Hiccup and Astrid were packing as they were going to head out to the Isle of Thizzain. Course the other Riders weren't exactly too pleased about this.

"Hiccup, we were supposed to begin the annual Dragon Census tomorrow," Fishlegs reminded.

"Oh, I forgot about that, Fishlegs," Hiccup admitted. "But, hey, we're only gonna be gone for a day or two. It's not like the dragons are going anywhere, right, Fishlegs." He then chuckled.

"Forgetting important moments amongst friends and colleagues is the first sign of shifting priorities…" said Tuffnut to Astrid.

"That's leading to doubt creeping in and the loss of emotional fortitude," Ruffnut added. "I love when doubt creeps."

"What does that even mean?" Astrid asked.

"Don't blow people off," said Snotlout narrowing his eyes at the two of them.

"We're not…" said Hiccup defensively.

Ragnar rubbed the back of his head as he looked at Hiccup. "Hiccup, I hate to say it, but they do bring a point. I think it would be very good for morale you two actually at least stay for the Dragon Census."

"Guys, we'll be back in two days," said Hiccup. "It's not like you're missing anything huge." Fishlegs gasped in shock. "Not that the Census isn't important."

Snotlout panted Fishlegs comfortingly. "Ugh! Will you please just go already?"

With that they mounted their dragons and took off.

"So, anyone want to go through all their belongings while they're gone?" Tuffnut asked.

Everyone looked at him.

"No?"

* * *

It was evening when Hiccup and Astrid had reached the Isle of Thizzain and Hiccup immediately began collecting the plants that would produce the oil that needed.

"Johann didn't say how much oil per planet," Hiccup frowned. "The extraction process can be tricky." He then looked at Astrid. "What do you think?"

"Hmm, that sounds like a Ragnar and Fishlegs question," she said as she approached him. "There again, the twins do know some pretty random stuff. They probably had a third cousin who was a Sassafras plant."

The two of them laughed as they approached one another. They then watched as the dragons began to play with one another and then looked back at one another.

"Do you think we should have stayed at the Edge?" they asked in unison.

The two of them then laughed.

"Have we really be doing what they said?" Hiccup asked. "Ignoring them, not being team players?"

"No," said after taking the planet he was holding his hand. "I haven't been ignoring Snotlout more than I usually do."

"Ah! I just wanna make sure," said Hiccup pulling her close towards him as they watched the sunset. "That's the one thing I really don't wanna do. But at the same time, spending time with you is important."

Astrid smiled at him and then suddenly hugged him.

"What was that for?" Hiccup asked.

Astrid pulled away and looked into his eyes. "For just being you. I love how sensitive you are."

"Don't tell that to Stoick," Hiccup pleaded.

"Oh, I think he knows. Everyone knows. It's what makes you such a great friend, a great leader, and, um, a great boyfriend." Hiccup then looked back towards the sea. "But if you wanna head back…"

"No. No, no," said Hiccup quickly. I mean, they're fine." He then places hands over her. "Just thinking about all the trouble they can get into without us being there, right?"

Then an image of Snotlout being hung upside down on a tree branch with Ruffnut laughing and Tuffnut charging towards him with a bludgeon in his hand popped into their heads.

They looked at one another and chuckled.

"Well, as long as we're staying, what do you say we take a moonlit night?" Hiccup asked spinning Astrid around and she leaned her back onto his chest.

Astrid turned around and placed a hand on his chest. "Thought you'd never ask," he said tossing the planet aside.

Then to Hiccup's surprise she flipped him over her shoulders and onto the ground and then laughed.

* * *

Later that night the two of them were on their dragons flying around the island in perfect formation. They then soared up with performing a perfect corkscrew as they laughed before making a loop to loop and then a figure-of-eight. They then spun around until they were flying on their side's inches apart from each other's heads.

* * *

Morning soon rose at the Edge and all the riders was still sound asleep, but that all changed when the entire place shock.

Ragnar immediately sat up right. "What the?"

He immediately jumped out of his bed as he went to investigate the source of the commotion.

Fishlegs to had been awoken by the sudden shaking. "What was—"

Then the entire place shock once again and Fishlegs was now fully awake and looked at Meatlug. "Maybe we should…" The entire place shock and Fishlegs grabbed his helmet, "check that out!"

Fishlegs opened his door was nearly struck by a burst of flames.

Ragnar had emerge out of his hut then witnessed as more viable drained from the sky striking the Edge.

Several shots struck Snotlout's hut and he immediately marched outside furiously.

"Ruff, Tuff! I'm gonna kill you two!" Snotlout roared.

However when he got outside discover that it was not the twins destroying the Edge, but entire squad of Singetails.

"Singetails," Snotlout groaned. "I hate these guys." Another shot struck his hut and soon it was on fire. "Hookfang!"

The twins had awoken and were yawning as they emerge from their hut.

"Tell me, how great are these moss earplugs, right?" said Tuffnut loudly.

Ruffnut then removed her earplugs and gasped at the devastation in front of them. Once Tuffnut removed his he was equally as shocked when he saw the Singetails. Then a fireball headed straight towards them and they quickly dive into their hut.

* * *

Ragnar, Fishlegs and Snotlout met one another with in the plaza avoiding the fireballs raining down on top of them and the flames around them.

"Ragnar! Snotlout! Wild Singetails are trying to take over the Edge!" Fishlegs cried.

"Really, Fishface! We haven't noticed," Snotlout yelled.

"Yeah, we are quite aware of the situation," Ragnar nodded.

Then suddenly several shots landed around them, thankfully none of them actually struck them.

"We gotta get the dragons and get to a safe place!" said Fishlegs.

"You think?" Snotlout asked.

"But first we need to find the twins!" Ragnar yelled.

Then suddenly a fireball struck the ground in front of them knocking them backwards.

"Move it!" Ragnar yelled.

* * *

They quickly made their way towards the stables which was now in flames. The Singetails fired several more shots, but Hookfang was able to protect Snotlout from the falling debris with his wing.

"Those dragons are relentless!" Snotlout yelled. "We have to take the fight to them!"

"Agreed," Ragnar nodded and so did the others.

They quickly mount to their dragons and immediately took to the sky and the Singetails immediately fired upon them.

"Hold your ground! We need to be unflinching as they are!" Snotlout.

"You sure about this?" Fishlegs asked.

"Not really."

"What are you talking about? This is epic!" Tuffnut yelled excitedly."

Ragnar shook his head. "Guys, we need at all them away from the Edge before they burn it to the ground. Remember that it would have fired every single direction to try and avoid using sneak attacks!"

Two Singetail then turned around and started to fly towards them.

"We got this guys!" Ruffnut yelled.

The Singetails fired a couple of fireballs at the twins, but they were able to dodge the attacks.

"Yeah! And if we don't it was a pleasure knowing you all," said Tuffnut.

"Except for you, Snotlout!" Ruffnut yelled as they died in towards the Singetails.

The three boys looked at one another and shrugged and follow the twins.

"Snotlout!" Snotlout yelled.

"Charge!" Ragnar yelled.

"To Valhalla and beyond!" the twins yelled.

The twins then unleashed their gas and spark attack causing the Singetails to separate and soon they started to engage them in combat.

* * *

It only took a few moments before they actually retreated from the Singetails.

"Bad idea! Bad idea!" Fishlegs cried as they flew away from the Singetails.

The Singetails then began to fire fireballs directly at them as they were treated over the forest. They panic so much that Fishlegs and Snotlout accidentally bumped into each other, thankfully were able to maintain their balance and flew straight.

"I'm sick of this yak dung," said Snotlout frustratingly. "Why are we running from these dragons?"

"Oh, I don't know. Because they're ruthless, out to kill, and they outnumber us two the one," said Fishlegs.

"But why are we running from them?"

"Snotlout! All right! I like where your head's at," said Ruffnut.

"Where's his head?" Tuffnut asked looking around. "Did you get blown off? Did we miss it? I hate missing a good cranial explosion."

"That's enough," said Ragnar loudly. "We can't take them head-on, we need to catch them offguard."

Snotlout nodded. "Let's do this, guys!"

"Yeah!" said Ruffnut.

They then immediately turned around and faced the Singetails. However, when they flew past, Fishlegs saw something that he thought that had to be impossible.

"Uh, guys, I think I saw someone riding one of those Singetails!" he said looking at the others.

"No, you didn't, Fishlegs," said Snotlout.

Fishlegs sighed with relief. "Oh, thank Thor."

"You saw someone riding all of those Singetails."

Snotlout was right, because riding on top of the Singetails where humans. The Singetails had dragon proof chains around their mouths and the Riders were holding a horse whip that was clearly designed the dragons. They were striking the Singetails so that they would obey them and racing towards him as quickly as they could.

"That certainly explains a few things," said Ragnar looking at the others. "It makes sense to me why Singetails were attacking the edge."

"Well, good for you!" Snotlout yelled.

One of those riders then struck his Singetails firing a shot towards them.

"Evasive manoeuvres!" Ragnar yelled.

They immediately separated in all different directions, but one of the Riders began chasing after Fishlegs. He continued to fire fireballs directly at him, but Snotlout flew out of nowhere blocking his path.

"Snotlout!" Snotlout laughed.

Two riders were chasing after Ragnar and were firing several fireballs at him. He was a much easier target since he was flying the biggest dragon out of the Riders.

"Wait for it. Wait from it," said Ragnar looking behind him. He waited into the Riders were in the right position. "Now!"

Skull spread his wings out and came to a complete stop and the enemy riders found themselves flying towards the giant skeleton dragon. They quickly turned to avoid the massive wings, but Skull then fired a stream of fire at the two of them knocking them off their dragons and into the water below. With riders no longer on their backs telling them what to do the Singetails began to fly away as far as they could.

The twins began to chase after another rider.

"Come here. Come here!" said Tuffnut.

Then another rider appeared out of nowhere fired a fireball at them. If they hadn't avoided it in time they would have been knocked out of the sky.

"No-no-no-no!" Tuffnut yelled as the rider flew above them. He then looked at his sister. "Hey, not for nothing, but these guys are pretty good!"

"They are kicking out butts!" said Ruffnut.

A rider then came back for another pass and fired a fireball at them once again, but thankfully they were able to dodge it again.

Fishlegs narrowed his eyes as he flew past. "No, you will not!"

He then flew after the enemy ride that was beginning to chase after the twins. Meatlug then fired a lava blast right on the Singetail and knocking him off the dragon and into the water. With now gone the Singetail then flew away as quickly as it could and tossing the chain on its mouth away.

"Good going, Meatlug," said Fishlegs proudly.

He was so busy congratulating Meatlug that he failed to notice a Singetail in front of him firing a fireball directly at him. Fishlegs quickly turned suddenly and fell off his saddle and headed towards the woods.

"Meatlug!" he screamed.

* * *

Viggo was on a ship with Krogan and had just watched Fishlegs tumbling into the forest through his spyglass.

"Dragon Rider down. Southern forest," he said turning to Krogan. "That appears to be Ingerman. We can retrieve him, but take him alive. He knows more about dragons than almost anyone."

"Not more than me," said Krogan jabbing his thumb to his chest. "Besides, all the more reason to finish him." Viggo remained quiet and narrowed his eyes. "I'll take care of this. You do what we brought you here to do."

Krogan then walked off and Viggo glared at him furiously.

"I don't take orders from anyone," he said furiously.

Krogan turned his head towards him. "You'll do what I say because it's my operation."

"If memory serves, you came looking for me," Viggo reminded. "Perhaps we should go back to where things were."

The two Hunters narrow their eyes at one another.

Krogan calmed down slightly and addressed Viggo in a businesslike fashion. "Viggo… Alone, each of us, in our own right, are, shall we say, dangerous." He then placed a hand on Viggo's shoulder. "But together, think of the possibilities. We need each other, like it or not."

He then walked off casually. "I'll find this Ingerman and bring him in."

* * *

Fishlegs was running as quickly as he could through the forest, knowing it will only be a matter of time before the Hunter's found him. Unfortunately, he wasn't terribly fit and had to stop to rest for a while.

His eyes then shot up to the sky as a Titan Wing Singetail appeared and riding on top of it was none other than Krogan. Fishlegs, of course, had no idea who he was, but he could tell instantly that he was bad news.

"Fire!" Krogan ordered.

The Singetail then fired a fireball at Fishlegs, who quickly ran to the burnt out trees to the base of the volcano. He quickly jumped behind the bunch of large rocks to shield himself from the fireballs that were being fired at him.

He then poked his head out of the rock and saw that Krogan was flying off, much to his relief.

"Okay. Okay. I'm gonna be okay. I'm gonna be okay," said Fishlegs panting as he spoke.

He then saw cave close by and immediately ran to it. Unfortunately, he was wide in the open and Krogan spotted him.

"Fire!" Krogan ordered.

The Singetail was about to fire upon Fishlegs, but then from out of nowhere Meatlug slammed into him.

"Meatlug! Yes!" Fishlegs cheered.

Meatlug then flew off and the Singetail followed her in anger.

"Meatlug! Oh, no!" Fishlegs panicked.

"What are you doing?" Krogan roared trying to regain control over his dragon.

He pulled on the chains to pull the dragon away from Meatlug as he saw her not that important. The Singetail fired a fireball at Meatlug, but she quickly flew up to safety.

"That's a worthless Gronckle!" Krogan roared pulling on the chains ferociously.

He then flew down to the clearing and found that Fishlegs was gone, no doubt he took the divergent the chance to hide.

"Ingerman! Come out, come out, where ever you are!" Krogan yelled as if he was talking to a five-year-old.

With no sign of Fishlegs, Krogan took off to the sky once again.

Once he was gone, Fishlegs popped his head out of the cave that he was hiding in. "Who is this guy?" he pondered.

Fishlegs then saw Krogan turning to his direction and immediately popped his head back into the cave praying to Thor that he had not seen him. Krogan remained there for about 30 seconds before he took off.

Fishlegs then looked around the cave he had found himself in and saw some familiar looking writing on the cave wall.

"Wait a minute," said Fishlegs examining it. "I know this cave."

He then ventured in deeper into the cave.

* * *

Meanwhile Ragnar and the others were still battling against the Singetails all across the Edge.

Snotlout were currently being chased by two of these Singetails and was trying to lose them within the sea stacks, but they were proving that their riders were very capable. However when he turned around in a particularly large sea stack, the twins came flying in the opposite direction and unleashed a gas and spark attack upon the riders knocking the two of them off.

"Whoo! Thanks for the assist," said Snotlout gratefully. "Nice shot, you two." Then they saw Meatlug flying towards them. "Meatlug! Hey, girl!"

Then they noticed that Meatlug's saddle was empty.

"Wasn't an oversized human on this Gronckle last time we saw it?" Tuffnut asked.

Ragnar then flew down towards them. "They shot Fishlegs' down in the southern forest. We need to find him!"

They immediately followed Meatlug, but when they turn round the sea stack they saw an entire squadron of Singetails riders heading straight towards them.

"I don't know that's going to happen right now. But good thought, Ragnar," said Tuffnut.

"This is gonna hurt. This is really gonna hurt," said Snotlout.

"Brace yourselves!" Ragnar yelled.

They were about to attack them when suddenly appearing out of nowhere was a plasma blast knocking them off course. Then flying down towards them were Hiccup and Astrid firing upon the Singetails causing them to retreat.

"Holy Hiccup!" Tuffnut gasped.

"Hiccup, your timing is impeccable," said Ragnar relieved.

"I'm sorry, gang, we should have been here," said Hiccup looking at all them.

"What gave it away? Was it the scorched earth?" Snotlout roared.

Hiccup turned towards the edge which was burning and then saw Singetails flying towards them with humans on their backs.

"Wait. All those… Flyers?" Hiccup stared. "Wait…How? When?"

"Uh, Hiccup, maybe we can have this discussion later," Astrid suggested.

A Flyer then fired a fireball straight at Hiccup, who managed to dodge it just in the nick of time.

"All right! Air tactics and defence! Just like we practised!" Hiccup ordered.

"When did we practice that?" Snotlout asked panicked. "We never practice that!"

"Then is a good time to learn!" Astrid yelled.

They immediately charged at the Flyers unleashing everything they had upon them while being careful not to hurt the Singetails. However, there was just far too many of them and they were all very skilled flyers. The twins discovered this the hard way when they chased after a Flyer who then fired a fireball from his dragon's tail.

"Barf! Belch!" Tuffnut yelled as he and his sister pulled up in time.

The fireball missed them completely and struck a Flyer that was following closely behind them. The impact of the attack was so strong that it caused him to lose his grip and the fell of his dragon, who then promptly flew away.

Meatlug was flying around shooting lava blasts all around her, but soon had retreat. Ragnar was fighting against three Flyers, but a quick roar from Skull caused them to fall back. Hiccup then flew overhead chasing after yet another Flyer and knocked him off his dragon with a plasma blast.

Then just as he was about to turn away from the huge smoke from the Edge, he saw Krogan emerge from it riding on top of his Titan Wing Singetail. Hiccup looked at his face and immediately recognised him from the man tried to buy Toothless and the one that tried to get the bounty off of Ryker.

Hiccup was so stunned that he left himself wide open to a fireball from the Titan Wing Singetail. He probably would have been blown off of Toothless, if Snotlout hand appeared when he did blasted a fireball with a fire blast. Soon the two of them quickly flew away from Krogan as quickly as they could.

"What are you doing?" Snotlout asked.

"I know that guy," said Hiccup.

"Well, good for you!" Snotlout yelled. "Why don't you guys get together and catch up after we get outta here?"

As much as it pains him to admit it, Snotlout was right. There was just far too many of them to fight and they still needed to find Fishlegs.

"Fall back! Fall back!" Hiccup ordered.

With that the Riders immediately flew away from the edge as quickly as they could.

"Let them go!" Krogan ordered his Flyers. "The island is ours. And Viggo needs time."

* * *

Hiccup and the others had retreated to the sea stacks of the plan for the next move. Meatlug in particular was uneasy as they had to abandon Fishlegs.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," said Hiccup calmly. "Easy, girl. We'll find him. Don't you worry."

"And how are you gonna do that, Hiccup?" Snotlout snapped. "Those Flyers are all over the place and their trained." He then narrowed his eyes at Hiccup. "But you wouldn't have known that."

"Wow, Snotlout," said Tuffnut surprised. "The truth will set you free, my arrogant brother."

Hiccup did blamed himself for what happened, if he had been there things might have turned out differently.

Astrid immediately stepped in front of Snotlout. "Would you guys leave him alone!"

"No, Astrid," said Hiccup. "I deserve it. I shouldn't have left. They practically begged us to stay."

"Huh, that's pushing it," said Snotlout.

"You know what I mean," said Hiccup.

Ragnar then placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "Hiccup no one could have predicted this attack and we don't know if two more riders would have accomplished anything. However what's most important now is that we rescue Fishlegs before those Flyers find him."

Astrid nodded. "Ragnar's right. That's all that matters."

"I just hope that it's not too late," said Hiccup.

They then looked at Meatlug, who was fidgeting uncontrollably.

* * *

Fishlegs was still wondering through the cave, knowing where it would lead him. He then panicked when he saw something move close to him. He then heard screeching sound slowly began to back away trying to remain calm.

He then heard something behind him and turned slowly discovered red burning eyes looking directly at him. Then suddenly he was tackled to the ground by something small and white.

He immediately screamed. "Oh, Thor!"

He then looked at his attack and suddenly realised who it was. It was Darkvarg.

"Darkvarg," said Fishlegs' relieved stroking the tiny dragon. "Oh, thank Thor. I thought, well, never mind what I thought." Darkvarg then jumped off and looked at him eagerly. "I'm gonna need your help, little buddy. Understand?"

Darkvarg nodded excitedly.

"I gotta hide out for a bit. Is that okay with you?" Fishlegs asked. Darkvarg merely lagged his tail excitedly. "Of course it is. We're old buddies. Remember? Fishlegs and Darkvarg, Darkvarg and Fishlegs!"

Darkvarg immediately rushed to him and began to have him with enthusiasm.

"Those Flyers will never think to look for me down here," said Fishlegs.

"Let's look for him down here!" said a voice at the end of the tunnel entrance.

Fishlegs groaned. "Or will they?"

Without a moment's thought Fishlegs and Darkvarg began running down the tunnel as quickly as they could. As they ran they could see lights emerging from the tunnel corners and shadows of Hunters.

"Hurry, Darkvarg!" said Fishlegs.

Darkvarg then reached a small hole and began to screech inside of it. A few seconds later flying out of it were more Night Terrors and they began to drive the Hunters away.

"Nice move, Darkvarg!" said Fishlegs petting the small dragon. "I knew you had it in you!"

They then entered through the dark hole that led to the Night Terror's cavern.

* * *

Out on the sea stacks, Hiccup and the other Riders were planning their next move. Hiccup was observing the edge through his spyglass and saw that Flyers were protecting it.

"So, if, in fact, truth does set you free, are you then free to be untruthful?" Ruffnut asked her brother.

"Hmm," Tuffnut pondered. "And it is said and untruthfulness has a hint of veritas, or as we, the Nordics, say, 'veritas.' Is it really untruthful on its face? Or _face_ as the Italians say."

Hiccup then looked at all them. "Look I think I know where Fishlegs is hiding. I don't think they've captured him just yet."

"Can this be independently verified?" Tuffnut asked.

"Well, no," Hiccup admitted. "But if they had him, they wouldn't still be circling overhead." He then turned to the sunset. "Look, it's getting dark, and Toothless owns the night. Which means we will have a tactical advantage. We have to find Fishlegs first, even if it means losing the Edge."

He then began to mount Toothless. "If we get separated, don't hang around and trying taking these guys on your own. Meet up Defenders of the Wing Island. Got it?"

The twins immediately saluted and everyone else noted as they mounted their dragons.

Hiccup then looked at Snotlout, who was looking directly at him with an unfixed expression. "What is it, Snotlout?"

"Nothing. It's just, well, it's nice to have you back," Snotlout admitted.

"I just hope it wasn't too late," said Hiccup.

He then turned his eyes back upon the Edge hoping that Fishlegs was somewhere safe.

* * *

Krogan was at the mouth of the cave where Fishlegs' was hiding and saw Hunter's running outside scared.

"Get back in there!" Krogan ordered. "You do not stop until we have his head."

Then suddenly flying past him were several spines, immediately turned his head and saw Astrid flying over him.

"You said something about someone's head?" Astrid taunted.

Krogan looked at his Flyers. "Take her! And bring me the dragons!"

Immediately the Flyers began to chase after Astrid, who flew apart away from the cave as possible. She then dived into the woods and they followed suit and began to zigzag their way through the trees before emerging out of the canopy.

"We're gonna have to slow down for these guys, girl," said Astrid looking down at Stormfly.

Stormfly then began to slow down so that the Flyers could catch up and they didn't suspect a single thing.

"Come on. That's right," said Astrid encouragingly to the Flyers quietly. "You got me. You got me."

A Flyer laughed. "Fire!"

However before he had a chance to fire he was immediately knocked off his dragon by something. The other two Flyers look around wildly trying what attacked the Flyer ahead of them. They soon got their arms as they saw Hiccup and Toothless flying around them.

Hiccup smiled as he patted Toothless. "Like I said, you own the night, bud."

While they were distracted Astrid then fired several spines directly at another Flyer causing him to fall off his dragon.

"Got ya!" said Astrid looking at the final Flyer.

The Flyer looked around and found that he was completely surrounded by both Astrid and Hiccup.

"Hey!" Hiccup smiled.

Flyer then held his hands up in surrender.

* * *

Meanwhile, Fishlegs had finally entered the Night Terror carven and opened the hatch he had created for them. It was now dark and soon the entire cavern was lit by moonlight.

"Quickly!" said Fishlegs as he tied the rope to handle. He then turned towards Darkvarg. "Okay, pal. You ready for me?"

Fishlegs then mounted on top of Darkvarg, who was struggling under the weight of the husky Viking boy.

"You got this, Darkvarg," Fishlegs said encouragingly. "You got this! Let's fly, pal!"

Darkvarg then began to flap his wings furiously and they began to rise slowly towards the hole. Fishlegs cheered as they got closer and closer, but the weight was too much for Darkvarg and they crashed to the ground in a heap.

"It's okay," said Fishlegs rubbing the tiny dragon, who was screeching apologetically. "We tried. And, hey, you got us this far, right?"

He then heard yells coming down from the tunnel and suddenly charging inside were Hunters holding their weapons high. Darkvarg immediately placed himself between them and Fishlegs and screeched at them.

However, Hunter nearly knocked him aside with the side of the blade of his axe.

Fishlegs gasped in horror and immediately glared at the Hunter. "You can mess with me all you want but you do not mess with Darkvarg!"

Fishlegs then immediately charged at them and rolled headfirst into them knocking them aside with an immense force. Fishlegs sighed with relief as he began to pick himself up, but a Hunter had beaten into it and immediately pinned him to the ground with his foot.

Soon the other Hunters were recovering and two of them grabbed Fishlegs and held him up as the other Hunter grabbed his axe. Fishlegs whimpered at the site of this.

* * *

Meatlug was flying over the forest trying to find Fishlegs as quickly as she could and then she heard Fishlegs' screams. She roared as Ragnar and the others and immediately dived down to the ground.

* * *

Inside the cavern, the Hunter was raising his axe preparing to deal the final blow, but then he was knocked aside by Meatlug, who flew out of the hole in the ceiling knocking him out cold.

Fishlegs had closed his eyes, but upon hearing a massive thump he opened them. "Huh?" His eyes then fell upon Meatlug. "Meatlug? Meatlug!"

Meatlug hovered into the air and immediately grabbed the two Hunters restraining Fishlegs. Not wanting to be the Gronckle's dinner they immediately released Fishlegs and ran out of the cavern screaming.

Soon Ragnar and the others flew through the hole in the ceiling and Skull and Hookfang unleash fire upon the Hunters causing them to run even faster. The twins probably followed by unleashing gas after them and it was at all possible they ran even faster.

"That's right! You better than!" Tuffnut yelled.

Meatlug flew over towards Fishlegs, who immediately gave her big hug. "Oh, I'm so glad you're okay, girl!"

"What you say you guys get all lovey-dovey after we get out of here?" Snotlout suggested. He then looked at Hookfang. "How did I become the only reasonable one?"

Ragnar rolled his eyes. "He's right be better get out of here, it will be long until this entire area is covered in Flyers."

He and Snotlout were the first ones to take off and flew towards the hole in the ceiling. Darkvarg managed to regain consciousness and screeched at Fishlegs as he mounted his dragon.

"You saved me again, buddy," Fishlegs smiled. He then flew off but not before looking back at Darkvarg. "Fishlegs and Darkvarg! Darkvarg and Fishlegs!"

Meatlug growled at him and Fishlegs immediately comforted her.

"Don't worry," he said panting her side. "You're still number one, girl."

* * *

Hiccup and Astrid were waiting for them outside and were relieved upon seeing them.

"They got him! Yes!" Astrid cheered.

"Thank Thor," said Hiccup.

However their reunion was short lived as they saw flying around them on his Titan Wing Singetail was Krogan.

"What do we gonna do, Hiccup?" Fishlegs asked.

"We gotta get out of here!" said Tuffnut.

Krogan gave them a soft chuckle.

Hiccup looked frustrated and then gasped in shock when he saw an entire army of Flyers emerge from the forest.

"Oh, no," he said.

The Flyers then immediately fired upon them and with no other choice the Riders one by one flew off. Hiccup just gazed upon the burning site of the Edge until Astrid and Ragnar approached.

"Hiccup, I'm so sorry," said Astrid.

"Hiccup, there's nothing more we can do," said Ragnar gently.

Hiccup nodded. "Yeah. You're right."

Soon the three of them turned and began to follow the others away from the Edge.

Krogan actually looked disappointed. "Surprising. I thought they'd put up more of a…" He stopped when Hiccup suddenly turned around and came flying towards him.

Krogan smiled and immediately his Flyers began to chase after Hiccup and Toothless. However, Hiccup proved that he was the better rider as he and Toothless avoid the fireball was fired from the Singetails and began to pick up speed towards the Edge. They were heading a beeline towards Hiccup's hut and showed no sign of slowing down.

"Now, bud! Do it," Hiccup yelled.

Toothless then fired a plasma blast which immediately set his heart alight destroying whatever was inside. They then immediately turned around and flew back towards the others leaving behind a smouldering hut.

* * *

It was late at night until they finally reached the Defenders of the Wing Island and Mala welcomed them with open arms.

"Well, consider this your new home, Hiccup Haddock," said Mala. "You are all welcome to stay as long as you need."

"Thank you, Mala," said Hiccup gratefully and she walked away. He then turned to Ragnar and the others. "Listen, guys…"

"We know," said Tuffnut stocking Chicken in his arms. "You're incredibly sorry for allowing your personal relationship to fracture the precious bond that is a Dragon Rider."

"And if we're going to compete with this new and improved enemy, we all need to focus on one," Ruffnut finished.

"You're right," said Hiccup slightly surprised. "And I know I'll have to earn back trust."

"You got that right," said Snotlout. "I was crushing it out there when you were gone."

Hiccup placed a hand on his shoulder. "You were indeed, Snotlout."

"So, care to address the gigantic yak in the room?" Astrid asked. "Your hut. What was that about?"

"There were things in there that were just too important," said Hiccup. "Things I couldn't let those Flyers get their hands on."

Fishlegs then pulled out a blanket and tossed the content onto the ground. "You mean, these?"

Hiccup stared at him open eyed. "How did you… I mean, when…"

"When the attack began, I risked life and limb to grab your secret little stash," Snotlout explained.

"Wasn't it you who was trying to talk out of going back for it?" Fishlegs asked.

"And if memory serves I was the one who insisted to grab Hiccup's stuff," Ragnar added.

"No," Snotlout snapped. He then folded his arms and glared at the two of them. "Shut up, Ragnar. Shut up, Fishface."

Fishlegs then looked at the diagram he was holding. "So when you are you planning on telling us you were building another Dragon Eye, Hiccup?"

"Especially considering that you know very well that Fishlegs and I could have assisted you," Ragnar added

Everyone then stared at Hiccup as he gave a nervous laugh.

* * *

Back on the Edge, Viggo was on the edge of the volcano as his men set up a crane that went deep into the volcano. Krogan then arrived riding on top of his Singetail.

"Are you sure that thing didn't melt inside this volcano?" Krogan asked.

"Not to worry. It is here," Viggo assured. "And it won't be long until the Dragon Eye is back in its rightful hands."


	60. The Wings of War Part 1

Hiccup was currently dreaming that he was riding on top of Toothless and they were moving through the Singetails avoiding their fireballs. They even passed Krogan and dodged the firewall coming from the tail of his Singetail. They then saw upwards and then dive down towards his hut and Toothless gave the order that fired a plasma blast destroying his hut.

Hiccup immediately sat up straight. "No!"

He panted and found himself in a house that was given to him by Mala. Toothless was with him and immediately approached him to comfort him.

"I'm sorry," he said stroking Toothless. "Oh, it's okay, bud."

Hiccup then turned to face the door and saw daylight shining from its cracks.

He sighed knew what he had to do. "Well, time to face the music, bud."

They made their way outside and found the other Riders sitting around moping. It was clear that losing the Edge hut all of them. Hookfang was whacking his tail on Snotlout's helmet and not getting a response, Fishlegs was trying to feed Meatlug pebbles and the twins were being poked around by wild boars.

"Ugh, get away," said Ruffnut looking uninterested. "Boring me."

"I've seen worse," said Hiccup to Toothless.

"Remind me when that was," said Astrid.

"Yeah, this has to be our worst defeat in history and it's not like we had many," Ragnar sighed.

Astrid then turned to face Hiccup. "So, should we talk about our next move, Hiccup?" She then rested a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "I was thinking, we should probably try to get the Edge back?"

"Can we get the Edge back?" Snotlout asked.

"I mean, guys, how many of those Dragon Flyers are out there?" Fishlegs asked.

"And what is your favourite part of the human face and why?" Tuffnut asked randomly.

Everyone just looked at him blankly.

He then looked at them confused. "What? We're not playing 'Ask the guy next to you and awesome, yet completely unrelated question'?"

"I'll play," said Ruffnut measurably. "The eye socket."

"Why's that?"

"Come closer and I'll show you," said Ruffnut raising her fist.

Tuffnut looked at her intently and leaned his head in towards here. "Okay."

Ruffnut looked at him and sighed before she lowered her fist. "Not even fun right now."

Tuffnut grabbed her fist. "What if I do it for you?" He then punched himself in the eye with Ruffnut's fist. "Hey, look, I'll give you another." He then punched himself again."

"Nothing," said Ruffnut with disappointment.

"Really?" said Tuffnut looking quite dizzy. He then sighed with disappointment. "Okay, we are officially bummed out."

Ragnar looked at Hiccup. "Were in no condition to fight another battle, Hiccup. Speaking as a healer I suggest the smartest move would be to rest up before we attempt an appropriate course of action."

"Rightly said, Ragnar Keatson," said a voice behind them. Hiccup turned and saw Mala approaching them with Throk by her side. "You will all have time to plan the correct course of action. But right now you are mentally and physically exhausted. You need to rest, regroup. You are welcome here among us as long as you need."

Hiccup nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Mala. You have no idea how much this means to us."

Mala turned to Throk and the two of them smiled as they looked back at the Riders.

"Fishlegs, there is an ore mine in the middle of the island," said Mala looking at Fishlegs. "Oxides, sulphides, silicates."

Meatlug immediately shot up straight wagging her tail happily.

"Oh, no, no, no, no," Fishlegs laughed. "Don't say silicates, it makes her…" Meatlug then immediately drooled lava out of her mouth. "…drool."

Throk then approached the twins. "My queen has had me scouting out some pristine locations where one could build a temporary boar pit."

Tuffnut looked up. "'Boar pits.'"

"So last year," Ruffnut sighed.

"What about a lava pit?" Throk asked with a smile. "Very dangerous. Hot, smouldering magma?"

Ruffnut stood up straight. "Sounds spicy."

Tuffnut then punched her playfully on the shoulder. "One might even say _muy picante._ " He then approached Throk. " _Como esta tu española, Thorkman? Mi Thorkante._ "

Then with a chuckle the three of them walked off.

Mala then turned to Snotlout. "Snotlout? Some of our younger warriors are in desperate need of hand-to-hand combat training. But if you're too tired, I…"

"Ha! The Snot doesn't do tired," said Snotlout. He then immediately hopped onto Hookfang. "Where are those little guys?"

They then took off before anyone could answer that question.

Hiccup then approached Mala gratefully. "Again, thank you, Mala."

"I've been precisely where you stand, Hiccup Haddock," said Mala. "When one leads, one is looked upon for all answers some of which they haven't yet found."

Hiccup closes eyes and looked to the ground and Astrid immediately placed a hand on his shoulder. "The key word being 'yet'," she said.

Ragnar nodded. "Rome was not built in a day and neither was the Edge. And sure the answer will come to you in time."

* * *

At the Edge, Viggo was getting everything sorted for their descent into the volcano in search of the Dragon Eye. Viggo was actually using the diving bell Hiccup had created in the same manner that they used it to traverse the volcano on the Defender of the Wing's Island.

Krogan it didn't look entirely impressed. "So, this is your answer to withstanding the heat?"

Viggo merely narrowed his eyes. "I found, Krogan, that it is important to draw inspiration from those who've bested you." He then looked at the diving bell with intrigue. "Hiccup's ingenuity, it's fascinating. The boy has invented things most could only dream of."

"Reverence?" said Krogan raising an eyebrow. "It is a dangerous emotion, Viggo."

"Only if it is allowed to cloud one's judgement," said Viggo plainly. He then jumped down from the platform onto the rocky surface. "Besides, his little inventions have proven useful. They use this to successfully go deep into the Defenders of the Wing Volcano, and we shall use it here."

"And you're sure it's still down there?" Krogan asked sceptically.

* * *

Viggo remembered when he fell into the volcano several months ago. Fortunately he fell onto a rocky crevice and when he got up he found that the Dragon Eye had landed on a rock close by.

Lava began to shoot out of the hot magma, but Viggo needed to get his hands on the Dragon Eye. He jumped down towards the ledge and pressed his hand against the hot rock he was resting his own and immediately he got burnt and cried out in pain as he pulled his hand back.

He then carefully extended his hand towards the rock where the Dragon Eye was resting. He managed to grab the device only to have lava shot out in front of him burning the left side of his face. His immediately released his grip upon the Dragon Eye and clutched his face in pain.

* * *

In the present, Viggo was resting his hand on his face remembering the pain. He then lowered it and looked squarely at Krogan.

"The Dragon Eye was designed to withstand all manner of heat, cold and concussive blasts," Viggo explained as he looked down into the volcano. "Besides, do you honestly believe I would return to such a Thor-forsaken place if I wasn't certain?"

Krogan had to admit that he had a fair point.

"Haven't seen your Flyers in quite some time," Viggo noted. "Shouldn't they be preparing?"

"Those are 12 of my most fearless and gifted warriors," said Krogan plainly. "I doubt they'll have much of an issue."

He then walked away from the volcano with his hands behind his back.

Viggo narrowed his eyes. "Hiccup may not appear a worthy adversary, however, he is a formidable as they come," he warned.

Krogan turned back to face him. "But his strength is also his weakness. His love of dragons will prevent him from shooting to kill, while our Flyers look forward to it. Your 'Archipelago Idol' will have quite the inner struggle. One that he will never win."

Krogan walked away and Viggo smirked. It was uncertain whether it was because he wanted to see Hiccup to lose or for Krogan to fail.

* * *

Back at the Defender of the Wing's island, Mala was walking down the streets of her village with Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar. They had just described the attack on the Edge something that she found very troubling.

"But I was under the impression that you, and only you, were able to train dragons," Mala frowned.

"Those dragons are not trained," said Astrid.

"They are being forced to carry Dragon Flyers," said Hiccup.

"And do their bidding," Mala concluded.

"We know who was commanding them now," said Ragnar. "Just before the attack I got a message from my father from Outcast Island. He managed to make his business squeal and got a name for the guy they were working for, Krogan. He was the same one that tried to buy Toothless during Viggo's Dragon auction and the same guy that overpowered Throk and try to collect the bounty on Hiccup's head."

"It's pretty obvious that his whole plan hinges on the fact that he knows we won't hurt his dragons," said Hiccup sitting down. "It's gonna take something we've never thought of to get around that."

"But you come up with it," said Astrid confidently.

"Thank you," said Hiccup appreciably. He then found at her. "How do you know that?"

Astrid then sat down beside him. "Because Hiccup Haddock is the wisest, most talented and bravest Dragon Trainer on Earth," she said placing a hand on his shoulder. "And he always comes up with it."

* * *

Fishlegs was currently at the mine that Mala mentioned with Meatlug. Strangely enough they had some sort of picnic and Fishlegs was feeding her blocks from the mine.

"Oh, what's this, little guy, right here?" he said grabbing a rock. "Open up."

He then immediately tossed the rock into Fishlegs' mouth and she immediately ate it up.

Not too far way Throk was with the twins as they were observing a lava pit. Inside said lava pit was the Eruptodon, who was having a lava bath.

"I do like the way the lava rolls off of him," said Tuffnut folding his arms. "Like the way the Spanish 'R' rolls off the tongue. 'Wrestling.'"

"Yet the lava hardens into a rock-solid formation which one can grab onto if one was so inclined," said Ruffnut.

Tuffnut then rested his elbow on his sister's shoulder. " _Corretamundo!_ I get so bored wrestling with boars. They're always so _resbaladizo!_ It means slippery. I looked it up before we talked."

"Otherwise known as 'grease happy,'" said Ruffnut happily.

Tuffnut then turned to Throk. "So when am I up, Throkito?"

"I'm not so certain that'd be the best idea," said Throk.

" _Por que_?" said Tuffnut as he began jogging on the spot. He then stopped and began doing press ups with one hand. "You think I can't take on that guy, huh? I once took on a six-boar stack with a…" Chicken then immediately jumped onto his head and he began counting in Spanish. "80, 81, 82…" He then looked back at Throk. "With a sheep slider and a baby yak finish."

"Epic," Ruffnut smiled folding her arms.

" _Epicamente!_ " Tuffnut yelled as he stood up straight.

Chicken then squawked loudly indicating that something was wrong.

They then heard the roars above them and looked to the sky to find Flyers emerging from the clouds above them.

"That is it!" Tuffnut yelled. "Nobody interrupts my lava wrestling! Nobody!"

A Flyer then immediately fired a fireball directly at them and they jumped out of the way just in time. Fishlegs turned and saw the Flyer firing down fireballs at the twins and Throk.

"Barf! Belch! Get your butts up!" Ruffnut yelled as the three of them ran towards them.

Tuffnut then spoke in Spanish. He then looked back at Ruffnut and Throk. "That of course means, get your butt up."

Fishlegs quickly mounted Meatlug and flew into the air.

One of the Flyers then fired a fireball at the cliff face causing rocks to fall towards them. Tuffnut was ahead of the avalanche and immediately turned around to look at his sister.

"Ruffnut!" he yelled.

Throk then grabbed Ruffnut's arm and pushed her to safety. Unfortunately, there was no time for him to avoid the rocks and he was immediately struck in the back and fell to the ground.

Ruffnut picked herself up and looked at her brother as if nothing had happened. "What?"

"Oh, nothing," said Tuffnut. "I just wanted to make sure you didn't get hit in the head with a solid rock like our _hombre_ , Throkardo."

Ruffnut turned and saw Throk laying down on the ground and wasn't moving a muscle.

Her eyes then widened. "Wait. He jumped in front of me. He took the rock shower so I could live. Throk… Throk saved my life!"

"Yup, sure did. We outta here?" said Tuffnut emotionlessly as he sat on Belch's saddle.

Ruffnut looked at him for a few moments. "Right behind you, bro," she said and walked on top of Throk.

She then mounted Barf, who then immediately grabbed Throk and tossed them onto his neck.

"Geez, goody two-heads," Ruffnut grumbled.

* * *

The Flyers were now starting their attack on the village and had already destroyed a few houses.

Hiccup immediately looked at Astrid and Ragnar. "Who was supposed to be on patrol, again?"

"Snotlout," the two of them said in unison.

Snotlout then approached them confused. "I was? Nobody told me that."

"Where were you?" said Astrid practically shouting.

He then looked at her uneasily. "Sleeping."

"Of course you were," said Ragnar rubbing his forehead in frustration.

Hiccup groaned as he mounted Toothless. "Get to your dragons! We have to get into the air!"

A Flyer then fired a fireball directly at Toothless, but they launch into the air before it struck them. Astrid, Ragnar and Snotlout had mounted their dragons and were soon in the air.

"Look out!" Astrid yelled.

They quickly separated in order to avoid a collision with a Flyer, who launched a fireball directly at them. The Defenders village was now in flames and people were screaming as they rushed out of the burning houses.

Close by Fishlegs and the twins were being chased by another Flyer, who just launched a fireball directly at them.

"Hiccup," said Fishlegs looking up at Hiccup.

"I see it, Fishlegs," Hiccup acknowledged.

He then groaned in frustration knowing that they had led the Flyer straight to the Defenders Island.

"We need to leave them away from this island," Hiccup ordered. "They came looking for us. They will follow us. It's the only way."

Immediately they all flew away from the island and just as Hiccup predicted the Flyer broke off their attack to chase after them.

* * *

It was late at night and Hiccup and the others had to land on an island to rest. They had managed to lose the Flyers for now and they needed to think of the next plan of action.

The dragons proved to be very exhausted as Hookfang crashed to the ground sending Snotlout right off his saddle.

"Whoa! Oh, man, those guys are good," Snotlout admitted.

"No kidding," said Tuffnut. "I'd like to train with their trainer. Probably has two legs and everyth… th—" He stopped just as Hiccup landed. "I mean, you know, just, it's more to get a different kind of angle of aid different perspe…" He then decided that he was making things worse and immediately stopped explaining himself. "Forget it."

Barf then laid Throk down on the ground and he started to regain consciousness. "Where am I? How did I get here?"

"You got nailed on the old noggin during the attack, Throkman," Ruffnut explained. "I pretty much save your life."

"Oh, puh-lease," said Tuffnut rolling his eyes.

Throk looked at Ruffnut. "You saved me?"

"Ah! Don't mention it," said Ruffnut dismissively. "It was nothing."

"Yeah, literally. Nothing," said Tuffnut.

Throk then showed Tuffnut aside and approached Ruffnut and presented her with his axe.

Ruffnut looked at him confused. "Uh… Watcha got going on? Kinda making me uncomfortable." She then gripped the axe and the moment Throk released she was nearly pulled down by its weight. "Whoa!"

"When someone saves the life of a Defender of the Wing Warrior, there is a debt that is created and the duty to repay said debt," Throk explained. "I shall be your personal protector until that moment arrives, Ms. Ruffnut."

Ruffnut smiled upon hearing those words. "Hmm, 'Ms. Ruffnut.' You don't say."

Then suddenly fireballs rained down from the sky and Throk quickly tackled Ruffnut to the ground just before fireball hit where she stood a few seconds ago.

"Yeah, I think this could work," said Ruffnut.

"How did they find us so fast?" said Fishlegs.

"The training. Definitely," Snotlout assumed.

Hiccup shook his head and looked to the sky. "Look out!"

They quickly took off as an entire provide you fireball struck the ground. Throk was riding with Ruffnut and had managed to deflect the shots with his axe.

"Whoa!" Ruffnut laughed.

Tuffnut wasn't particularly happy with this situation.

The Flyers were on their tail firing fireballs in every single direction. Hiccup quickly turned around and headed straight towards one of them.

"Now, bud," said Hiccup.

Toothless fired a plasma blast, but the Flyer pulled the Singetail up allowing it to take the forefront of the blast.

Toothless was about to fire another blast, but Hiccup stopped him. "Toothless, don't!"

They quickly turned around and joined the others.

Astrid flew down next to him looking concerned. "I know how you feel about—"

"We're not gonna hurt the Singetails," said Hiccup firmly. "Not if I can help it. Just follow me. The dragons won't go near this fog. They'll be too spooked."

"Okay, then what?" Fishlegs asked.

"We go home. To Berk."

They then flew into the fog bank and just as Hiccup predicted the Singetails starts before entering it. The Flyers then forced fire fireballs into the fog bank, but without a clear line of sight they were just shooting blind.

"They can't hide in there forever," said Flyer leader. "We'll have our chance, and when we do…"

They then fired a volley of fireballs into the fog.

* * *

It was morning when they finally reached Berk and Hiccup was in the Great Hall with his father informing him what happened at the Edge.

"You did the right thing by coming home, son," said Stoick.

"It wasn't part of the plan, but—"

Stoick placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "Everyone loses battle once in a while."

"Everyone except you."

Gobber then laughed. "Oh, please. Stoick has lost his fair share of complex. You've just never heard of them. Vikings tend not to write songs about the skirmishes we lose."

Stoick narrowed his eyes and gave an angry growl.

Gobber then began to dance around and began to see.

 _Viking Berkians, tried and true,_

 _Got our butts kicked by a little tiny crew._

Gobber and Spitelout then laughed hysterically.

"Got our butts kicked by a little tiny crew," Spitelout laughed at the top of his voice.

Stoick then approached Gobber and narrowed his eyes. "I don't recall us losing to a tiny crew."

"No, chief," Gobber nodded.

"And we won't lose to this one."

"Couldn't agree more, chief."

"Stow it, Gobber," said Stoick as he walked away rubbing his forehead.

"Yes, Chief. It's stowed. Never to be un-stowed again."

Stoick then looked back at Hiccup. "Hiccup, it's not the battle that counts, son. It's the war. And this one has just begun." He then turned and looked at everyone in the Great Hall. "Gobber, crank up the weaponry. I want that forge working overtime, including at least the dragon of yours."

"Grump ain't lazy," said Gobber looking offended as he hobbled away. "He's cautious. There's a difference."

"Bah, bah. Talk, talk, yakkity-yakkity," Spitelout muttered under his breath before getting to his feet. "I've got work to do."

Stoick turned to Sven. "Sven, assemble the militia and prepare for an attack."

Sven nodded and got to his feet.

Stoick then turned to Gustav. "Gustav, I want the A-Team patrolling in two-hour shifts, around the clock."

Gustav jumped to his feet and saluted. "Yes, sir! Chief, sir!"

Stoick shook his head. "You don't have to salute me, son."

Gustav then jump down onto the floor and began running across it on all fours towards the doors.

Stoick also made his way towards the doors and Hiccup followed him. As he did he looked at the statues of his ancestors that littered the Great Hall, wondering what they would do in his situation.

At the entrance of the Great Hall Stoick took a deep breath. "Ah, yes. When those Singetails, a-calling, Berk will give them an answer they'll never see coming."

Hiccup frowned at him. "You mean the Dragon Flyers."

Stoick looked down at him. "Come again?"

"Dad, we can't blame the Singetails. They're being forced to fight," Hiccup reminded. "It's—it's the Flyers who—"

Stoick stopped him there. "Hiccup, the minute you start trying to separate one from the other, you're a dead man." Hiccup was about to speak, but his father stopped him. "We can't afford to limit ourselves or our people like that. The stakes are way too high, son. This is my territory now."

Hiccup then watch as he began walking down the steps towards the village as he prepared for war. Hiccup just stood there with Toothless not sure he will be able to go through with this plan.

* * *

At the Edge, Viggo was standing at the edge of the volcano when the bell on the crane rang. The moment it did a Hunter pulled down on the lever in order to bring the diving bell backup. Only one man emerged from it and he had nothing to show for himself.

"Nothing," he said.

Krogan just stood there crossing his arms looking a bit frustrated. "Why are you sending one man at a time?"

"I sent three down last time. Only one came back, which is two more than the time before that," Viggo snarled as he approached him.

Krogan scoffed. "They're disposable. That's why we have so many of them."

A Hunter Captain then stepped forward. "That's right. Krogan doesn't tolerate failure," he nodded.

Krogan wasn't particularly happy that the Hunter had cut across him. "Right you are," he nodded. He then narrowed his eyes and forced the Hunter back. "Now, say your farewells and get your pathetic behind into that tub. Now!"

Krogan backed away until he practically fell into the diving bell.

"Sir, we've located the Flyers," said a lookout on the edge of the volcano. "I'm afraid they've had a bit of a setback."

Krogan looked immensely frustrated.

* * *

At Berk everyone was preparing weapons, even the children. Stoick and Gobber were making their rounds and watched as everyone scrambled for weapon.

"This place is going to be a war zone," Gobber noted.

"Aye," Stoick nodded sadly.

Gobber looked at him. "Chief, you've seen first-hand the damage dragons can do while under the control of the most evil of men."

"That I have, Gobber," Stoick nodded.

Long before Hiccup was born, Stoick went to a meeting of chieftains to discuss the dragon problems they've been having during the Dragon War. During this meeting a foreigner from a distant land had appeared and said that he could end the war if they bowed to him.

Naturally they all laughed off, not believing a single man could take on about 1000 dragons that wants. When he was laughed off immediately made his way towards the door saying, ' _let's see how well you do without me._ '

The moment he exited the Great Hall dragons' wearing armour busted into the Great Hall and set into flames. It was a complete slaughter and Stoick was the only one to survive the onslaught, barely.

Stoick had managed to get out of the burning wreck just before it collapsed with only a few burns. He then looked at the top of the cliff and saw the mysterious figure leaving with another man holding a mighty looking axe. A few seconds later he saw them flying off on the backs of dragons, at first he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but what he was seeing was in fact real.

"I saw things I wasn't sure I was seeing," said Stoick looking at Gobber. "Some things I wish I could forget." He then watched as everyone began to grab a weapon preparing for an unknown attack. "We have to be prepared for the worst-case scenario, Gobber. Never thought I'd say this again, but it could be us or the dragons."

* * *

Hiccup was up in the air flying on Toothless doing a patrol and he was watching as his father was preparing the village an attack. He still felt uneasy about attacking the Singetails, who were not doing anything wrong.

Even flew over the arena and saw that Astrid was preparing the other Riders the war as well.

"Dive at the target, do a barrel roll to avoid enemy fire," Astrid instructed.

Hiccup then decided at that point to leave.

"Oh, gods! Oh, no!" Snotlout's yelled from the arena.

A few seconds later there was a huge explosion and when the smoke cleared, Snotlout was covered in soot.

"Guys, we have to be better than this," said Astrid looking at every single one of them. "These dragons are fierce, and the Flyers are very skilled."

Ruffnut then knocked Tuffnut's helmet off his head. "Pay attention, would ya?"

"Actually I was paying attention," said Tuffnut as he placed his helmet back onto his head.

He then grabbed his maze and swung it towards Ruffnut, only to have it blocked by Throk's axe, who was riding with Ruffnut.

"So, wait a minute, Throk," said Tuffnut looking at him. "You have to do this? Until?"

"My life debt is repaid. However long that lasts," said Throk.

Ruffnut smiled at her brother. "Yeah. Come on. Hit me. I dare you."

She then began tossing small pebbles at Tuffnut which was annoying him greatly. Then she tossed a larger rock at his head and Tuffnut was so frustrated he swung his mates at her once again only to have it blocked by Throk once again. Throk then pulled his axe back disarming him and Ruffnut tossed another pebble at him.

Tuffnut then cried knowing that he can't land a hit on her because of Throk.

"Quit messing around, Tuffnut," Astrid snapped.

Tuffnut looked at her in disbelief. "What? Me? I'm not doing anything." He then pointed directly at his sister. "It's her. She's the one. Her and her little friend over there."

Ruffnut merely laughed.

Astrid rolled her eyes. "We've seen what these Flyers and their dragons can do first-hand. Now, get up there and start training. As one."

"Yeah, that was hard enough when there were two of us," Tuffnut grumbled.

They then flew up into the air and Ragnar and Fishlegs flew close to Astrid.

"We really could use some help here," said Fishlegs.

"I would feel bit more confident we had some additional aid," Ragnar nodded.

"I was thinking the same thing," said Snotlout. "But I can't find my dad anywhere."

"Spitelout's probably on patrol with the A-Team," said Astrid. "And Spitelout's not what we need now."

"Yeah, one obnoxious Viking is too many of you ask me," Ragnar muttered under his breath.

* * *

Later that evening, Hiccup and Toothless were on a sea stack and stared at the sunset. Toothless was trying to comfort Hiccup, but he wasn't really in the mood.

"Not now, bud," said Hiccup pushing him away. He then looked at him apologetically. "Sorry. Just too much on my mind."

"I can see that," said Astrid's voice behind him.

Hiccup turned and saw Astrid landing on the sea stack. The moment she dismounted Stormfly and Toothless began to play with her and she made her way towards Hiccup.

"And so can everyone else," Astrid continued.

Hiccup was surprised to see her here. "Whoa. What. How did you—"

"What? Find you?" Astrid asked.

"We may not live at Berk anymore, but I can tell a Hiccup 'thinking' sea stack anywhere in the archipelago," Astrid added folding her arms.

Astrid then sat down next to him.

"So, you wanna talk about it?" Astrid asked.

"Not particularly."

"Well, I do," said Astrid shuffling closer to him.

Hiccup sighed. "Astrid, it's not the Singetail's faults. They're being—"

"Made it to do it," Astrid finished placing a hand on his shoulder. "I know. We all know, Hiccup. But that doesn't change the fact that it's happening. They drove us out of the Edge. They bullied us away from island after island. It doesn't matter if it's the dragon or the Flyer."

Hiccup looked at her.

"Look, I don't wanna hurt dragons either, Hiccup," she continued. "But in tough times, tough choices have to be made."

"Whoa, you sound so much like—"

"A warrior?" Astrid finished.

"My father."

Astrid then placed a hand on his back. "It's kinda the same thing."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Hiccup thought for a moment and then got to his feet. "Actually, yeah, Astrid you are absolutely, positively right."

"Okay. Good," said Astrid getting up. "Well, when we get back, we need to—"

"When you get back," Hiccup corrected as he mounted Toothless.

Astrid stared at him. "What?"

"I hear everything you and my dad are saying, and, yes, it makes perfect sense. You have the warrior spirit for this, Astrid. You have the stomach for it. I just… don't. And I can't be in charge of something I don't believe in."

He was about to set off, but Astrid tried to stop. "Hiccup. Where are you going?"

Hiccup looked at her in the eyes. "To try and find another way."

"And what if you can't?"

Hiccup said nothing and took off.

* * *

The other Riders were still training and all of them were holding a bow and a practice arrow.

Astrid then looked at them with a good firm look. "Remember, stay in pairs, constantly vary your speed and altitude, and never—"

"Leave your wing man," Snotlout finished. "No, I know, I know."

He then moved out of the way to dodge an arrow.

"But you might wanna get that through to those two," said Snotlout gesturing to the twins. He then looked at Throk. "Or three."

Ragnar looked back and nodded. "Yeah, they're not really following the exercise at all."

Ragnar is right, the twins were the only ones not holding a bow and a practice arrow. Throk was currently massaging Ruffnut's shoulders while her brother just sat there gloomily. Tuffnut was doing his best to manoeuvre their dragon to avoid the arrows, but it wasn't easy.

Eventually he got shot in the face and was covered in blue paint.

"Hey, don't look at me," said Tuffnut looking at the other Riders with a steely glare. "I can't control this dragon on my own. I'm no miracle worker."

"You are a miracle worker, Throkman," said Ruffnut closing her eyes as Throk massage her. "The tension just melts away."

"Staying loose is the key of battle," said Throk.

He then squeeze one of the pressure points and she sighed with relief.

"Oh, yeah," she said blissfully. "I'm picking up what you're putting down."

While they were distracted Astrid, Ragnar and Fishlegs then fired three practice arrow directly at them. However, Thork since their presence and quickly drew his axe deflecting the shots. Unfortunately, he deflecting the shots right at Tuffnut and Belch covering the two of them in paint.

"You know this guy's starting to get under my skin," said Tuffnut looking down at Belch. "He's getting inside my bones. Or under my bones and inside my skin." He then shrugged. "Whatever. He's everywhere."

Belch just growled.

* * *

At the Edge, Krogan and his men were settling in and were already using the stables to house their Singetails.

"Good. Mm-hmm," he nodded as he walked around with a Hunter. "Tighten up the space in the pens so they can't move around too much. And we need an area for the whips, bits and harnesses."

He then smiled as they were converting the stables to suit their needs.

"A place built for dragons by dragon lovers will now house the dragons that'll destroy them," he smiled. He then looked at the Hunter. "Ironic. Don't you think?"

Hunter merely shrugged and gave a nervous smile.

Krogan rolled his eyes. "Never mind. Just get to work."

Krogan then made his way outside and began to examine the huts.

"Now, which hut calls to me?" he said. He first looked at Astrid's and then his eyes turned to Snotlout's. "'S.' For 'Supreme Leader.' How appropriate."

* * *

In the volcano, Viggo and the Dragon Hunter had managed to reach the ledge in the diving bell. They were now making their way down towards its base as they began looking for the Dragon Eye.

Viggo then saw it on the stone that he last saw it. "There. I knew it," he said and then turned to the Dragon Hunter. "Hurry."

They then began to make their way quickly towards the rock jumping from ledge to ledge and avoiding the lava was shooting out at random intervals. One of these random occurrence that he caught the Hunter off guard and he would have fallen into the lava if Viggo happened turned around and grabbed him.

Viggo then pulled him back up onto the ledge and the Hunter looked at him gratefully. "Thank you, Viggo. Krogan would have—"

"I know all too well what Krogan would have done, what he has done," said Viggo.

"I owe you my life," said Hunter.

"Perhaps someday you will repay me in some small way," Viggo offered. He then turned his attention onto the Dragon Eye. "Now, let's get what we came for, shall we?"

* * *

It was night when Hiccup arrived at the island that once housed Spitelout's first storeroom. The storeroom itself was a burning wreck, but Hiccup was there for another reason.

"Well, Toothless, let's find what we came for," said Hiccup.

Toothless growled his disapproval.

"I hear ya. I don't wanna tangle with these guys either, but what better place to learn about Singetails than here." Toothless still growled his disapproval. "Well if you've got another suggestion, Johnny-complaints, I'm all ears."

Sadly Toothless' didn't and they flew down towards the island.

Once they landed they began walking through the forest trying to locate a Singetail and suddenly something jumped out of them. It only took Hiccup a few seconds to realise that it was a Monstrous Nightmare and immediately ran off looking a bit scared.

A Monstrous Nightmare being scared made Hiccup uneasy. "Uh, t-that thing looked, uh…"

They then heard a noise coming from the bushes and then saw a Singetail approaching them.

"Scared, scared, scared!" Hiccup yelled.

Toothless quickly wrapped themselves with his wings disguising them as a rock just in time as the Singetail jumped out of the bushes and quickly passed them. Once it was safe Toothless refolded his wings.

"And I know exactly how he feels," Hiccup breathed.

Hiccup picked himself up and began to walk away and Toothless immediately growled him. It was clear that he wanted to get off the island as soon as possible.

"Oh, come on, bud. We both know we're following it," said Hiccup turning towards him. "We're here to follow it. So let's just get it over with."

Toothless growled his disappointment and followed Hiccup reluctantly.

* * *

They soon found the Singetail and began to observe behind a bush. They watched as it from a stream, it then slept on its back and then began a few leaves from a bush before falling back asleep again. It then awoke drank from the stream and gargled.

"This thing is like Snotlout," Hiccup noted. "Eat, sleep. Drink, sleep. Eat, sleep."

Then for the grand finale the Singetail farted unleashing a burst of flames with a very foul-smelling odour from its rear.

"Oh. Too much like Snotlout."

The Singetail then laid back onto the ground and slept.

"Doesn't look so bad right now," said Hiccup. "I'm going in. Gotta try to bond with this guy." He then got up and made his way out of the bush and Toothless immediately growled at him. Hiccup looked at him with a calm and gentle face. "Oh, trust me. I know. I'll be careful."

He then slowly started to make his way towards the Singetail, but then it woke up suddenly and approached him with a suspicious growl.

"Oh, hi, there," said Hiccup trying to remain as calm as possible as he slowly backed away. "How's it going? Uh, please don't kill me. I'll never hear the end of it from my dragon." Hiccup then slowly extended his hand forward. "Now, what do you say you let me in on what you're all about?"

The Singetail's mouth opened and flames began to form inside of it. Toothless could sense danger and immediately got ready for battle.

Hiccup turned towards him. "Toothless, no!"

Too late, Toothless had already jumped out of the bushes and pounced on the Singetail. They rolled across the ground until the Singetail threw him off its back and then fired a fireball directly at him sending him flying into the bushes opposite.

"Toothless!" Hiccup yelled.

The Singetail then turned its focus on to him and Hiccup ran as quickly as he could and began to chase after him with the inside of its mouth aflame.

"Oh, what am I doing?" Hiccup asked himself. "Why don't I ever listened to my dragon?"

The Singetail was now in the air chasing after Hiccup at full speed. Hiccup then tripped on a small rock and fell to the ground causing the Singetail to fly over him harmlessly. He then rolled down a hill and landed face first into the ground.

Hiccup quickly got up and ran through the forest and he could hear the roars of the Singetail close by. He immediately hid behind a bush and began panting heavily, but stopped when he heard movement close by. Hiccup tried to remain as quiet as possible but he was breathing quite heavily.

However, he then heard nothing and then immediately poked his head out of the bushes to investigate and found nothing.

"All right, the coast is, uh…" he said looking around to make sure that there was nothing hiding close by. "The coast is clear." Immediately jumped out of the bushes only to come face-to-face with the Singetail. "Oh! No, no, no! Coast is not clear. Coast is definitely not clear!"

Hiccup eyes widened as the Singetail opened its mouth preparing to both come alive.


	61. The Wings of War Part 2

Hiccup was still face-to-face with the Singetail which was about to lose him alive.

"Toothless!" Hiccup screamed.

Then suddenly a large pair of hands grabbed his shoulders and pulled him back just before the Singetail blasted him with a fireball. Hiccup then soon found himself being dragged across the ground by his unknown rescuer.

They soon entered the cave and his rescuer shoved him against the wall and then a large and placed itself over his mouth. Hiccup attempted to free himself and then his eyes fell upon his rescuer, who turned out to be none other than Spitelout.

"What are you doing here?" Hiccup stared.

Spitelout looked at him. "What am I doing here? What are you doing here?"

Hiccup just laid them wondering the same question himself.

Took a few minutes for him to get his bearings and discover that he was in some sort of cave where Spitelout had taken up residence. There are quite a lot of supplies here no doubt from the burnt out storehouse.

"Did I mention I was grateful, for you saving my life?" said Hiccup as he paced up and down.

"You did," said Spitelout, who was starting to get tired of it. "And as a repayment how about standing still? You're making my dinner come up with all that pacing back and forth."

"Oh, right, sorry," said Hiccup apologetically. "I'm just worried about Toothless."

"Oh, well, if you missed your dragon have a pet of mine. He won't mind," Spitelout assured gesturing to his Deadly Nadder.

Hiccup did just that. "There's a good boy." He then looked at Spitelout curiously. "Spitelout, what's the deal with this place anyway? You've got all these provisions. You can survive for months in here."

"Well, in case you forgot, those bleeding blow torches destroyed my brand-new, perfectly located storehouse and nearly charbroiled my son in the process," said Spitelout as he got to his feet angrily. "You were there. It was an ugly day in Jorgenson history."

"Is that… That's all this about? Revenge?" Hiccup stared.

"I've been watching 'em. Closely," said Spitelout turning his back on Hiccup. "One day I'll trap one. See how they like a little Jorgenson Justice."

"Yeah, okay, fine," said Hiccup not sure what to make of this. "Just remember, it's rescuing my dragon first, Jorgenson Justice, second. If we don't get Toothless up in the sky without the cover of night, he'll be a sitting duck."

"Well, then… lead on," said Spitelout gesturing his arms towards the cave entrance. "I could use a break from the peace and solitude. Doesn't suit me. I'm a people person, you know."

* * *

At the Edge, Viggo had retrieved the Dragon Eye from the volcano and he and Krogan had just entered the clubhouse. Inside were couple of Hunters playing Maces and Talons with one another.

"Maces and Talons," Krogan scoffed at the sight of them. "Childish nonsense."

"Never good at it, I take it?" Viggo assumed.

"Why kill pieces of marble when you can kill people?"

Viggo rolled his eyes. "Explaining that would take longer than I have the patience for." He then turned and the Hunters. "Everyone out. Now."

No one dared question him and immediately rushed out of the clubhouse.

Viggo then lifted the Dragon Eye in triumph. "Once again, the Dragon Eye is in its rightful place. Never to be mishandled by the Dragon Riders again."

Krogan grumbled behind him.

Viggo looked at him. "Do trying to contain your excitement, Krogan."

"The Dragon Eye has spent the last three months in a volcano," Krogan reminded as he fumbled with the Terrible Terror in his hands. "You really think it's going to be of any use to us now?"

"Let's find out," said Viggo as he held out the Dragon Eye. "Hold the dragon up."

Krogan grunted but held the Terrible Terror up, he then squeeze on the dragon causing it to unleash its fire. However the Dragon Eye did not react to the flames one bit much to Krogan's satisfaction.

"As predicted," Krogan smirked as he tossed the Terrible Terror aside.

Viggo then began to fumble around with it.

Krogan looked at him. "Tell me you can fix it."

"If you'd leave me to myself, the chances are that will rise exponentially," said Viggo as he began to blow down the lens.

Krogan grunted and left him to it.

* * *

At Berk, Gustav and Gothi were on patrol in case there was any attack on the island. In the arena Astrid and the others had just stopped practising for brief moment and were now packing things up.

"It's all right, Stormfly," she said giving her Dragon the good stock. "You did good out there, girl."

Tuffnut was still covered in paint and was quite angry at his sister and Throk. He was now watching as Throk lowered up off of Barf.

"Oh, yeah!" Ruffnut yelled and jumped off Barf and landed on his arms.

"All right, that's it!" said Tuffnut angrily as he pulled up his imaginary sleeves. "That is it. This charade has gone too far! The truth must be revealed!"

Snotlout was packing some shields up and frowned at him. "Uh, what are you talking about? And where are you going?" he asked.

Tuffnut turned to him. "If I tell that gorilla what happened, that he wasn't saved by Ruffnut, but in fact he saved her, then maybe, just maybe, he'll sell back on his own rock and then we can go back to our perfectly normal live. Two adult siblings living in familial harmony, spending each every waking moment together, united as one living, breathing being that tried relentlessly to invoke physical harm on the other."

Tuffnut then marched over towards Ruffnut and Throk.

Snotlout raised an eyebrow. "Normal? Are you sure about that?"

Snotlout then watched as Tuffnut approached Throk and said something to him and doing some crazy hand motions. Judging from my hand motions Snotlout assume that he had just told Throk that Ruffnut didn't save him. Throk then said something and did several hand gestures and judging from the cringing from Tuffnut it was not a very positive reaction.

"Uh-oh," said Snotlout.

"What's going on over there?" Astrid asked as she and Ragnar approached him.

"Tuff's telling the Throkman the truth. About everything," Snotlout explained.

"And you let him? Are you insane?" Astrid stared.

Ragnar then walked off. "I best get my medical supplies."

Before he walked off Ruffnut laughed as she walked by with Throk hand-in-hand and was speaking Spanish to him.

Tuffnut looked very moody as he walked up to them.

"How'd that go?" Astrid asked.

"Well, you know what they say about the true setting you free?" Tuffnut asked. He then turned and faced them. "I don't feel free at all. _Sans_ freedom."

"What did he say when you told him?" Astrid asked curiously.

"He said he agreed with me," said Tuffnut. "You know that he shouldn't be in love with someone over some silly life debt."

"So, that's good, right?" Snotlout asked.

"It was. Right up until he said, 'What was once a debt of honour, has grown into a debt of ardour.' Ugh."

Ragnar blinked. "Maybe the rocks hit him hard in the head and I thought."

Stoick then entered the arena. "Hiccup, we need to speak."

"He's not here, Chief," Astrid called.

Stoick groaned. "Do I even want to hear this?"

"He said he had to find another way to fight the Singetails, and then he just flew off," Astrid explained.

"I hate it when he flies off," Stoick groaned. He sighed and looked at Astrid. "Well, then, I suppose you and I should speak, missy."

Astrid nodded.

* * *

Meanwhile Hiccup and Spitelout were still out searching for Toothless on the island.

"Okay, so, what exactly have you been doing out here this whole time?" Hiccup asked.

"Research, boyo. I've been doing research," said Spitelout.

"On?"

"Singetails, of course. What else would I be out here doing research on?" said Spitelout looking insulted.

"So, what have you got? Anything useful?"

Spitelout rolled his eyes. "'Anything useful,'" he says."

Then from out of nowhere he grabbed Hiccup and pulled him down with them towards a bush.

"What?! Ow!" Hiccup yelled. He then looked up at Spitelout rubbing his head. "Why would you do that?"

Spitelout then poked his head out from the bush and Hiccup did the same and saw a Singetail in front of them with yellow scales.

"Heatlout," said Spitelout.

"You named it?" Hiccup stared.

"I named all of them. They became like family after time." He then pointed to another yellow scaled Singetail that was climbing a tree. "Hotlout. Quite the naughty ninny. One of my favourites." Then flying overhead was the green scaled Singetail shooting fire all different directions. "Flamelout. He knows we're here."

Hiccup looked at Spitelout with a concerned look. "I'm starting to think I may have showed up just in time, Spitelout."

"And why's that, boyo?" Spitelout asked as he leaned back.

"Oh, I don't know. Let's just say…" He then stopped when he saw what Spitelout was leaning against. He was leaning against a yellow scaled Singetail that was sleeping. "Uh, Spitelout, don't move. You're sitting on a—"

Spitelout waved his hand dismissively. "Ah! Harmless, this one. Never moved from this spot. He thinks quite highly of himself."

"Oh, what's his name, Naplout?"

"Stoick. His name's Stoick."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Oh. Of course it is."

They then heard a familiar roar.

Hiccup eyes widened. "That's Toothless!"

Hiccup immediately got up and ran towards the roar and Spitelout quickly followed him. They then saw smoke in the distance indicating that he was busy fighting with a Singetail.

When they reached the clearing they saw Toothless was busy fighting against the strong looking green scaled Singetail

"Uh-oh," said Spitelout.

"'Uh-oh,' what?" Hiccup asked with a concerned voice. "No. what's the uh-oh?"

"Deathlout," said Spitelout with a grave voice." I call him 'Deathlout.'"

Deathlout then pinned Toothless to the ground with his claw. Toothless was trying to break himself fully, the dragon appeared to be quite strong. He then fired a plasma blast across its face and use that as the opportunity to break free from its grip.

"Okay. That's it," said Hiccup firmly. "I'm ending this now."

He was about to jump in, but Spitelout stopped him.

"And how do you intend to do that?" he asked. "Give old Deathlout a whack on the snout and hope he runs away scared? I don't think so. What you say we try a little something I'd like to call…"

Hiccup didn't really care as Deathlout was now hovering over Toothless unleashing his flames on top of him. Thankfully, Toothless was protecting himself and his wings, but there was no telling how long he would last.

"Who cares what it's called? You can name the plan later," said Hiccup practically yelling.

"All right. You've got the easy part," said Spitelout pulling him towards him. "Right now there and get as close to your dragons as you can, without getting killed by the Singetail. Then, get ready to grab him."

Hiccup stared at him. "That's the easy part?"

"Argh, just keep your eyes on the ball, boyo," said Spitelout patting him on the shoulder. "All right. On the count of three. One…"

Then Spitelout shut him forwards and soon came face-to-face with Deathlout.

"Hi!" Hiccup waved.

He then immediately ran towards Toothless as fast as his legs could carry.

"Oh, yes," said Spitelout picking up a stone.

He then tossed it at Deathlout and it struck the dragon just as it was about to fire fireballs. It then turned towards him and Spitelout started running and doing a combination of screaming and laughing through the forest and Deathlout and immediately began to give chase.

"Ha, guess I did have easy part," said Hiccup as he mounted Toothless.

Spitelout was running through the bushes with a triumphant yell. "Yes!"

Deathlout was close on his heels looking very angry and Spitelout grabbed hold of a tree branch, spun around as Deathlout ran past. He spun over the dragon and landed behind it just as it went past and then quickly ran through the woods.

Deathlout came to a sudden stop and turned around to follow him and then Spitelout jumped over a bush. Deathlout lost him for brief moment and stopped to look around and then suddenly he found himself ensnared in a netter trap.

"Yes! Whoo!" Spitelout yelled triumphantly. "Take that, ya scaly lizard. Deathlout, meet Snaptrapper. I do hope you enjoy each other's company. You're gonna be together for quite a spell."

Spitelout then for some reason started to sing.

 _A Spitelout caught a Singetail,_

 _I think I'll send a terror mail._

 _So everyone will see,_

 _They cannot fool with me._

"Because I'm Spitelout! Spitelout! Oi, oi, oi!" Spitelout yelled slamming his feet into the ground with enthusiasm. He then started to thrust his groin in and out. "Spitelout! Spitelout! Oi, oi, oi!"

"That's an interesting song, Spitelout," said Hiccup as he and Toothless approached him.

"An instant classic, I'd wager," said Spitelout proudly.

"Well, that might be a stretch. But it was a nice plan."

"Well, what do you expect?" said Spitelout slamming a hand on Hiccup's back so hard that he nearly broke it. "I'm a Jorgenson."

"You're a Jorgenson," said Hiccup at the same time as he rubbed his back to get some feeling back.

* * *

A few moments later, Spitelout was packing his things on his Deadly Nadder, but Hiccup was far more interested with the Singetail they had captured.

"Well, that's the last of it," said Spitelout rubbing his hands together. "I left you a nice supply of dried boar grizzards and yak jerky. Enjoy."

Hiccup frowned. "Uh… Wait a minute. Where are you going?"

"I came here to catch a Singetail. Caught a Spingetail. Mission accomplished," said Spitelout simply.

"You don't want to hang around and help me study him?" Hiccup asked.

"Uh, nope," said Spitelout as he hopped onto his Deadly Nadder. "Just wanted revenge. Got it."

"Spitelout, we finally have a Singetail dragon that I can take a real close look at. See if I can find a weakness," Hiccup pointed out. "Something we can exploit the next time the Flyers attack."

"Well, all right," Spitelout shrugged as he hopped off his Deadly Nadder. "I'm going on record and saying that you're just wasting your time. But have at it."

Hiccup nodded. "Cover me." He then looked at Toothless. "Both of you."

Hiccup then approached Deathlout to begin his examinations.

"Okay, there, boy," said Hiccup calmly. I'm gonna start by saying, no one wants to hurt you."

Spitelout laughed as he sat down. "You've gotta be joking."

Hiccup ignored him. "I just need to get a closer look. Get to know you a bit." He then gently raised his hand towards Deathlout. "You've just been misunderstood—"

Deathlout then roared suddenly and began firing fireballs at the ground much to Hiccup's surprise. Thankfully Toothless push him out of the way just before he got hit by one of those fireballs. Spitelout just sat on a rock completely calm as if he had seen this before.

"Well, that would be the signal fire," said Spitelout looking at the flames around them as he got up. "To call all his Singetail buddies. You should have plenty of them to study in a matter of moments."

Hiccup nodded in agreement. "Yeah, let's put that off for another day."

They then quickly took off and the moment they did a Singetail appeared out of nowhere and nearly blasted Hiccup off Toothless with a fireball. Hiccup and Spitelout then began to fly as quickly as they could another Singetail appeared and helped its friends with by firing at them.

Hiccup then saw coming from the site them was another Singetail and it had already fired a fireball at them. Hiccup quickly flew upwards narrowing avoiding the fireball.

"Oh, I see this a thousand times," said Spitelout calmly. "There's only one direction we can go to get clear of these vermin."

Before Hiccup could say anything, Spitelout immediately flew upwards much to his annoyance.

"Oh, for Thor's sake. Follow that Nadder, bud," said Hiccup.

They then quickly ascended and the Singetails quickly followed them.

"Up! Up!" Hiccup yelled.

Hiccup looked back and saw that the Singetail were breaking off the pursuit, it looks as if they were having trouble believing in the higher altitude.

"Good call, Spitelout," said Hiccup as he joined him. "They must not like the altitude."

"Aye, but they sure do love a good campfire," said Spitelout gesturing to the burning forest below them.

Hiccup looked at the burning forest and an idea appeared in his head. "Campfire. That's it." He then looked back at Spitelout. "Okay. I think I have the answer I came for. But there's something you need to do for me."

"Oh," said Spitelout looking intrigued.

* * *

Hiccup soon flew back to Berk and entered the arena only to find it was completely deserted.

"Uh… hello?" said Hiccup as he jumped off Toothless. "Hello? W-where is everybody?"

Then landing in front of him directly out of nowhere was Gustav.

"Ah, Gustav!" he said spinning his helmet on his head.

"W-where is everybody? The Riders all your teammates?" Hiccup asked.

"They went to the Edge. The chief decided to launch a pre-emptive strike against the Dragon Flyers," Gustav explained.

Hiccup groaned. "I hate it when he pre-emptive strikes," he said as he mounted Toothless. He then looked at Gustav. "All right. Gustav, you follow me. I may need you."

* * *

The Berk fleet was emerging from the fog bank as it descended upon the Edge. Flying over the fleet was Stoick, the Riders and the rest of the A-Team.

* * *

On the Edge, Viggo was in the clubhouse as he worked on the Dragon Eye. In one hand he was holding the Dragon Eye, but in the other he held a cage containing a Terrible Terror.

"This should do it," he said placing the case onto the table. "No telling how long it will look, but work it shall."

He then plunged two daggers onto the table and placed the Dragon Eye on it. Unbeknownst to him, Krogan was watching him from outside and was holding a dagger in his hand.

Viggo then positioned the cage in front of the Dragon Eye and slammed his fist onto the table. The Terrible Terror immediately unleashed its fire and this time the Dragon Eye activated. Viggo could sense Krogan was behind him and reach for one of the daggers.

However before anyone could make a move a Hunter entered the clubhouse with a frantic look on his face.

"Sir," he said.

Viggo immediately turned on him. "I thought I asked for complete privacy."

"Yes, sir. But there's a fleet of heavily armed ships flying the Berk colours approaching, and escorted by a squadron of Dragon Riders," Hunter explained.

Viggo growled with frustration and the Hunter immediately exited the clubhouse. Viggo then picked up the Dragon Eye and his eyes turn towards the shadow where Krogan was hiding.

"You have to do much better than that, Krogan," Viggo informed.

Krogan merely smiled from the shadows.

Viggo made his way outside and look down at the Dragon Flyers.

"Dragon Flyers. Take your positions," Viggo ordered. "A battle in the skies is upon us."

The Dragon Flyers immediately climbed onto their Singetails and took off.

* * *

The Berk fleet could see them coming and the soldiers on the boat prepared for battle as did the Riders in the air.

"Here we go," said Astrid. "Good luck, everybody. We're gonna need it."

Immediately the Riders and Flyers began to engage with one another. The Flyers were the first to go on the offensive unleashing fireballs in every single direction.

"Look out!" Astrid cried.

The Riders immediately made evasive manoeuvres to dodge the fireballs and many of the Flyers began to chase after them. The soldiers in the boats immediately grabbed a bow and arrow began to fire at the Flyers as they came past.

On the ship that Gobber was on, the men were preparing to arm the catapults, but the Flyers were bearing down on top of them.

"Oh, no, you don't," said Gobber waving his axe prosthetic at them.

The Flyers then fired fireballs of the ship causing some of the men to jump overboard and destroying the catapults. Gobber jumped narrowly avoiding a fireball and landed near Grump, who was fast asleep.

"Slimy little…" he said getting to his feet and soon realised that his peg leg was on fire.

He tried to put it out, but accidentally set fire to the mainmast and then he turned to Grump.

"Come on. Get over here, you lazy beast!" Gobber yelled. Grump then flapped his wings and took off without Gobber. "Where ya goin'? I'm over here!"

Grump then fell asleep again and landed directly on top of Gobber.

* * *

In the sky the Flyers was still battling against the Riders and they were obviously winning. Astrid flew beside both Ragnar and Fishlegs as he avoided a fireball.

"I don't know how much longer we can hold them off, guys," said Fishlegs. "Not backing our heels, playing defence."

"We can't, Fishlegs," said Astrid as she drew her axe. "It may be coming time to choose between us and the dragons."

She then immediately took off to join the battle.

Fishlegs shook his head. "But, they didn't do anything. They're innocent victims."

Ragnar sympathised with Fishlegs. "If we don't go on the offensive we'll die," he said gravely. He then shook his head looking at the battle. "Hiccup, I hope you find a solution and fast."

A Flyer then came flying down towards them and was about to fire fireball at them when the twins knocked him off his Singetail.

Tuffnut laughter triumph and failed to notice that they were heading straight towards another Flyer. Thankfully Throk, who was riding on the back of the dragon saw him heading towards them and jumped into action.

"Not on your life, friend," he said.

He then got to his feet and ran across Barf's neck and jumped into the air. He somersaulted until he slammed his feet right on the Flyer, knocking him off the Singetail and grabbed the said Singetail's tail. He then flew directly over them and was tossed in the air, but performed the most magnificent somersault as he landed behind Ruffnut.

Ruffnut just looked at him with awe and Tuffnut mouth was wide open.

"You know, I hope you don't expect the rest of us to do that," said Tuffnut.

Several Flyers were chasing after Gothi as he flew close towards the water. She then flew towards two ships that were covered in Zippleback gas and flew into it. Then Bucket and Mulch appeared out of nowhere and sparked the gas blocking the Flyers, who then began to chase after them.

* * *

Viggo was at the clubhouse observing the battle when Krogan approached.

"They're on the defensive," said Krogan. "Now is our chance to wipe them out entirely." He then turned to the remaining Flyers that were on the island. "Send all the Flyers. All Dragon Flyers to the sky!"

Immediately the Dragon Flyers took to the sky and headed straight towards the battle.

Viggo however was concerned. "Are you sure that's the best course of action, my friend?"

"Why don't you just go back away and let me do what I do best?" Krogan glared.

Viggo shrugged as he walked away. "With pleasure. It's nothing short of a thrill to watch you work, Krogan."

Krogan growled angrily at him.

* * *

Out at sea the battle was intensifying in favour of the Flyers. The Riders were getting completely overwhelmed by the reinforcements.

"Oh, no! There's more?" Astrid cried.

"Lots more," said Ragnar.

The Flyers then fired several fireballs from the Singetails tails directly at them. Astrid and Ragnar were able to avoid getting shot, but Fishlegs wasn't so lucky and began to spin out of control before landing on the ship. He looked up to see several Dragon Flyers heading straight towards him.

"Meatlug!" he yelled.

Meatlug quickly spun around shooting a couple barrels into the air filled with Monstrous Nightmare gel. The twins then appeared out of nowhere and fired a shot at the barrels causing the explosion that caused them to retreat.

They all cheered and that spectacular move.

"Yeah, all right!" Tuffnut cried.

Then they heard a familiar sounding looked up to see Hiccup and Gustav heading straight towards them from the sky.

"Hey, here comes Hiccup!" Tuffnut cried. However, Hiccup and Gustav then flew straight past him and headed straight towards a nearby island. "And, there. There goes Hiccup." He then looked at Fishlegs, who was back in the air again. "You know he's become very unpredictable. It's unsettling."

* * *

Hiccup and Gustav soon reached the island where Spitelout was busy preparing for Hiccup's plan of action.

"Did you bring it?" Hiccup asked as they landed.

"Can't you tell?" Spitelout asked gesturing to the net containing Deathlout, who was roaring with frustration. "Yeah, yeah. Keep yapping, ya fiery pain in the—"

"Spitelout, is everything ready?" Hiccup interrupted.

Deathlout roared once again even louder than before.

"No, there's still a few—"

Hiccup shook his head. "Too late. We're going with what we got."

Spitelout rolled his eyes. "Well, then, why'd ya bother asking?"

Spitelout then jumped out of the tree branch he was standing on and landed on his Deadly Nadder. They then turned and faced the net that contained Deathlout.

"All right. Time to play your part, dragon," said Spitelout.

They started to move closer towards Deathlout and the moment they did he unleashed a burst of flames from his stomach. Which immediately ignited the logs underneath him.

* * *

The battle was still raging on out of see and the Flyer were now really putting the heat on. A single Flyer kept on whacking his Singetail with horse whip, but then suddenly it was taken out of his hand. He looked up and saw Fishlegs flying upside down above him.

"Oh, hello," he said before whacking the Flyer with the whip.

He then grabbed the Flyer and tossed him off the Singetail.

Snotlout flew down to one of the ship then grabbed a barrel of Monstrous Nightmare gel. "Let's go, Hookfang." He then flew upwards and two Flyers followed him. "Incoming!"

He then released the barrel and it was sent flying towards the Flyers and Stoick flew out of nowhere and blasted the barrel knocking the Flyers back with a massive explosion. However, two more Flyer appeared either side of him and were charging towards him.

"Got two coming from both sides," said Stoick as he drew his axe. "Come and get some!"

The Flyers were about to fire at Stoick, but then something caught there eye. Stoick turned and saw a light coming from one of the nearby islands and instantly the Singetails pulled out of the attack and made their way towards it.

"Come on. Where are you going?" Stoick yelled. "Come back and fight!"

"It's a distress signal," said Fishlegs as he flew up towards him. "All the Singetails in the area are flocking to help the dragon that's in trouble."

Astrid and Ragnar soon joined them and watched as the Singetail were flying towards the island despite their Flyers best attempt to turn them around.

Ragnar looked at Astrid. "You don't think?"

Astrid nodded. "Hiccup."

"This is our chance, people. To the Edge!" Stoick ordered.

Immediately the Riders and the ship started to make their way towards the Edge, which was now completely defenceless due to the fact that Krogan had launched every single Flyer he had at them.

* * *

The Flyers were doing everything they could to turn back, they pulled on the chains, use their whips, but nothing they did forced their dragons to turn around. They were flying towards Deathlout and they saw Hiccup, Gustav and Spitelout waiting for them and automatically register them as the enemy.

"Now!" Hiccup yelled as he took off.

Spitelout shouted as he took off and fired a stream of fire at a Flyer and then dived into the forest. Hiccup then fired a plasma blast at two Flyers and flew into the forest as well.

Hiccup chuckled as he zigzagged through the trees and kept a very low to the ground. Then when the Flyers turned round the corner they saw a large net in their path and it was too late to stop. They immediately slammed into the net allowing their dragons to fly free.

"Help us in here! Get us out!" they yelled as they try to break free of the net.

Spitelout was now doing the same thing with two more Flyers and they soon found themselves trapped in a net.

Two Flyers soon met up with one another with in the woods of the island.

"Yoo-hoo," said a voice. They turned and saw Gustav waving them on top of Fanghook. "Hey, fellas."

"Get him!" they yelled and flew towards him.

Gustav quickly took to the air and let them get into another trap.

"Gustav!" he said with a smirk at them.

They kept on doing the same process to the other Flyers, freeing the Singetails without hurting a single one. They soon flew out of the canopy and saw the Singetails flying away.

"The dragons are abandoning their riders," said Spitelout.

"And the others are trying to free Deathlout!" Hiccup noted as several Singetails were firing at the net that contained Deathlout.

It took some effort but eventually they were able to free the captive dragon and once they did they flew away from the island with the others.

"Well, that looks to be all of them," said Spitelout.

However he spoke to soon as the fireball nearly struck them from behind. They turned and saw a single Flyer flying down towards them firing fireballs.

"Or not!" said Hiccup as he dived down.

Sadly they had run out of nets and he down at this Flyer would fall for the same trick like his friends.

"No traps left, Toothless," Hiccup noted. "Looks like we might have to take that shot after all. Let's just make sure we get the Flyer and not the dragon."

Toothless then immediately opened his wings wide open and began flying backwards. They flew past the Flyer, who then immediately turned around and fired a volley of fireballs. Hiccup had to do some crazy manoeuvres in order to dodge the fireballs as they headed straight towards the Flyer.

"Up! Up!" Hiccup yelled at the last second.

Toothless immediately pulled upwards much to the surprise of the Flyer, but he quickly followed. They kept on flying higher and higher, but the Singetail was finding it difficult to climb.

"Come on, beast!" said the Flyer pulling on the dragons chains.

Hiccup looked back. "Come on!"

Eventually the Singetail couldn't fly any higher and broke off the pursuit.

"Singetails do not like altitude," Hiccup smiled. He then looked down at Toothless. "Now, Toothless!"

They quickly turned around and flew back down towards the Flyer and fired a plasma blast. The Flyer quickly raised his shield, but the impact of the blast was strong enough to knock him off his dragon.

"Ha-ha!" Hiccup yelled triumphantly as the Singetail flew away. "Nice shot, bud! Let's hope we never have to do that again."

* * *

At the Edge, Viggo and Krogan could see the Dragon Riders and Berk's fleet were approaching them.

"I warned you about this," said Viggo as Krogan dashed to the stables. "Leaving yourself vulnerable, over-committing your troops." Krogan began to get his Titan Wing Singetail prepared. "Perhaps a bit of Maces and Talons could've helped you strategize your way out of the embarrassment in which you now find yourself."

Krogan mounted his dragon and glared at Viggo. "Keep talking and I will leave you here to deal with them by yourself. You can for your little game pieces at them."

Krogan then extended his hand and Viggo took it. Krogan then lifted onto the back of his dragon just as Astrid and Ragnar appeared.

"There!" Astrid pointed.

At that precise moment Krogan took off.

"It's Krogan," she said as Stoick appeared. "And he's got someone with him."

Ragnar nodded. "And if he's riding with Krogan that means he someone very important."

"Well, let's get down there and meet Krogan's new sidekick," said Stoick.

They immediately began to chase after Krogan.

They soon entered the sea stacks and Krogan was proving that he was a capable Flyer. There were finding it very hard to keep up with the zigzagged through the sea stacks and when they went under an arch he fired a fireball at its base from his dragon's tail. They had to swerve to avoid the explosion causing him to lose some ground.

"He's a much better Flyer then his men," Astrid noted.

"He certainly knows how to handle that dragon of his," Ragnar added.

"Aye. But not better than us and we know our dragons far better," said Stoick.

Krogan then pulled on the chains and he began to gain a bit about to. At the same time the Singetail fired fireballs from its tail directly at them causing them to do some evasive manoeuvres to avoid getting hit as they continued through the sea stacks.

When they got through the sea stacks he fired another fireball just as they turn round a corner. Astrid quickly ducked to avoid getting hit and Ragnar was able to get out of the way as well, but the same could not be said for Stoick.

The fireball had struck Skullcrusher's side and they began to plummet towards the sea.

"Come on, big boy," said Stoick pull hard. "We're not going down like this."

Thankfully, Skullcrusher was able to regain control and stop just before they hit the water in the immediately flew towards the nearest sea stack to rest up.

"That's a good fella," said Stoick stocking Skullcrusher.

Astrid and Ragnar were still chasing Krogan and then they saw his passenger looking back at them. Eyes immediately widened as the passenger was none other than Viggo holding the Dragon Eye.

"Odin's ghost," Ragnar gasped.

"No. No, that's impossible," Astrid stared in disbelief. "There's no way!"

Viggo merely chuckled and that's when they noticed that he was holding the Dragon Eye.

"He's got the Dragon Eye," Astrid gasped.

"Then we've got another reason to stop them," said Ragnar.

They then saw that they were approaching a fog bank and if they entered into it they'd never be able to find them again.

"All right. We've only gonna get one shot at this before they lose in that fog bank," said Astrid.

"Then we won't lose them," said Ragnar.

Korgan saw that Astrid and Ragnar were gaining fast and immediately pulled on the chains. The Singetail then immediately lifted its rear and before Astrid and Ragnar could do anything by shot out of its rear end. This added a sudden burst of speed and the entered the fog bank before their very eyes.

"No!" Astrid yelled in frustration.

"We've lost," said Ragnar clenching his fist.

* * *

The sun was just beginning to rise on the Edge and everyone was off loading supplies of the ships and Gustav was explaining to the warriors what had happened to the Flyers.

"Fanghook and Gustav lured the Flyers over," he said. "And then they just took off, and of course, you know, I was the hero."

Stoick however was very proud of Hiccup and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You did it, son," he said. "And not a dragon's scale out of place. Quite the impressive plan."

"And let's not forget the Jorgenson contribution to that impressive plan," said Spitelout approaching them.

"Yeah. The Jorgensons were on fire," Snotlout nodded.

"Yes, they were. And you were great, Spitelout. I couldn't have done it without you," said Hiccup gratefully.

"Well, you're right about that, boyo," Spitelout nodded. "And they will be writing a little tiny crew song about it, either."

The two Jorgensons laughed as they walked off.

Hiccup shrugged his father. "Some things continue to remain the same."

"Hiccup!" Astrid yelled as she and Ragnar landed at the stables.

Hiccup looked very relieved upon seeing them. "Astrid! Ragnar! You guys had me worried."

Astrid then jumped off Stormfly and approached Hiccup. "Well, get ready to be more worried, Hiccup. Because we just saw something you're not gonna believe."

* * *

At the stables Astrid and Ragnar told everyone that they had seen Viggo with Krogan and to make matters worse he had the Dragon Eye.

"Okay let's try to find another way to look at this thing," said Hiccup as he paced up and down. "Let's make the yak bladder half full."

"Sorry. My yak bladder? Dry as a bone," said Snotlout.

"Okay. I get it," said Hiccup. "Viggo is alive. That's bad. He's got the Dragon Eye. That, too, is bad."

"Um… I hate to agree with Snotlout, really, I do… but I just don't see that any of this is good news," said Fishlegs.

"Okay, stay with me," said Hiccup. "Viggo thinks he has the only Dragon Eye. But as you all know…" Hiccup then removed a sheet from a wooden barrel to reveal a circular sphere that was shaped like the Night Fury's head.

Fishlegs practically jumped up with excitement. "Ooh! It's almost finished."

Hiccup then presented them with the Dragon Eye. "Friends, my yak bladder runneth over." He then tossed it over to Fishlegs and Ragnar leaned over to examine it. "When I'm done, this thing is gonna do things that the original Dragon Eye can't even dream of."

Ragnar nodded. "And I'm willing to bet that Viggo's Dragon Eye is damaged from its time in the volcano."

Astrid then looked at the Dragon Eye. "It looks amazing."

"Well, hopefully, it will be," said Hiccup.

"Okay. So now there's only one more thing we need to figure out. What's up with that shipwreck?" Snotlout asked pointing.

He was gesturing towards Ruffnut, who was currently having her feet massaged by Throk.

"Yep. Yep," Ruffnut nodded. "Yeah, you gotta make that grime work for you." Several of them were quietly disturbed with what they were seeing, including Stoick. "Come on, Thork-quito. Get in there. Yep. Just go around the corns.

"You know, maybe Throk really likes Ruffnut," said Astrid try and get some normality into the situation. "We're around her all the time, so it's easy for us to take for granted all of her wonderful qualities."

"Okay. But I dare anyone to explain that," said Snotlout pointing yet again.

This time he was gesturing to Tuffnut, who was massaging, for unknown reasons, Throk's foot.

"Hey! Family is family. And these…" said Tuffnut gesturing to Throk's toes. "I mean these are some magnificent feet. Look at these beauties!" He then sighed as he looked up at Throk. "What do you use, anyway?"

No one indeed couldn't explain what they were seeing and they were deeply disturbed with what they were seeing as the just stood there in silence.

"Okay, I'm gonna go outside and scream into the ocean until that vision is ripped from my brain," said Snotlout as he walked out of the clubhouse. "Will you call me when dinner's ready?"

"Oh, yeah. Ain't no shame in a little toe game," said Ruffnut.


	62. No Dragon Left Behind

After the Flyer invasion the Edge had seen better days, the stables and the huts were burnt or destroyed, the walkways were falling apart and the lookout towers were crumbling. The Riders had met up in the clubhouse to discuss repairing the Edge.

"Okay, gang, we have a lot of work to get the Edge up and running," said Hiccup.

"Not to mention we need to improve our defences to make sure that nothing like this happens again," Ragnar added.

"And we cannot wait to rebuild our hut!" said Tuffnut gesturing to himself and his sister.

"We've come up with a few new designs/renovations," said Ruffnut pulling out a piece of parchment.

Tuffnut took it. "It's very, very now." He then rolled it out to show everyone. "It's very 'Today's Viking.'"

"And Vi-queen," Ruffnut added. "Behold, our second, third, and fourth floors."

"The kitchen. It's huge."

"What's that in the middle of it?" Fishlegs asked pointing at the designs.

"So glad you asked," said Tuffnut.

"Since we live on an island…" Ruffnut began.

"I came up with the idea of putting one in the middle of our kitchen."

Snotlout looked at them. "For what?"

Tuffnut laughs. "'For what?' he says." He then leaned over towards Ruffnut. "Remind me, Sister Nut. _La isla cocina? Por que es?_ "

"Beats me, my flaxen-haired brother," Ruffnut shrugged. "But it looks cool. One might say 'bro-fessionally' done!"

Tuffnut laughed. "Like 'brother,' but professionally. Yeah, yeah, 'brother-rated.'"

"' _Numero_ brono.'"

"Okay, great, thanks for that," said Hiccup approaching them. "Uh, whatever all that was, your heart is the only one of the few that actually survived," He then gestured to the twins had which was pretty much untouched during the invasion. He then began to roll the designs back up, "so this would be a waste of time and resources."

He then handed the scroll back to Tuffnut and noticed that both he and his sister were devastated. "Hey, here's a thought. Why don't you put your effort and burying ideas into the stables?"

The twins looked at one another.

"I guess we could put an island in the middle of the stables," said Ruffnut rubbing her chin.

"'Fan-sister-istic' idea!" said Tuffnut.

"One might say 'marvel-sis.'"

Hiccup rubbed his forehead. "No. One might not say any of that."

They then heard a distant law that belonged to Garff and everyone groaned.

"Ugh, come on, Garff," Fishlegs groaned.

"Doesn't that dragon ever quit?" Snotlout asked as they made their way to their dragons. "This is the first time this week."

* * *

They had brought Garff to the Edge in order for him to get healed up and to protect him from Dragon Hunters. Unfortunately the moment that he was back to full strength, he began harassing the nearby dragons.

Garff was currently about to eat Smidvarg, whom he had encased in amber. Fortunately the Rider showed up at that very point to stop him.

"No, Garff! Not Smidvarg!" Fishlegs cried.

Astrid and Stormfly immediately landed blocking his path. Stormfly then began to growl at him telling him to back off.

"No, Garff, no!" Astrid yelled.

Then for some strange reason Ruffnut began to sink.

 _No, Garff, no,_

 _You cannot eat Smidvarg._

 _For he's our good friend,_

 _And we love him to the e—_

She then started when all the other Riders were looking at her.

"What? Not doing it this time?" she asked. She scoffed with disappointment. "Shame. That is one magnificent song."

Astrid stock Stormfly as she jumped off in. "Good girl, Stormfly. You tell him."

For some reason Stormfly had become very close to Garff and almost act like a mother to him. She then dashed towards him and began to play with him.

Hiccup then pulled out _Inferno_ and ignited his blade. He then very carefully began to melt away at the amber that encased Smidvarg.

"Uh, Hiccup, I hate to say it, but this is getting way too dangerous," said Fishlegs.

Ragnar nodded in agreement. "It was all right when he was resting up, but now that he's fully healed he should go back to the wild."

"I agree," Hiccup nodded as Smidvarg brushed off the last of the amber on his scales. "He's following his true nature, hunting like an adult Death Song now."

"Well, it's not his fault," said Astrid defensively. "He's just doing what his instincts tell him."

"I understand, Astrid, but his instincts don't care about the safety of us or our dragons."

"Not for all our dragons," Astrid reminded as Garff began to sing his song. For some strange reason it didn't seem to affect Stormfly in the slightest. "I mean, those two have bonded so well that Garff's song doesn't even affect Stormfly anymore."

"Maybe true for you, but try flying a mile in my saddle," said Fishlegs as he held onto Fishlegs' tail bludgeon as she made her way towards Garff hypnotised by his song.

Ragnar was doing the same with Skull and Hiccup rushed over to Toothless, who was walking aimlessly towards Garff. Snotlout was pulling back on Hookfang's horns to stop him from reaching Garff.

"Earplugs, quickly!" Hiccup yelled as he placed the moss earplugs in Toothless.

Despite all this going on both Stormfly and Garff were playing with each other so much they actually tipped over the edge of the cliff. Garff was hanging onto the cliff as best as he could, but Stormfly gave him a gentle nudge pushing him back onto the ledge.

Astrid just smiled at the two of them and then turned to Hiccup, who was frowning. Smidvarg then jumped at the sound of Garff's boys and immediately hit behind Hiccup and shuddered. Hiccup then looked at her with a fixed expression.

"What are you thinking, Hiccup?" Astrid asked. "Just say it."

Hiccup then bent down to comfort Smidvarg. "It might be time to… find Garff a new home. A permanent home."

Astrid didn't like it, but they have no other option and she nodded in agreement.

* * *

Soon they were in the air flying to Garff's new home which was hand-picked by Fishlegs.

"I'm telling you guys, it's perfect," Fishlegs assured.

Soon coming into view was an island, but Astrid was still not convinced about the island being perfect.

"And what do you mean 'by perfect'?" she asked.

"It possesses a very similar climate and vegetation to Melody Island. Nice canyon walls to hold in the sound. No visible hostile species. I'm telling you, Astrid it is—"

"Perfect," Astrid finished.

"H-here's a thought. Why talk about it when we can walk about it?" Hiccup joked. All the Riders just gave him a blank look and Toothless groaned beneath him. "Instead of flying."

A few seconds later the Riders flew away from him.

"Tough crowd, H," said Tuffnut as he and his sister flew next to him. "Hey, look, I've been there, all right? It is lonely and wait till they turn on you. I mean, they will come at you with heart molten lava, feathers…"

Then he and his sister flew off chasing after the rest of the Riders.

* * *

They soon landed on the ground and Garff was making himself at home and was already taste a piece of fruit from a bush.

Astrid looked at Fishlegs. "I have to say, Fishlegs, this really is perfect." She then turned to Garff, who was busy stuffing himself with the food from the bushes. "And you guys are right. As much as I love the little guy, he's not really that little anymore."

"And he's already made himself at home," Ragnar added.

Hiccup turned to Astrid. "Well, I guess, it's, uh, that time."

Hiccup then approached Garff, who approached him in turn. He then placed his palm on his snout and Garff growled gently. Hiccup then walked away and Ragnar then approached him.

"You take care of yourself you hear," said Ragnar patting the dragon. "And don't wrestle with any dragon that is bigger than you."

Once Ragnar left, Fishlegs approached him with Meatlug.

"So long, Garff," said Fishlegs. "It's been a pleasure to watch you grow in such a wonderful, handsome, strong—" He then burst into tears. "No, I can't. I can't do it. I hate goodbyes. I just take them!"

Snotlout then walked as Fishlegs walked away crying. "Blah, blah, blah!" He then looked up at Garff. "See ya! Wouldn't wanna be ya! That's how we say goodbye, Jorgenson style!" He then laughed. "At least that's how my dad says goodbye to me. Snotlout, outlout!"

When he walked away the twins then approached Garff and they began to sing to him. Ruffnut was the first to begin.

 _So, Garff, as well as you know,_

 _Our chicken says it's time to go._

Tuffnut then stepped forward and took the next verse.

 _As much as love can grow,_

 _I cannot love you so._

 _Because you are not my bro-ther._

 _Ha ha ha._

 _How was I to know?_

They then walked off and Astrid and Stormfly stepped forward.

"Hey, Garff," said Astrid smiling up at him. "You know, you've really made an impact on our group," he then gestured to storm fly, "especially on my girl here.

Stormfly squawked at him.

"But we will be back to visit," Astrid promised. "You can count on that, okay?"

Stormfly then approached Garff and nuzzled him like a mother and Garff wrapped his wings and tail around her affectionately. Everyone was moved by this, even Snotlout though he was quick to deny it.

The two of them then parted from one another and Stormfly screeched at him before walking off and rejoined Astrid. Everyone then mounted their dragons, but before they left they heard rustling in the bushes.

Hiccup turned and bought he saw something slipping past. "Uh, is anybody out there?"

Then suddenly appearing out of the bushes was a very large snake with a very colourful pattern. He could also see quite plainly that it had made a sharp fangs and its forked tongue was sticking out as it hissed. He then raised its body and hissed at them angrily.

The dragons immediately turned on the snake and growled.

However, they soon discover that it was not the only one as more the snakes appeared out of the bushes. Astrid immediately turned on Fishlegs and narrowed her eyes.

"What?" he said. It soon dawned on him why she was glaring at him. "Oh, right, l-like I knew that there were giant snakes here. There was my favourite."

However they soon discovered that the snakes weren't actually snakes as one of them rose its body into the air revealing a pair of wings.

"By the way, those are not snakes!" Hiccup yelled. "Those are Slitherwing dragons."

"Oh, no! Not Slitherwing dragons!" Snotlout panicked. He then blinked and looked at the others. "What's a Slitherwing dragon?"

"They're poisonous. Very poisonous!" Hiccup yelled. As Toothless quickly backed away to avoid one of these Slithersing as it left a trail of poison in its path. "And dragons!"

"Don't touch their skin," said Fishlegs as he and Meatlug quickly took to the air to avoid a Slitherwing that pounced behind them. "It's coated in, well…"

"Poison?" Snotlout panicked.

He quickly held his helmet out just as a bit of poison headed his way blocked it.

"Precisely," said Fishlegs.

"Whatever you do don't get any you," said Ragnar as Skull quickly backed away from a Slithering. "If you do your dead by the next moon."

Barf and Belch were pushing the Slitherwings back with the gas and spark attack. Hiccup watched as Astrid and Stormfly flew upwards to avoid a Slitherwing

"Stormfly!" Astrid yelled.

Suddenly a Slitherwing flew towards them and Stormfly quickly judge forwards. The sudden movement had caused Astrid to pull off of her and she hit her back hard against the rock.

"Run!" Fishlegs yelled as he blew past with a Slithering hot on his tail.

Then a Slithering practically jumped out of the bush and began to sliver towards Astrid. It would have taken a bite out of her if Hiccup hadn't grabbed her in time and pulled her to safety.

Astrid then saw that Garff was completely surrounded by Slitherwing. "Garff!"

Upon seeing this, Stormfly took off and flew towards Garff, who then flew into the woods to get away from the Slitherwings. Unfortunately the Slitherwings followed him and Stormfly followed close behind.

"Stormfly, no!" Astrid cried.

Garff soon reached the clearing, but he was stopped by several Slitherwings. He roared at them together in the back off, but they weren't afraid of him in the slightest. Stormfly then fired several spines blocking their path towards Garff and landed between them.

Hiccup and the others were having our own problems with the Slitherwing and Hiccup were trying to scare one-off with _Inferno_. Then they heard the sound of Stormfly within the forest.

"Stormfly," said Astrid with a panicked look.

Then they saw two Slitherwing flying out of the trees and quickly all of them charged towards them. They then unleashed their fire attacks on the Slitherwings causing them to retreat and they began looking for Stormfly.

Astrid was the first to spot her. "There she is!"

"I got her," said Hiccup as he flew down towards the clearing.

* * *

Once there they found the clearing was covered in amber and spines, but the most troubling thing was that Garff was nowhere to be seen and Stormfly was trapped in amber cocoon. The moment they landed at the quickly dashed over towards Stormfly.

Stormfly looked a bit agitated and Hiccup placed a gentle hand on her side as he drew _Inferno_. "Hey, easy girl." Hiccup immediately ignited _Inferno_ began to melt the amber around. "Easy."

Fishlegs frowned. "I don't understand. Garff is an excellent shot. I mean, how could he miss the Slitherwings but hit Stormfly?"

Hiccup then shattered through the amber cocoon freeing Stormfly. However, upon being freed began walking around frantically and screeching uncontrollably.

Astrid was immediately worried. "Stormfly," she said dusting towards her and placed her hands upon to comfort her. "Come here. Calm down."

Stormfly then immediately spun around and struck Astrid with a tail.

"Ooh," the twins winced.

"Guys. I think the Sitherwings took Garff," said Fishlegs examining the amber on the ground.

Everyone then turned to Stormfly and quickly realised what was upsetting her.

"But not before they poisoned my dragon," Astrid finished.

They then watched as Stormfly kept on walking around frantically and uncontrollably.

Astrid immediately turned to Hiccup. "Hiccup, I've never seen her like this before. Just look at her eyes."

Astrid looked right, Stormfly's pupils were a lot sharper than they usually were.

"She seems disoriented," said Hiccup. "She might be in shock from the poison."

Fishlegs then immediately began looking through his cards. "Slitherwing, Slitherwing. Come on, where are you?"

"Hurry, Fishlegs!" Astrid yelled placing a hand on his shoulder.

Fishlegs jumped up in surprise and dropped his cards. "My nerves are already shot, Astrid! You are not helping right now."

"I'm sorry," said Astrid apologetically. "I-I'm just—"

"Scared," Fishlegs finished as he began picking up his cards. "I know. We all are. But we're gonna figure this out." He then looked directly at her. "Look at me. We're a team. And if one of us goes down, we all go down."

Astrid nodded and looked down at the card and recognised the one they wanted. "There! The Slitherwing!"

Astrid immediately handed it over to Fishlegs. "Okay, okay, okay, okay. Um…" he said as he examined the card. "Not much is known about how the poison works." Astrid looked crestfallen. "But, but, but…"

"But what?" Astrid asked.

"There is an antidote!" Fishlegs announced excitedly. "Yes, yes, yes! It's a combination of angel fern root, pine sap, and… oh."

Hiccup had a feeling he knew what the final ingredient was judging from Fishlegs' face. "Let me guess, Slitherwing venom."

Fishlegs nodded.

"Hey, we've milked many a nasty dragon and, per my recollection, an eel or three," said Tuffnut. "So shouldn't be that hard."

"Except that we can't touch the subject of armour he desires, 'bro-fessor,'" Ruffnut pointed out.

"Does present quite the conundrum," Tuffnut admitted. "We need of a 'bro-llient… sis-covery.'" He then looked at his sister. "Is it too much?"

"Not for me," she shrugged.

"Guys, we don't have much time here," Hiccup reminded. "Plus we need to find out what happened to Garff, so…"

"Let me guess. We're splitting up and putting each group in equal yet perilous danger," Snotlout guessed.

Hiccup just looked at him with blank face.

"What? Isn't that what we always do?" Snotlout asked. "The only question is who draws the short straw?"

"And is there really a straw? Or a stick with a hole through it?" Tuffnut asked.

"Ragnar, you, Fishlegs and the twins find the ingredients to the end you don't and get it going," said Hiccup looking at Ragnar. He then turned Astrid. "Astrid, you stay with Stormfly. She need you right now."

Astrid looked at Stormfly, who was still looking at the sky and growling.

Hiccup then looked at Snotlout. "As for you, you and I…"

"Did ice cream?" Snotlout asked hopefully.

Hiccup gave him a blank look. "If by 'ice scream,' you mean going to find Garff, then yes."

"Yak dung. Short straw," Snotlout grumbled.

Hiccup then placed a comforting hand on Astrid's shoulder. "We'll be back. Stay strong, Astrid. She needs you."

Astrid and made her way over towards Stormfly and try to calm her down.

* * *

Hiccup and Snotlout had mounted their dragons and began to search for Garff in the forest.

"Now that it's just the two of us—" Snotlout began before Hookfang growled at him. "The four of us. Can I get a break, Hookfang?" He then looked back at Hiccup. "Anyway, all kidding aside, Hiccup, do you really think Garff is alive? I mean, look at the effect that poison has on Stormfly."

"Look, no matter what, we don't leave a dragon behind, alive or dead," said Hiccup plainly. Snotlout then looked at Hookfang with a concerned expression. "Snotlout, are you okay?"

"I was just thinking about Astrid," he said. "I remember when Hookfang was with the Fireworm Queen, and I was so scared and mad. I mean, I was lost. Completely lost." He then gave them a stern expression and folded his arms. "But if you tell anyone I said that, I will deny it."

Hiccup laughed.

Toothless then came to a complete stop and growled.

"Whoa, bud! What is it?" Hiccup asked.

Then he saw in front of them a trail of amber.

"Hey, maybe the little guy managed to fight 'em off after all," said Snotlout noticing the trail was well.

"That's the spirit," Hiccup nodded. He then watched as Snotlout began following the trail and looked down at Toothless. "Oh, I really hope that's the case, bud."

Toothless growled in agreement as they followed Snotlout.

* * *

Elsewhere in the forest Stormfly was still moving around anxiously, even despite Astrid's best attempt to calm her down.

"Stormfly, you have to keep still," said Astrid calmly. "The more you don't, the quicker the poison will spread through your body."

Stormfly then rushed forward knocking her to the ground before running off. Astrid picked herself up and began chasing after her.

"Stormfly," she said jumping in front of her only to be knocked to the ground again when she dashed off. "Stormfly, no!"

* * *

Meanwhile Ragnar and the others were gathering the ingredients needed for the antidote.

"Here you go, you sap," said Ruffnut as she stabbed a tree with a knife and sat began to pour out of it. "Sap for the sap."

Fishlegs then pulled out an angel fern from a bush. "And an angel fern for…"

He then stopped in midsentence as he and Ruffnut looked at each other with blank looks.

"Ew," said Tuffnut popping his head over Fishlegs' shoulder. "'Sap for a sap'? Kind of, uh, 'sis-connected' from your 'bro-barian.'"

"You got a point," said Ruffnut and looked at Fishlegs. "He's got a point."

Ragnar then looked at Tuffnut. "Did you by any chance get Slitherwing venom?"

"No," said Tuffnut bluntly as pulled out some angel fern. "I got the fern root of an angel from my angel."

Ragnar facepalm is himself. "Thanks for putting that image in my head."

"Ew!" said Fishlegs equally disgusted.

Tuffnut looked at them. "See what I mean? Kind of gross, right?"

Ragnar shook his head. "You were supposed to get the venom, Tuffnut," he reminded.

"No, I specifically recall you telling Ruffnut to get the venom," said Tuffnut putting his hands on his hips. He then looked at Ruffnut. "Ooh, ouch. What a 'sis-appointment.'"

"Sorry to spoil your game, 'bro-cano.' 'Twas a 'T' and not a 'R' that received the 'uffnut,'" said Ruffnut.

Ragnar rubbed his forehead. "Look, I don't care which one, but one of the Nuts needs to extract some Slitherwing venom or we're all…"

He was then interrupted by the sound of Stormfly, who was rushing towards them. Quickly they all jumped out of the way as she passed them and quickly their dragons blocked her path. Astrid then approached them just as Stormfly rushed off.

"It's the poison," she panted. "It's getting worse. We need to help her."

"We're on it," said Ragnar.

"Sap," said Fishlegs.

"Angel," said Tuffnut.

" _El_ venom," said Tuffnut. "We won't let you down. At least, I won't."

"Let's move it!" Ragnar yelled.

Immediately they ran in order to get the last ingredient and Astrid took that moment to catch her breath. However, a few seconds later they came running back.

Fishlegs stopped to look at Astrid. "Okay, well, in all the excitement, we, um…"

"Forgot your dragons?" Astrid finished.

"Forgot our dragons," Fishlegs nodded before he ran off.

* * *

Hiccup and Snotlout was still following the trail of amber scraps which led them to that of a boneyard and soon they reached a narrow cave.

Hiccup jumped off of Toothless and drew _Inferno_. He then ignited and loaded down into the cave entrance and then he saw chunk of amber inside of it.

Snotlout could read Hiccup's mind and realise that it was his last to dissuade him from going in. "Listen, I'm all for the 'no dragon left behind' thing, but if one of the four of us get stung by those things, who's gonna—"

"We are going in there to find Garff, Snotlout," said Hiccup plainly as he climbed into the cave.

"Or what's left of him. Just saying," said Snotlout as he climbed in after him.

* * *

Ragnar and the others had managed to locate a Slitherwing that was drinking from a lake.

"Okay, so how are you guys gonna get it?" Fishlegs asked.

"Us guys?" said Tuffnut looking at him. "I thought we were a team. What happened to the sap, angel and venom thing? I make jackets."

"Well…" Fishlegs whimpered.

"Yes, and those were awesome, but forget it," said Ruffnut looking at her brother. "Looks like it's just me, Ragnar and you now, 'bro-tacular.'" She then turned her gaze upon the Slitherwing. "Now, how are we gonna extract it without touching it?"

"Ha. Simple," said Tuffnut as he performed some hand movements. "We put a jug underneath. Slitherwing drinks." He then imitated slurping sounds. "Slitherwing slobbers." He then made slobbering sounds. "We're in. We're out."

"And if it touches our skin?" Ruffnut whispered.

"Ruffnut, that's collateral damage."

"Uh, you're talking about us 'bro-crastinator.'"

"I've got a better idea, we knock it out quickly and then we sweep the venom of it before it wakes up," said Ragnar plainly.

The twins blinked.

"I like that plan much better," said Ruffnut.

Tuffnut shrugged. "Though it takes all the fun out of it."

Fishlegs then whimpered and grasped onto Ragnar's shoulder.

"Oh, I love this game!" Tuffnut cried.

"Oh, yeah!" Ruffnut nodded excitedly. "The one where we describe what you're thinking without speaking."

Fishlegs then fainted and their dragons began to hiss.

"Oh, great, now they want to play," Ruffnut grumbled looking at them.

"I don't think they're playing," said Ragnar tearing open eyed and what was in front of them.

The twins turned and saw that the Slitherwing they were watching was now directly above them and spat a lot of its poison at them. Thankfully, their dragons pulled them to safety before they got struck by the poison.

* * *

Astrid was with Stormfly, who then collapsed to the ground and fell unconscious. She then heard screams and saw Ragnar the others being carried by their dragons by the helm of their shirts.

"What happened?" Astrid asked rushing over to them.

"These guys," said Tuffnut pointing at Barf and Belch. "They ruined our game."

The two-headed dragon growled.

"And saved our lives in the process," said Ragnar rolling his eyes.

Astrid looked at them. "Did you get the venom?"

Ragnar and Fishlegs shook their heads.

Astrid then turned and saw Stormfly was growling weakly when she realised that the poison had spread over her body completely. She rushed over to her and embraced her head and then looked at the others strongly.

"I can't lose her," she said.

She then immediately dashed off before anyone could stop her.

"Astrid, no!" Fishlegs cried.

"You'll get yourself killed!" Ragnar yelled.

Astrid ignored them and kept on running in the direction of the Slitherwing. A minute later and she came across it slipping on the ground and upon seeing her raised its body into the air and hissed at her loudly.

Astrid then screamed and did the most unexpected thing anyone could have dreams of. She charged it and rolled even before he could bite her and then slammed her fist into it chest. The Dragon screeched in pain as the poison began to cover Astrid's hand.

He then began to look around for her, but she had completely vanished.

Astrid was running back towards the others clutching her hand which was now covered in the poison. She could only feel the poison taking effect on her and when she climbed over a long she fell face first into the dirt. She picked herself up and painfully made her way towards the clearing.

Ragnar the others approached her as she came out of the forest. "I hope you can make two doses," she said before she collapsed.

"Astrid?" Ragnar cried as he bent over towards her. "Astrid, stay with us." He then looked at the others. "Guys, Go get him some water." He then looked at Astrid. "Astrid, listen to me!"

* * *

When Astrid opened her eyes she found the burning sensation she had experienced was gone. She also found a dragon on the others were looking down at her with relieved looks.

"Easy there, Astrid," said Ragnar gently. "The antidote is still working its way through your body."

"I'm fine, Ragnar," Astrid assured as she pulled herself up. She then looked at them. "How's Stormfly?"

They all looked at her with grave looks.

Fishlegs wiggled his fingers. "For some reason, it's working on you, but with her…"

Astrid's eyes widened as he turned around to find that Stormfly still looked quite sick on the ground.

"Oh, no," said Astrid dashing towards her.

Tears began to form in her eyes that she feared that her dragon was going to die.

"Is Astrid crying?" Tuffnut stared. "I've never seen anything like that before." He then looked at his sister. "How are we supposed to deal with that? Nobody's ever prepared us for anything like this."

Ruffnut then approached and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's, uh, dust in the air," she said. She then immediately turned on the boys. "Always gets me this time of year. Astrid doesn't cry! The wind kicks up and then all sorts of stuff blows through. It's the dust. I'm telling you, it's the dust!"

"No, no, no, no," said Tuffnut shaking his head. "I know allergies, and I know crying. And those?" He pointed at Astrid's tears. "Those like there are definitely tears of sadness and regret, folks. I'd know those salty suckers anywhere."

Astrid then got to her feet and marched up to Tuffnut furiously. "How would you feel if you were losing your dragon?"

Tuffnut stared at her and then completely broke down. "I'd ruthlessly punish… whoever was responsible!"

He then began weeping.

Astrid however was more concerned for Stormfly and rushed over to her.

* * *

Meanwhile Hiccup and Snotlout, along with their dragons, were walking down the cave with only _Inferno_ lighting their way. As they got in deeper into the cave they discovered that there were tons of Slitherwings sleeping.

Snotlout whimpered at the sight of them. "Oh, my Thor. They're even scarier when they're sleep." He cringed as one of them snored. "Little creepers. They're so creepy."

He and Snotlout then waste any time and rushed over towards Hiccup and Toothless.

"The amber looks like it's piling up," Hiccup noted. He then looked directly in front of them and stared. "Uh, is that what I think it is?"

Snotlout looked up and he too was staring.

* * *

Astrid and the others meanwhile were still confused about why the antidote didn't work on Stormfly.

"I am so sorry, girl," said Astrid hugging her. "I tried. You know I tried."

"I just don't understand it," said Ragnar scratching his head. "The antidote worked on you, but it did work on Stormfly."

"Yeah, it doesn't make any sense," Fishlegs agreed. "Our body systems aren't so different that they wouldn't react the same."

"Remember when Great-Uncle Magmar died?" Ruffnut asked looking at her brother.

"Yep," Tuffnut nodded. "At first, he refused to accept it, even though both his arms and one legs were cut off." He then tucked in arms behind his back and lifted one of his legs.

"What a visual."

"It really was unforgettable."

"But then he got super mad at everyone, which was also unforgettable."

"Yeah, seeing him hop around on that one leg, telling people he was gonna bite their tongues off." Tuffnut then began jumping around and imitating biting sounds.

"Then he stopped eating, which was good for us, because we couldn't let all that sympathy food go to waste."

"And then he just laid there and accepted his fate," Astrid finished.

"Yeah, but that—that was completely forgettable," said Tuffnut. "Kind of boring, in fact."

Ruffnut placed a hand on her hips and narrowed her eyes and Astrid. "Thanks a lot, Astrid. Thanks for ruining our moment of reverie."

Astrid's eyes then widened. "Wait. Ragnar, Fishlegs, when we found her in the cocoon, she was stunned. Then she got really angry and lashed out."

"Tell me about it," said Tuffnut.

"Then she refused to eat, and now she's listless and unresponsive," said Ragnar.

"Do you think maybe the antidote didn't work on her because she was never poisoned in the first place?" Astrid asked.

"Astrid, I think you're right," said Fishlegs. "She's not poisoned at all. She's grieving. She's grieving the loss of Garff."

"The loss of her friend," said Astrid.

"That explains the cocoon," said Ragnar. "Garff must have covered her in amber in order to protect her from the Slitherwings."

Astrid then approached Stormfly relieved that she was not dying. "I'm so sorry, Stormfly," she said apologetically. "I know what you're feeling now, girl." She then grabbed a stick and began to draw in the dirt. "Garff was a great dragon and such a good friend. He saved your life, and will always remember him and always honour him."

Astrid start and revealed that she had drawn a picture of Stormfly and Garff together.

"Wow. Inside that angry little body, who knew she had that kind of artistic ability?" said Tuffnut stunned.

"The scales, the perspective, the shading, it's bang on," said Ruffnut. She then looked at her brother. "You think she could do one for us?"

"No harm asking."

Astrid shook her head and hugged Stormfly, who was looking a lot happier now. Astrid then looked into her eyes and saw that her slits were now back to normal.

"There's my girl," she smiled. She then placed a hand on Stormfly's head. "I'm so sorry you had to go through this."

She then hugged her again and Stormfly purred softly.

* * *

Meanwhile Hiccup and Snotlout were staring at a large wall made of amber.

"Is there something inside there?" Snotlout asked in a panic voice.

"Not something, Snotlout, someone!" Hiccup snapped.

They made their way closer towards the amber wall and there on the other side of it was none other than Garff.

"Garff! Hey, there!" Hiccup waved.

Garff sang his song happily at them.

"I knew it!" said Hiccup looking back at Snotlout. "He must have cocooned himself as a protection against the Slitherwing venom, just like he did with Stormfly."

Snotlout frowned. "Yeah, except that didn't work out too good."

Hiccup thought for moment and his eyes lit up. "Or did it?"

Snotlout gave him a puzzled look. "What are you talking about?"

"Yeah, nothing," said Hiccup shaking his head. He then turned his attention back onto Garff. "We need to get him out of here."

"We all need to get out of here before these dragons wake up for breakfast in bed," said Snotlout. "And we're the breakfast."

Hiccup then pierced the amber with _Inferno_ and very carefully began to melt his way through it. Snotlout quickly grabbed the shards that fell from the cracks so that they didn't wake the Slitherwings.

"Any day now," said Snotlout in a panic voice.

"I'm going as fast as I can, Snotlout," Hiccup snapped. "If I hurt him it kind of defeats the purpose."

Garff was on the other side of the wall giving Hiccup the small growl.

"I know, Garff," said Hiccup as he continued to melt his way through the amber. "We missed you, too, but we need to get moving before…"

Then suddenly there was a large cracking sound as dozens of very large cracks creeped all over the amber wall.

"Oh…" said Hiccup unable to think of anything else.

Then suddenly the amber wall shattered and the fragments bailed to the ground with a mighty crash. Snotlout could see there was no need for him to hold the amber shard he was holding and tossed them to the ground. All of them clinched until the final shard struck the ground and turned to find that the Slitherwings were now wide-awake.

Soon they began hissing and slithered their way towards them and immediately Garff roared. His roar was so loud that it actually reached all the way to Stormfly, who immediately got up.

Toothless immediately fired a plasma blast that the Slitherwing knocking it back and Garff fired a chunk of amber at another. Unfortunately when it made contact with the Slitherwing's skin it just rolled off of it.

"That's why his amber didn't stick to these guys earlier," said Hiccup. "Their skin coating protects them from it."

Toothless and Hookfang immediately unleashed there by a breath attack upon the Slitherwings, but he easily dodged the attacks. Soon they found themselves completely surrounded and was slowly backing away from them. Hiccup was using _Inferno_ in order to scare them off, but there was just too many of them and one of them was about to pounce Garff.

However, just as it pounced a burst of white flames came out of nowhere striking it. They looked up and saw flying towards them was asked on top of Stormfly and they soon landed in between them. Stormfly then unleashed a burst of flames that were white and looked to be far hotter than normal. It was enough to cause the Slitherwings to fall back.

Hiccup stared at Astrid. "Oh, whoa! What was that?"

"Her new thing," said Astrid looking back at them. "Pretty nice, huh?"

"Uh, very."

Then the twins arrived on Barf and Belch spreading gas down the tunnel.

"Here we go!" Ruffnut cried.

Belch then ignited the gas causing an explosion that scared of the Slitherwings. Ragnar and Fishlegs then arrived and assisted with scaring off the remainder of the Slitherwings. With the coast now clear they Hiccup and Snotlout were able to get off their dragons and Garff rushed over to Stormfly and the two of them growled happily at one another and began nuzzling one another.

They then took off with Astrid in the lead, who then unleashed Stormfly's new dragon fire down the tunnel in order to scare off any Slitherwings that blocked their path. They soon managed to fly out of the cave and flew away from the island as quickly as they could.

Once they were save Astrid laughed and gave a sigh of relief as she laid her body against Stormfly's back.

Hiccup then flew over to her. "I'm glad she's back, too, Astrid."

"Well, we still have one thing we have to do," said Fishlegs pulling out the match. "And I promise I will be better about doing it."

* * *

The next day they managed to find another island which was completely Slitherwing free and Garff was enjoying his new home. He was currently playing with Stormfly and everyone just watched as the two dragons nuzzle one another.

"This place is perfect, Fishlegs," said Hiccup.

"Let's give them a minute," said Astrid.

Hiccup nodded. "It's tough to say goodbye."

"Let's not call it 'goodbye,' Hiccup," said Astrid placing a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "It's 'see you later.'"

They then continue to watch as the dragons nuzzled one another.

"That's so beautiful," said Ruffnut.

"One might even say 'bro-tiful,'" said Tuffnut.

"Touché. Touché."


	63. Snuffnut

Fishlegs and Meatlug walking in the forest within the Edge holding a bunch of flowers.

"These Buttercup Poppies will assimilate perfectly into our topiary salute to the current Changewing migration," said Fishlegs. He was so excited that he accidentally swatted Meatlug with his bouquet of flowers and dropped them. "Oops."

Meatlug gave him a growl and he immediately rubbed her head.

"No, no, you go ahead girl," said Fishlegs. "I'm right behind you."

Meatlug immediately began to scamper off and Fishlegs sighed as he placed one hand on a rock and began went to pick up the bouquet.

He then heard a growl directly from the rock his hand was on. "Please tell me I'm not leaning on a…" Then there was a massive growl and he immediately ran away screaming. "Changewing!"

However it was not a Changewing, but Tuffnut painted in grey paint and with a plank of wood struck to his back.

* * *

Astrid was laying down on the grassbank of a small stream soaking in some sun as Stormfly played in the water.

She then heard a growl and sighed. "Oh, boy." She then sat up. "Stormfly!"

Stormfly ran up to her and she immediately jumped on board and then they took off. Tuffnut then opened his eyes and removed himself from the tree he was leaning against.

"Astrid's impossible to get," he muttered. He then tapped his chin and got an idea. "But I know who's not."

* * *

Snotlout was currently at the twins hut picking up the trash they had accumulated over the past week. Ruffnut was helping dumping it onto the wagon he was pulling.

"How much trash do you two make in a week?" he asked.

Ruffnut scoffed. "This is just Tuesday, boyo. The rest is out in the back."

Snotlout popped his head at the back of the hut and immediately groaned in disgust. The entire place was littered with garbage and the smell was terrible.

"Oh, my Thor," he stared.

"Better get a move on," said Ruffnut. "That trash is not going to dispose of itself."

"Fine!" Snotlout yelled and began to move the wagon which was extremely heavy. "You're welcome."

Ruffnut chuckled as she made her way to grab the next load of garbage. She then heard a growling noise from within the garbage and then Tuffnut jumped out right in front of her and roared.

However, the reaction he expected was not what he envisioned as a few seconds later his face collided with Ruffnut's face.

"Ow!" Tuffnut cried. "Ouch! What are you doing?"

Ruffnut stared at him. "What am I doing? What am _I_ doing?"

Tuffnut picked himself up. "You know how much I enjoy my role in the Changewing migration. I do this every year."

"And I hated it every year!" Ruffnut snapped at him. "It's seriously creeps me out when you creep up on me."

"Duh. Isn't that the whole idea?" Tuffnut asked.

Ruffnut folded her arms and scowled at him. "You know what? Take that weak sauce somewhere else before you can get yourself killed! Oh, here's an idea. Go scare Snotlout! He's an idiot! He'll fall for it."

"Excellent idea," said Tuffnut. He then began to creeping footsteps as he tiptoed away. "A-creeping I shall go."

* * *

Snotlout was now the place where they got rid of their garbage and began to unload his wagon. He was completely unaware that all of garbage were bouncing something solid that was invisible. He then heard growls and naturally assume that it was Tuffnut try to scare him.

"Ahh!" Snotlout groaned. "Come on, Tuffnut, do you really think I'm in the mood for your childish Changewing games? Well, I'm not."

He then heard a roar directly behind.

"Ooh, a roar. Scary," he mocked. He then frowned. "Now was actually a pretty good roar. Very specific." Then suddenly a claw appeared on his shoulder. "Ow, that feels like a real claw."

He then turned around and discovered that it was in fact a real Changewing behind him. He then immediately screamed.

* * *

Hiccup, Astrid, Ragnar and Fishlegs were in the clubhouse doing their own thing when Snotlout appeared covered in head to toe in garbage.

"Do not ask, because I don't want to talk about it," he said.

The four them just looked at him and continued on what they were doing.

Snotlout stared at them. "Huh? Do you have any idea what I've been through? This Changewing migration is going to be the death of me."

"Promises promises," Ragnar muttered.

"Snotlout, if you just leave the Changewings alone, they'll move on in a couple of days, and you won't have to worry about them again," said Fishlegs gesturing to a Changewing that appeared on the cliff next to the edge and promptly vanished. "We go through this every year."

"You're agitating them," said Hiccup as he got to his feet. "All that ranting and screaming and stomping around just makes them madder and makes them stay here that much longer."

"Wait. So now it's my fault?" Snotlout stared.

Then suddenly he felt something grasping his arms and a growl behind him. A split second later he screamed and backed away and landed in a trough.

"Climate change wearing!" Tuffnut cried. He then immediately ran out of the clubhouse on all fours. "Changewing out!"

Then a second later they heard a horn in the distance.

"Are we expecting visitors today?" Hiccup asked.

* * *

When they made their way to the docks they discovered that sailing towards them in a boat was Throk, much to the surprise of everyone.

"Throk," said Hiccup. "Uh, did we have plans?"

"I am on your shores today to prepare a personal mission that is most personal and of the utmost importance," said Throk as he glided into the port and tied the boat down.

"Okay. How can we help?" Hiccup asked.

"You can point me in the direction of the fragrance saviour of this man's very life… Ruffnut Thorston."

All of them looked at one another dumbfounded.

"I am here to left her off her feet," Throk announced.

"Um, don't you mean 'sweep her off her feet'?" Hiccup asked as he lifted him onto the port.

"No. I will lift her from her feet, put over my shoulder, and return with her to my island, where she will live out her days as my trustworthy wife," Throk explained.

"What?" Astrid stared.

"You're certainly going to make an impression," said Ragnar.

"Um, does she know about this?" Fishlegs asked.

Throk gave him a blank look. "Is that important?"

"Are you kidding me?" Astrid roared as he marched up towards him.

Hiccup then quickly placed himself in front of her. "Hey, hey, hey, hey, calm down," said Hiccup calmly.

Astrid just growled angrily at Throk.

Hiccup quickly turned to Throk. "Okay, Throk, we do marriage a little differently around these parts."

"Say no more. Say no more," said Throk understandably. "Sadly, we, too, have gone soft over the years. Losing the club has made the retrieval of the bride much more of a struggle."

Astrid then performed a battlecry and drew her axe. She probably would have killed Throk right there if Hiccup hadn't grappled with her.

"Hey, Fishlegs, this is more your area of expertise," said Hiccup as he dragged Astrid away from Throk. "Why don't you take it? Can't wait to hear what you guys decide!"

Ragnar, Fishlegs and Throk just looked at one another when they hear the cries of Astrid screams and the cries from Hiccup as he attempted to her down. The judging from the noise the two of them were currently wrestling with one another.

Ragnar and Fishlegs just gave Throk an awkward smile.

* * *

Fishlegs then spend the rest of the morning trying to teach Throk the courtship rituals of their corner of the archipelago.

"You see, Throk, in today's business archipelago, the modern woman commands a certain amount of respect," Fishlegs explained. "She has a mind of her own. So the whole 'stake a claim' speech, not so much."

"But it's so much simpler," said Throk.

"That may be. However, we've found that asking for a lady's hand is much more effective."

Throk then nodded in understanding. "Then her hand would be a symbol of her eternal devotion."

"Exactly," Fishlegs nodded relieved that he was getting somewhere.

"Which she then wear a hook or claw?" Throk asked.

Fishlegs sighed. "Let's go back. You need to start by getting Ruffnut interested in you in a romantic, nonviolent way."

"Hmm," Throk frowned. "I don't see it. Perhaps you would assist me in my endeavours."

"Okay. Uh, how about this?" said Fishlegs as he guided him around his hut. "Why not start with an icebreaker? Something that speaks of your affection for her?" He then gestured towards his garden. "Go ahead. pick anything you want."

Throk looked around until he saw something that caught his eye. "By the Ancients."

* * *

A few moments later, Ruffnut heard a knock at the door of her half of the hut. The moment she opened it Throk immediately presented her with a foliage of dried shrub.

"Whoa! Shrub to the face," she said. "Yep, always a surprise." She then took it. "I suppose a little more roughage in the diet never hurt."

She then tossed it over her shoulder landed next to her other stuff including her stuffed yak. However, Tuffnut was currently inside the yak and had heard everything.

"Ruffnut loves a fresh rub," he said curiously. "What are you up to, Throk?"

"Okay, here we go," said Throk rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. His eyes then turned to Fishlegs and Meatlug who are not standing too far way. "Ready?"

Fishlegs immediately gave him the thumbs up.

"A poem for the modern woman," said Throk. He immediately went on his knees. "Hair, it smells of flounder. Skin, rough like the coral of a thousand-year-old reef. Lips, dry as jerky made from the giant clam."

Fishlegs facepalmed himself and shook his head.

Throk then rose to his feet and touched her hand. "No hand will be severed from this woman, for she is modern. She is Ruff. She is Nut." He then went down on one knee again. "She is Ruffnut."

Ruffnut blinked at him. "That was… beautiful, Throk. And so me."

Throk then rose to his feet and presented on to her. "Ruffnut, will you join me in returning to Defender of the Wing Island as my permanent guests?"

Ruffnut shrugged. "Sure."

Inside the stuffed yak, Tuffnut's eyes widened and the yak's mouth fell wide open.

"Let me check with the other Nut," said Ruffnut.

"You misunderstand me, dear Ruff," said Throk and then places hands over her. "This is an invitation for but one Nut."

Ruffnut quickly pulled her hand away. "Oh. Yeah, no can do, Throkie-Poo. You see, we're a package deal. You wouldn't understand."

Throk then got down on one knee and placed his hands together. "Then help me to understand."

"Oh, it's simple. Born together, live together, die together," she explained.

Tuffnut literally cried upon hearing those words.

Throk groaned with disappointment and started to walk away. "Grace of the Ancients."

Ruffnut for moment and shrugged before entering back into her hut.

* * *

Tuffnut later than explained what happened to Hiccup and Astrid as Hiccup was still putting together his Dragon Eye.

"'Born together, live together, die together,'" he said. "Ha! I mean, is that great or what? You should have seen the soul-crushing look on old Throk-a-dilly's face."

"Wow," said Astrid. "I just never thought you'd do to your own sister."

"Do what?" Tuffnut asked.

"Get in the way of her happiness."

"If Ruffnut really has feelings for Throk, it could mean she's passing up a chance of a lifetime of love and happiness," said Hiccup.

"And same goes for you," Astrid added as she rested a hand on Hiccup shoulders. "Don't you ever want to meet a beautiful Viking girl and have a family of your own?"

Tuffnut then laughed. "Of course."

"And what would happen if Ruffnut stood in the way of that?" Astrid asked.

"She would never. She's too good of a sister." He then gasped in shock when he realised something. "I'm a monster!"

* * *

Later that day Tuffnut was wondering around the Edge and as he did Chicken clucked at him.

"You think I don't know that?" he said. "I mean, you think I'm not aware this is an impossible situation?"

Chicken clucked at him again.

"Oh, how do I know? Come on, stop shaming me. I'm only human."

Chicken clucked at him again.

Tuffnut then looked down from the platform he was on. "Oh, no." He saw the dam of the docks Ruffnut was with Throk and noticed that they had their hands over one another. "She's breaking his little Defender of the Wing heart. What have I done?"

Chicken clucked at him.

"Agreed, Chicken," Tuffnut nodded. "Something must be done. She won't allow herself to be happy as long as these perfect manicured feet walk this earth."

* * *

Ruffnut looked at Throk.

"It's nail fungus," she said looking at Throk's fingernails. "What you need, my friend, is a manicure. My brother is a genius with that."

"I cannot say another moment," said Throk sadly. "The sadness is too much to—"

Then they heard Tuffnut's screams.

"Tuff?" Ruffnut gasped.

* * *

Immediately everyone rushed towards the screens which was located at the garbage dump. Once there they saw Chicken clucking frantically while running around Tuffnut's discarded helmet.

"Tuff!" Ruffnut cried. They then saw a Changewing at the garbage dump with some clothing on its mouth. Ruffnut gasped upon seeing it. "Those are Tuffnut's clothes. He's never taken off, ever."

Fishlegs and Snotlout gave one another disgusted look upon hearing that.

"He always said the only way he'd come out of them is if he was—" Ruffnut's eyes widened when she looked at the Changewing. "The Changewing ate my baby brother!"

Chicken then fainted.

* * *

Later that evening, Ruffnut performed a Viking funeral, though it was very hard without a body. Everyone had shown up and had each brought an item that belonged to Tuffnut.

"Hear, ye, hear ye!" she announced. "Peoples of the Edge and all creatures far and near… we are present to read the will and last testament of one Tuffnut LaVerne Thorston." She sniffed and continued to read from the password in her hand. "First item: one half stuffed yak."

Snotlout then pulled the wagon holding the stuffed yak into the hole.

Ruffnut immediately turned on him. "Hey! Half that yak is still mine!"

"Yeah? Which half?" Snotlout asked.

"It's so obvious that the back half is his. Can none of you see that?"

Throk then placed a hand on her arm. "To me, nothing could be more obvious."

Ruffnut then buried her head into his shoulder and began to blow her nose on his shirt. She then turned to the others. "Next item!"

Ragnar then presented Throk with a handkerchief which he used in order to brush the snort of his shirt.

"Sixteen pounds of properly pinched salt," said Ruffnut reading from the parchment.

"Rest well, my salt-encrusted friend," said Fishlegs tossing a bag of salt into the pit. "Rest well." He then fell to his knees and looked to the sky. "Why? Why, Odin? Why? You should have taken me!"

Meatlug then grabbed the helm of Fishlegs' shirt and pulled him away from the pit. "No, Meatlug, I'm not ready to go! This is the last time I'll see him!"

Astrid then tossed a golden statue into the pit and looked at Hiccup. "There's no way he's really gone, is there? I mean, eaten by a Changewing? That's just way too easy."

"Funny," said Hiccup tossing the barrel he was holding into the pit. "I was thinking the exact same thing."

"Then that makes three of us," said Ragnar as he tossed a few dishes into the pit.

Ruffnut was still reading the parchment in her hand. "'As my last and final wish, I command you to burn all of these meaningless symbols of my earthly existence and dying glorious reverence with a feast of Chicken in my honour.'"

Then Toothless heard Chicken squawk in the distance.

"Okay. Now we're getting somewhere," said Snotlout licking his lips.

"Wait. There's more," said Ruffnut holding out a finger. "'Sorry, I meant a feast for Chicken in my honour, 'cause you would never eat Chicken. And if anyone even tries to, I will haunt you to the ends of the archipelago.'"

Chicken then cooed softly revealing that she was covered in camouflage paint. Then a hand patted her on the head also covered in Camouflage paint before lowering her head into the bush.

Ruffnut then tossed aside the parchment and Throk presented her with Tuffnut's helmet. She then raised the high into the air and then dropped it into the pit and then turned to Barf and Belch. Barf then began to feel the pit with gas and Belch ignited it and immediately everything within the pit began to burn.

"And now I must go fulfil my Thorston Schleibeldorg Ritual," said Ruffnut.

Astrid blinked. "'Schleiveldorg?'"

Ruffnut looked at them. "I shall be alone in my hut, in the dark, eating only sea slugs and toenails for the next two days."

Immediately everyone groaned in disgust.

"Any extra toenails are welcomed," Ruffnut added. "I can blow through them pretty quickly it my grief."

She then walked away and Throk followed her.

"Pfft! She's not getting my toenails," said Snotlout strongly as he walked away. "I work too hard on them."

Hiccup then turned to Toothless and nodded. Toothless immediately jumped into the bushes above them and roared. A few seconds later, Tuffnut, who was covered in camouflage paint, jumped out of the bushes screaming and landed at the feet of Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar. Chicken then landed on his chest and immediately jumped off it.

Tuffnut looked up to see the gaze of Hiccup, Astrid and Ragnar and turned to Chicken. "Don't be alarmed, mortals," he said in a dramatic voice as he rose to his feet. "I am the spirit of Tuffnut LaVerne Thorston.

Naturally the three of them were not convinced by this.

"Tuffnut, we know you're not a ghost," said Hiccup folding his arms.

"Oh, really? How?" said Tuffnut in his dramatic voice. "How do you know such a thing?"

Astrid answer that question by punching him hard in the shoulder causing him to cry in pain.

"Ouch!" Tuffnut cried losing his voice. He then quickly spoke in his dramatic voice again. "Oh! Ouch, I mean."

The three of them just gave him some serious looks and he realised that he was not going to convince them otherwise.

"All right, fine. I'm not dead," said Tuffnut dropping his voice. "But you cannot tell my sister."

"What are you talking about?" Hiccup asked.

"If she wants to go with the Throkman, I wanted to make that decision on her own," said Tuffnut placing his hands on his shoulders. "You said it yourself. She deserves to be happy, and—and if it means a life of haunting the moors of Berk, then so be it."

"This is arguably the worst idea in the history of worse ideas," said Hiccup.

Astrid and Ragnar nodded in agreement.

"Look, just give me 24 hours. That's all we need for the young lovers to figure out whether romance is in their future or rather a life of misery and…" Tuffnut then began wailing, "despair!"

He then walked off and Hiccup and the others looked at Chicken who then promptly followed him.

* * *

Later that night, Fishlegs and Throk were outside Ruffnut's hut and they could hear her yelling from inside and heard the sound of certain objects being smashed.

"Schleibeldorgan! Schleibeldorgan!" Ruffnut's voice yelled. "Toenail!"

"Fishlegs, how long must we wait for this grieving process to conclude?" Throk asked looking at Fishlegs.

Fishlegs pondered for a moment.

"Darkness!" Ruffnut yelled.

Throk then quickly pushed Fishlegs aside just as the door opens and Ruffnut stepped out. She was carrying a creed and was making her way around the hut.

"Ruff, where are you going?" Fishlegs asked.

"To the stables to see a Changewing about a man," said Ruffnut as she climbed the ladder to the next platform. "A dead man."

Fishlegs gasped.

"A revenge kill," said Throk. He then folded his hands behind his back and began pacing. "Hmm. I am conflicted. My love for Ruffnut on one hand, and on the other, a life dedicated to protecting dragons."

"Both really good reasons to stop her," said Fishlegs. "Besides, the flock won't migrate unless it's complete."

Fishlegs then dashed off.

* * *

He managed to inform the others and all of them made their way towards the stables as quickly as they could.

"Ruff, no. It's not worth it," said Hiccup as the entered the stables.

Ruffnut was standing in front of the Changewing that she believed killed her brother and she was holding something in her hand, most likely a dagger.

Ruffnut turned to face him. "Who are you to tell me what's worth what?"

"You can't kill that dragon. It's not gonna bring Tuffnut back," said Astrid.

Ruffnut blinked. "First of all, I would never harm a scale on this dragon's head," she said pointing the paintbrush at them. "My brother lives in him."

She then sidestepped to reveal that she had indeed painted an image of Tuffnut on the Changewing's chest. Everyone just gave her a very concerned looks as this was not what the expected.

"And the creep-factor just keeps on coming," said Snotlout.

The Changewing then vanished into thin air, but it was still visible due to the fact of the painting that Ruffnut had painted on its chest.

"This dragon, Snuttnut, shall be my lifelong companion," said Ruffnut bluntly. "I shall train him. I shall teach him. I shall share my life with him. My inner thoughts and demons!" She then placed a hand on her brother's portraits. "The spirit of my brother Joe always been by my side. By my side! By my side!"

"I thought we were supposed to leave the Changewings alone," said Snotlout. "This looks like pretty much the opposite of that."

The Changewing then reappeared and growled at Ruffnut.

"Tuff?" said Ruffnut.

Throk quickly tackled her to the ground just before the Changewing shot some acid at her.

"Are you hurt?" he asked.

"No," she said. "Snuffnut would never intentionally cause me harm."

"I think someone forgot to fill Snuffnut in on that," said Snotlout.

The Changewing then roared again and Ruffnut yelled as he began chasing. Throk quickly dashed towards a basket of fish and tossed it right in front of it and thankfully began eating it.

He then made his way over to Ruffnut and gave her a good shake. "Ruffnut. While it gives me great glory to save your life, I feel as though perhaps we must allow this dragon to go free, as you should set free the pain that lives in your heart. Come with me, Ruffnut. Start a new life back on our island." He then grabbed her hand. "I will provide for you. I will care for you. And, most importantly, I will kill for you."

Ruffnut looked at him. "That is so sweet, Throk. I… I…" She then turned and looked at the Changewing which then vanished and slowly backed away and looked directly at the face of Tuffnut's portrait and looked away from Throk. "I never let go of that pain! I could never leave Snuttnut. And if I should die then at least once again, my brother and I will be reunited." She then walked off. "Reunited. Reunited."

As she walked out of the stables more and more Changewings appeared.

* * *

The next day, Fishlegs, Snotlout and Throk were in Fishlegs' gardening trimming the bushes.

"Okay, I've got two questions," said Snotlout. "First of all, why are you doing this? Second, most importantly, why am I doing this?"

"The art of topiary, on the surface, may seem trivial and unimportant," said Fishlegs. "But when one digs deeper, one finds serenity, peace, tranquillity. Now, let's see what we've all created. I will go first."

He then gestured to his bush design which looks like a figure-of-eight. "I call this 'Infinity Search for Being.'" He then turned to Snotlout. "Snotlout?"

Snotlout then held out a branch. "I call this 'Barren Soul Wrapped in Nothingness.' It was between that and 'My Lousy Childhood.'"

Throk then stepped back to reveal that he trimmed his bliss in the shape of Ruffnut. "I call this 'What Does that Changewing Have That I Don't Have?"

"Well, for starters, her brother is in its stomach," said Snotlout.

Fishlegs just stared at it. "Whoa, you really do love, don't you?"

"Yeah. But why?" Snotlout asked.

"Her eyes, like the ink of the giant squid I defeated nearly eight moons past," said Throk as if he was reciting a poem. "The way she massages the feet."

Fishlegs stared at him. "Uh… Ruffnut massage your feet?"

"No. Her own. And her brother's."

"And that, my dear Throkie, is your 'problem,'" said Snotlout. "Twins? Package deal. Can't have one without the other, even if one is currently making his way through the digestive tract of an invisible dragon."

Throk eyes lit up. "That's it. That's the answer. My mission is clear." He then patted their shoulders. "Thank you both. You've been a great help."

He then dashed off with before the two of them could say anything.

* * *

Tuffnut was currently in Hiccup's hut with Chicken on Toothless' stone slab.

"Okay, let's review," he said as he began writing on a piece of paper. "The pros and cons of living life as a dead guy. Pros: no chores, because you're dead. That's a good one. All right, now…"

Chicken then clucked.

"Ooh, good one," Tuffnut nodded. "And deep thinking for domesticated avian vertebrate. That means chicken."

Chicken then clucked.

"Of course he knew that."

"All right that's it," said Hiccup as he and Ragnar entered the hut. "This little plan of yours is completely out of control."

Ragnar nodded. "She's completely overcome by grief. She calling the Changewing that supposedly eat you her brother."

"You're gonna tell Ruff you're alive before that Changewing or one of his friends really does eat someone," said Hiccup.

"Fine," said Tuffnut. He then looked at Chicken. "You can take 'Hiccup can't boss me around' off the list." He then scratched his pen across his piece of paper. "Even in death, I am a mere servant to this one-legged dictator with a weak chin."

"Okay, great," said Hiccup rolling his eyes. "Now, let's get this done, shall we?"

Tuffnut then tried to jump off the second floor by performing some acrobatic feats. Unfortunately, he ended up landing face first onto the floor.

* * *

Ruffnut was currently the stables with the Changewing she had named Snuffnut.

"Nobody understands the bond we share, bro," she sighed. "Nobody."

"I do, Ruffnut," said Throk opening the stable doors. "I understand."

"Throk, what are you doing?" Ruffnut asked in a panic voice as he made his way to the pen containing the Changewing.

"Leave my brother alone!" Ruffnut pleaded.

"I'm not going to hurt him," Throk assured and then opens the pen. He then jacked just in time to avoid the claw of the Changewing. "But if he's going to be part of our family…" He then rolled out of the way to avoid getting splashed by acid, "there are going to be some rules." He then rolled out of the way again to avoid being bitten by the Changewing. "It's okay, Snuff. It's your new brother. I'm here to help."

He then ran out of the pen with the Changewing quickly chasing after him. He then jacked again to avoid getting bitten and immediately climbed onto its neck.

"That's right, big boy," he said clinging onto its horns. "You and I are going to have an understanding." The Changewing kept on trying to throw him off, but he hung on as tightly as he could. "See? We're bonding."

Then suddenly the roof was torn away and Ruffnut saw several Changewing flying directly above them. Snuffnut then immediately took off with Throk riding on his back.

"We may still have some work to do!" Throk yelled as they flew into the sky.

It was at that point that Hiccup and Ragnar flew into the stables on their dragons.

"Ruff, what happened?" Hiccup asked.

"Throk and Snuffnut had a difference of opinion on his training," she said worriedly. "Now all the Changewings are trying to kill Throk!"

"Well, that was pretty stupid," said Tuffnut leaning his head from behind Hiccup's shoulder.

Ruffnut screamed. "Hiccup, look out! Tuffnut's ghost is here!"

"He's not a ghost," said Hiccup.

"I'm just me," said Tuffnut as he jumped off Toothless' back.

"Oh, well, isn't that exactly what a ghost would say?" Ruffnut asked as he approached.

"No. A ghost would never say that. A ghost would say something like…" He then performed an evil cackle. "Look!" He then punched Ruffnut in the shoulder. "Would a ghost do that?"

"Yours would," Ruffnut snapped.

They then heard Throk screams above them as he continued to grapple with Snuffnut with the other Changewing chasing after him. Snuffnut then performed a loop to loop and Throk lost his grip on his back. Thankfully he was able to grab hold of the tail.

"We need to get Throk out of there," said Hiccup. He then turned the twins and saw Ruffnut was poking her brother to see if he was real. "So you to get your dragon, ghost or no ghost, and let's get him some help. Now."

"Fine," said Tuffnut rubbing his nose due to the fact that Ruffnut had flicked her finger at it.

* * *

Throk had managed to climb back onto Snuffnut's back and was still trying to tame the dragon. All the Changewings were becoming visible and were chasing after them.

Hiccup, Ragnar and the twins were soon in the air and soon the other Riders joined them.

"If we push them out to the edge of the reef, they'll move on to the next island," said Hiccup.

Throk was still wrangling Snuffnut and was flying even higher into the air and a couple of Changewings were blocking the Riders path. Toothless then fired several plasma blast at them causing them to retreat and they continued their way up to Throk.

"Snotlout!" Snotlout yelled as he and Hookfang fired another group of Changewings.

Astrid and Ragnar doing the same to another group that were on the sea stacks leading them away from the Edge.

Throk was holding on as tightly as he could to Snuffnut and for brief moment he thought he was triumphant. However, Snuffnut jerked his back suddenly causing Throk to lose his grip and fall towards the ocean.

"Toothless, dive!" Hiccup yelled.

Toothless immediately dived after Throk avoiding all the Changewings that were attacking them. Throk soon found himself falling towards a Changewing, who had its mouth wide open. Thankfully Hiccup was able to grab him before he actually entered into the digestive system of the dragon.

"Gotcha!" said Hiccup relieved.

The other Riders were soon forcing the Changewings away from the Edge using spines, fire and explosions to scare them off. However they just merely hovered in front of the Edge and showed no interest of leaving.

"I don't think they're leaving, Hiccup," said Fishlegs worriedly.

"Just give them a minute," said Hiccup.

A few seconds later the Changewings began to vanish one by one as they pressed themselves against the sea stacks. Tuffnut then noticed his portrait on the chest of Snuffnut.

"Wow. How cool am I as a Changewing?" he said.

Apparently the other Changewings didn't agree as they began shooting acid at poor Snuffnut. But with acid, Snuffnut immediately flew off in pain.

"Hey! Leave my dragon self alone!" Tuffnut yelled.

"The flock won't fly with them unless he can go full cloak," Fishlegs explained. "It's too risky for them."

Snuffnut kept on trying to fly away" but every single time a Changewing shot acid at him.

"It's all my fault!" Ruffnut cried. "My undying love for my brother will be the end of this glorious beast!"

"Wait," said Tuffnut. "Methinks there is another way." He then placed his fingers on his temple and began to concentrate. "Yes! I have it."

Then before anyone could ask what he got they immediately took off and headed straight towards Snuffnut. However, first they had to zigzag their way through the other Changewings.

"By the way, I love you too," said Tuffnut to his sister. They then ducked narrowly avoiding getting their heads knocked off by a Changewing. "And I want you to be happy."

"I know you do," said Ruffnut. "But how can I be happy if we're not together?"

"We will be together."

"Hold that thought."

Ruffnut then performed what could only be described as a song out of key. Upon hearing the sound the Snuffnut immediately turned to face them and try to blast them with some acid.

"Okay go," said Ruffnut.

"We will be together. It'll just be different!" said Tuffnut.

They then flew towards the waterfall with Snuffnut close on their tails.

"You are the best brother—"

They then collided into the waterfall and everyone watched anxiously. Then they flew straight out of the waterfall with triumphant cheers and Snuffnut appeared a few seconds later. It then flew into the air and the painting of Tuffnut then got washed away from the water on his damp scales.

The twins cheered as he flew off and then they head-butted one another. That proved to be a mistake as Tuffnut wasn't wearing his helmet and ended up with a massive headache.

Ruffnut looked at Snuffnut. "So long, Snuffnut."

Snuffnut then flew towards the other Changewing and they began to fly off and soon vanished.

* * *

Later that day, Throk was on his boat as Ruffnut made her way towards the docks.

"Wait," said Ruffnut causing her to stop in her tracks. "I have something to say."

"I'm all ears, Thorkie," said Ruffnut.

"Well, I've been doing a great deal of soul-searching," said Throk and then got out of the dock and looked at her. "I realise that you and Tuffnut, you belong together. I can't take you away from here and deprive you of the twin bond you enjoy. When joined together as one, you are a force and one that must remain intact for the good of the archipelago."

He then pulled her into a hug and patted her on the back. He then jumped onto his boat and sailed away, but not before looking back at her.

"Hair, it smells of flounder. Skin, rough like the coral of a thousand-year-old reef," he said as he sailed away.

Tuffnut then approached her and looked at her. "So, uh, you okay?"

"Yeah. I think so," Ruffnut nodded as she looked at Throk's boat. "Maybe a little guilty. Poor guy."

"Guilty?" Tuffnut blinked. "Wait. You were never…"

"I was never gonna go with him," said Ruffnut placing a hand on her hips. "Are you crazy? Oh, by the way, thanks for killing yourself for me."

Tuffnut chuckled. "Yeah, no sweat. It actually turned out being dead is not as much fun as it seems."

"Well, then I guess we both learn something."

"Or one of us did and the other wasted a lot of time."

The two of them then head-butted one another and their helmets clanked and then they pose with their backs against one another.


	64. Searching for Oswald and Chicken

Heather and Dagur were still trying to search for their father and using his diary in order to locate him. One of these expeditions led them into a cave which then began to collapse on top of them and they were currently trying to fly out of said collapsing cave.

"On your left!" Dagur yelled as Sleuther by the blast destroying a rock was about to hit Heather. "And your right! And, well, everywhere!"

"Faster, Windshear!" Heather yelled.

They soon saw the cave entrance and accelerated towards it. They just managed to get out of the cave entrance before it caved in on them, but it was very close.

* * *

A few minutes later they landed on a nearby island and Heather began to look through their father's diary.

"I'm not sure where we went wrong," she said as she looked through the pages.

"I'll tell you where we went wrong," said Dagur. "We followed another clue from dear old Dad's diary of death, and it led us into a trap. What a shock."

"We're close, Dagur," said Heather closing the diary. "I can feel it. We have to keep looking for him. Oswald wouldn't have given up on us."

"The only thing we're getting closer to is Valhalla," said Dagur approaching her. "You're trying to find 'clues' in what is mostly meaningless gibberish."

Heather groaned.

"And trust me, as someone who's spent most of their life in various states of existential crises, I know the meaning of meaningless!" Dagur added.

Heather sighed as she made her way over to Windshear. "I'm heading home," she said as he placed the diary in her saddle bag. "You do what you want, but I'm not stopping until I find our father."

Dagur then placed a hand on her shoulder. "Please don't get killed, Heather." He then pulled her into a hug. "I like having a sister."

Once they separated Heather mounted Windshear and took off, unaware that Dagur had taken their father's diary from her saddle bag.

* * *

At the Edge, the twins were doing a little housecleaning putting everything they owned outside their hut.

"Are you spring cleaning?" said Astrid surprised.

"Finally getting the mould out of your hut?" said Snotlout folding his arms.

Ruffnut then turned on him as she shoved one of the statues outside. "Oh, if we were spring cleaning you'd know. We'd be getting rid of this stuff and our hut."

She leaned too much on the statue causing it to fall off the platform and shattered into pieces.

Tuffnut then emerged from their hut and began looking under every single thing that wasn't nailed down. "I won't leave a single stone unturned, not a corner unscoured, not a rotisserie unrotated until my little egg-laying ingénue is found!"

"Chicken's missing again," Ruffnut explained.

"Ooh. Mystery. Intrigue," said Snotlout. Tuffnut was then sobbing uncontrollably and Snotlout chuckled. "I love it."

Astrid rolled her eyes and approached Tuffnut. "Maybe she just needed some alone time, Tuff," she said helping him to his feet.

Tuffnut scoffed. "Chicken hates alone time, unless it's with me. Besides, she's been acting strangely lately. She keeps disappearing, she's tired all the time, and she didn't show up to book club this week."

He then picked up a book and tossed it at Ruffnut, who shifted ahead to avoid getting struck by it. "She never misses book club… especially when we're reading chick lit." He then smiled at them. "Get it? Chick. Lit."

"Maybe Chicken just flew the coop?" Astrid suggested with a slight chuckle.

Tuffnut then immediately cried. "Oh, no!" He then glared at her. "Really, Astrid? Terrible chicken puns at a time like this? You are better than that."

"But had Chicken really flown the coop, or was there something more sinister going on?" said Snotlout acting as if he was narrator. "Only time would tell. Or would it? Ooh."

It was at that point that Dagur arrived on Sleuther, diverted Snotlout attention.

"Dag-ster!" Snotlout cried as he rushed towards him.

Dagur then immediately pinned him towards a cage and glared at him. "You know I hate nicknames, Snothat."

"Nicknames are of buds. I thought we were buds," Snotlout quivered.

Dagur then cleaned his throat and released him. "So, uh, Hiccup around?"

* * *

Dagur soon met up with both Hiccup within his hut and showed him Oswald's diary.

"If she keeps following this diary, she's gonna get killed," said Dagur as he slammed it onto the desk. "She's become reckless. And I don't mean that in a cool swashbuckler-y kind of way."

He then imitated sword sounds before pacing back and forth as Hiccup looked through the diary. "I don't know if you've noticed, but people in my family can get a little fixated on things, like ruling an archipelago, controlling a Skrill, killing you."

"And you are afraid Heather's got the same obsessive nature," Hiccup concluded.

Dagur then turned back to face him. "We're Berserkers. It's in our blood." He then cleaned his throat. "Please, Hiccup, look from my dad's diary and see if there's anything in there. A clue, a sign, a harbinger of doom. Something!"

Hiccup looked through the pages. "Well, Oswald certainly didn't want anyone to know what he was working on."

"Exactly! So when you tell Heather there's nothing in it worth following, so listen to you!" said Dagur. "She won't listen to me because she is a stubborn, headstrong, stress-inducing—"

"Sentinel," said Hiccup suddenly.

Dagur looked at him. "Well, not the word I would've chosen."

"No, this sketch," said Hiccup showing him a drawing of a Sentinel dragon in the diary. "It looks like it might be a Sentinel dragon. There's only one place these dragons live—Vanaheim."

* * *

Soon Hiccup and the Riders were preparing to make their way to Vanaheim with Dagur.

"You excited? Because I am pu-umped," said Dagur looking at the map. "How far is it to this retirement island, anyway?"

Hiccup looked at him. "Look, Dagur, Vanaheim is an incredibly secret place," he said taking the map from Dagur. "You cannot tell anyone about it."

"Oh, don't worry," said Dagur reassuringly. "I'm great at keeping things to myself. Anger, frustration, rage."

"Hiccup, look at this!" said Fishlegs approaching them with Oswald's diary in his hand.

Hiccup looked at it and Ragnar joined them and together they discovered that there was a drawing of some sort of dragon skull.

"Hmm. Never seen a dragon like that before," said Hiccup.

"It looks familiar, but I can't place it," Ragnar frowned.

"Vanaheim, it's so full of mysteries and mythology!" said Fishlegs excitedly. "This is just a thread in the tapestry of its deep, rich history."

Astrid then arrived meaning that they were all set for the journey.

"Ready, bud?" Hiccup asked.

"All right, straight ahead," said Ruffnut's voice. "Now profile. Okay, spin back around. One at a time, I want to hear a squawk."

The twins were currently in the stables looking at the large range of chickens.

"This is pointless," said Tuffnut. "Look at this pathetic gaggle of wannabes. I mean, that's not even a chicken." For some strange reason there was a Night Terror amongst the chickens.

"So I take it Chicken is still missing," Hiccup assumed as he and the others entered the stables.

"She skipped dinner last night," said Tuffnut. "She never misses dinner, unless it's one of her relatives on the menu."

"Hmm, perhaps it was… fool play," Snotlout laughed. He then stood up straight and continued his annoying narrator voice. "It was a small town with a checkered past. She was a chicken on the edge who had been pushed to the brink."

"The brink?" Tuffnut panicked. "Oh, Thor, not the brink. I mean, a precipice maybe, but not the brink! We must widen the search!"

With that the twins scampered off.

"Think on a grander scale!" Ruffnut cried.

"Chicken!" Tuffnut yelled and they began to look through all the crates making chicken impersonations.

Hiccup and Astrid looked at one another and Astrid could read his mind.

"I'll stay behind," she said.

"Thank you," said Hiccup gratefully.

Dagur sighed. "Can we go? I mean, not that your chicken hand isn't of great importance, but let's be real here, people."

With that Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs began to lead Dagur to Vannaheim.

* * *

"I really hope we find something about Dad on your island of decomposing dragons, Hiccup, for Heather's sake," said Dagur. "Should I have brought Heather with us?" He then placed a hand over his heart. "Oh. What's that I'm feeling? Ooh. Oh, what is that? Must be guilt. Blah! Ooh, I don't like that."

"Uh, you said her obsession had become dangerous," Hiccup reminded.

"I said?" Dagur blinked. "Sounds about right."

"Then you're doing the right thing."

Dagur smiled and turned his attention onto the horizon.

"There it is!" Fishlegs pointed.

They all looked to the direction he was pointing at and once they flew out of fog bank they saw the island of Vannaheim coming into view.

"All right, gang, here's the plan," said Hiccup. "We land, look for Oswald, and then cover ourselves in fruit."

"Not that I don't appreciate a good bath now and again—I mean, the last one was just…" said Dagur, before he turned his attention back onto them. "Uh, but I don't really see how it's gonna help."

"To escape, Dagur. To escape," said Hiccup.

"They may not look it, but they are the craftiest of dragons in the world," said Ragnar.

"So those statues are really dragons?" said Dagur looking at the Sentinels that remained motionless.

"Don't worry. They're not gonna bother us all the way in," Fishlegs assured. "Maybe on the way out."

However, at that precise moment the Sentinels sprung to life and headed straight towards them.

Fishlegs looked at Hiccup. "Uh, Hiccup?"

"Are you guys sure this is the right island?" Dagur asked.

The Sentinels were flying straight towards them and immediately they unleash a powerful wing blast sending them backwards.

"Just ride it out!" Hiccup yelled. "They remember are scent from last time! They know we're not sick dragons. They've—"

"Adapted, I know!" said Fishlegs he then looked at the dragons with fascination. "It's so fascinating."

The Sentinels then came flying towards them and unleashed yet another wing blast and Dagur was knocked off Sleuther's saddle. Thankfully Hiccup was able to fly and Toothless grabbed him and then dropped him back on Sleuther's back.

"No what else I personally find fascinating?" said Dagur. "Not getting killed!"

"Yeah, let's focus on not getting killed and study later," Ragnar nodded.

Dagur soon re-joined the others and that's when they saw another group of dragons making their way onto Vannaheim.

Toothless immediately growled at them.

"I see them, bud," said Hiccup petting him on the head. He then turned to Fishlegs. "Hey, Fishlegs?"

"Are those sick dragons?" Fishlegs asked.

"Must be."

"Oh! So they're letting those little shifty dragons on but not us?" said Dagur looking annoyed. "I didn't come all this way not to get Heather some answers. Follow me!"

Dagur then immediately performed a loop to loop and began charging straight towards the Sentinels. Hiccup and the others did the same thing holding onto their dragons as they charged.

"Go, girl!" Fishlegs cried.

They were really picking up speed now and the Sentinel performed yet another wing blast. However they were moving so fast that all the wind blasted was slow them down slightly and a shot right past them.

Seconds later they all crashed onto the beach with a massive thump.

Fishlegs chuckled as he picked himself up. "That was brilliant, Dagur! You knew the gust of the air from the wing clap would slow us down just enough so we wouldn't be smashed to bits."

"Yeah. Let's go with that," said Dagur as he picked himself up.

Hiccup and Ragnar noticed that the Sentinels were now retreating, no doubt to their resting place.

Ragnar looked at Hiccup. "You know getting out is not be as easy as getting in."

Hiccup nodded in agreement.

* * *

Meanwhile on the Edge, Astrid and the others were still hunting for Chicken. They were now looking through the forest and hopes to find any trace of her.

Tuffnut was performing chicken sounds everywhere he went. "Uh, Chicken! Chicken!" He then fell to his knees. "The trail's run cold."

"Trail?" Astrid blinked. "We're following a trail?"

Tuffnut then gestured to a set of footprints in the dirt.

Astrid shook her head in disbelief. "Those are Snotlout's footprints, Tuff."

Tuffnut looked up and discover the footprint did indeed lead to Snotlout. "What a muttonhead," he said folding his arms.

"Duped. Again," said Tuffnut looking down at the ground in disappointment.

"Ugh! I don't know why they call this a search party," said Ruffnut leaning against a tree. "I've been to funerals that are more fun. Ah, remember the boar d'oeuvres at Great-Uncle Magmar's funeral?"

"Ah! Do I?" said Tuffnut with a dreamy look. "I didn't leave the bathroom for three days after those. That was a party 'cause I—I took a bunch home with me to eat in the bathroom. Good times. That was—" He then immediately broke down. "Oh, those are three days I wish I'd spent with Chicken."

"Oh, come on!" Ruffnut groaned.

Tuffnut then walked away sobbing.

Snotlout then turned to no one in particular and started using his narrator voice. "With Tuff spending more and more time away from the hut, Chicken has become an increasingly desperate house-hen."

Tuffnut turned on him. "Would you stop talking about Chicken in the past tense? It implies a finality to the situation that—that I refused to accept."

"Can we please stay on task?" Astrid asked. "What's the plan, Tuff? Ruff? Annoying narrator?"

"Shut up, Astrid!" Snotlout snapped. "He cleverly responded."

"Ugh, if only there was a dragon that loves tracking," said Ruffnut.

"And Chicken?" Tuffnut added before he went down on his knees and looked to the sky. "Why? Why, Thor? Would it have been so hard to create such a creature?"

Astrid just gave him blank looks as she and Stormfly looked at one another.

* * *

A few moments later, Stormfly was on Chicken's trail and Astrid and the others were running as quickly as they could to keep up with her and Tuffnut kept on making chicken impersonations as they ran.

Eventually she came to a stop at one of the burnt out trees and pointed at its roots. Tuffnut gasped in horror as he began to scavenge around the base of the tree.

Tuffnut then showed the others a single chicken feather. "Tail feather! Or-or maybe it from her thigh. A thigh feather!"

Snotlout then grabbed it and once again put on his annoying narrator's voice. "And that's when the rescue mission became a recovery mission."

He then dropped the further and Tuffnut watched as it floated down and then fainted.

"Oh, for the love of Thor," Astrid groaned.

* * *

Meanwhile on Vannaheim, Hiccup and the others were beginning their search for any clue of Oswald. A search through the entire island and so far have found nothing and soon they made their way to one of the beaches.

"Trying to think positively here, but it feels like we've been walking in circles," Dagur groaned with frustration.

"Wait, I found something!" Fishlegs yelled.

Fishlegs had discovered several sharp teeth embedded in a log. "I've never seen teas like this before," he said pulling one of them out from the log. "Maybe Sharp Class?"

"And there are more over here," said Hiccup as he and Ragnar examined a few more logs.

"The Dragon must have lost a whole set of teeth," said Ragnar.

"Great!" Dagur muttered. "So besides finding a bunch of dragons' teeth, the direly lead us to another dead end." He then leaned against the boulder. "Yippe!"

"We've got to be missing something," said Fishlegs looking through the diary.

Hiccup continue to examine the teeth when he saw that Toothless was looking agitated. "What is it, bud?"

He then looked up at what Toothless was snarling at and his eyes widened.

"Uh, gang, you might want to see this," said Hiccup.

* * *

They had to walk back a bit, because the cliff face turned out to be a large set of dragon bones that matched the sketches within Oswald's diary.

"Oh, my Thor," Fishlegs gasped.

"'Oh, my Thor' is right!" Dagur gasped. He then looked at the others. "Wait, what is he right about?"

"The skull. It was in the diary, Dagur," Hiccup explained. "It proved Oswald was here."

"And possibly still is," Fishlegs added.

Dagur immediately looked an easy. "Ahh. I hadn't thought of that. Hadn't thought of that at all."

Ragnar then frowned. "Wait a minute, he sketched these images in his diary, but somehow it landed in the hands of both Heather and Dagur? Doesn't anyone else think this is a bit odd?"

"The merchant I got it from so that he found it floating in a chest," said Dagur. "Dad must've put it in the chest and sailed it out to sea hoping that either Heather or I would find it."

They then soon entered the skull of the giant dragon.

"Okay, Toothless," said Hiccup.

Toothless roar down the huge skeleton and then gestured for Hiccup to mount him. The moment they mounted their dragons they began to fly down the skeleton which was now literally part of the island.

"Whatever this dragon was, it was bigger than the Red Death," said Hiccup as they flew down the skeleton.

"It has to be at least 500 feet long," said Ragnar in amazement.

"And it's been here for a very, very long time," Fishlegs added.

Toothless then fired a plasma blast creating a hole for them to fly through they soon found themselves in a forest on the far side of the island. When the landed in the forest they heard noises which made one of them very uneasy.

"Oh, we're close," said Fishlegs nervously. "I can feel it!"

Toothless suddenly came to a stop and took up a fighting position as if he sensed something close by.

"What is it, bud?" Hiccup asked.

Then suddenly flying out of the bushes were dragons, the same ones they saw entering the island a few moments ago.

Now they had a closer look they could tell that these dragons had long, thick serpentine bodies albeit, a small head and four legs. They had a set of horns on their head, and more running down their necks and backs. In addition, they had a long nasal horn and a distinct under-bite with small rows of pointy teeth, giving them a sinister appearance. Covered with prominent, iridescent purple scales, they had a paler underbelly but more vibrant coloration on their back and wings.

However one of them was different from the others as it had red stripes on its back and red wings making the most likely the leader of the pack.

Immediately they began to fly over them and Toothless quickly fired a plasma blast. However they avoided the attack and land on the ground began to surround them. One of them then shot its mouth forward and launched its team directly at Fishlegs, but Meatlug quickly spun around protecting him.

The teeth bounced off his skin and impaled the tree next to them and Fishlegs recognise the teeth almost instantly. "Hiccup, these are the same teeth we found earlier. These dragons aren't sick."

"They're hunting," Hiccup concluded.

Suddenly two more appearing directly over them by their teeth. Sleuther shot upright quickly in order to avoid them causing Dagur to be flown out of his saddle. Toothless then quickly fired a plasma blast, but the dragon's leader quickly shielded them with its wings.

However they clearly realise that they weren't sick dragons and took off to the sky and Skull and Meatlug fire their breath attacks in order to scare them off.

When the attack was over they saw something in the distance that looked like some sort of man-made shack.

* * *

On the Edge, Astrid and the others were still tracking Chicken. Astrid was now riding on top of Stormfly and was still following the trail of Chicken with the others close behind.

"She's still on the scent," said Astrid.

"I can't go on without my fine, feathery friend," Tuffnut sobbed.

"This way!" Astrid called leading them down a pathway.

"I can't look. I can't," said Tuffnut covering his eyes.

"Nobody described anything!" Ruffnut yelled.

A few seconds later they came to a stop and Tuffnut opened his eyes. He then saw Chicken directly in front of them digging in the dirt with her talons.

"Chicken?" he said and then dashed towards her. "Thank the Avain gods! You're alive!"

However Chicken was brushing away her footprints with her own feathers in her beak.

"Wait," said Tuffnut noticing this. "What's she up to?" He then frowned. "Wait, I know that trick. I taught her that trick."

"Is Chicken covering her tracks?" Astrid stared.

Snotlout once again put on his narrator voice. "And covering… her lies."

Chicken then noticed Tuffnut.

"Don't you dare," he warned.

Chicken then dropped her feathers and scampered off and Tuffnut began to chase after her with the others following him. They then soon came to the edge of the cliff and Tuffnut came to a stop and stopping the others.

"No!" he gasped.

Chicken then slowly backed away towards the edge.

Snotlout then again put on his narrator voice. "What should have been a happy reunion was about to take a dark, dark turn."

"No, no, no!" Tuffnut yelled with a pleading look towards Chicken. "Don't do this. I'll be better. I-I won't work so late. I-I'll do the dishes." He then fell to his knees praying. "You want with massages? You got 'em."

Chicken then raised a leg towards the edge of the cliff and then fell backwards.

"No! No!" Tuffnut cried.

Everyone gasped in horror as Tuffnut looked over the edge sobbing. However is expressing completely chained he saw what was below them.

* * *

It was late in the evening upon Vannaheim and Hiccup and the others were examining the shack they had discovered. The thing that they noticed was the fact that the front door had a symbol of the Skrill.

"This word has been salvaged from a Berserker galleon," said Hiccup.

"He was shipwrecked," Dagur gasped as he joined the others.

"So do we knock?" Fishlegs asked.

"We have to do something," said Ragnar.

Dagur chuckled nervously and backed away slowly. "Maybe we should take a snack break before heading in. Anyone hungry? Feeling a bit peckish."

Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs looked at one another than back to him.

"I'm kidding!" Dagur laughed. "Gotcha!"

He then approached the door, but found himself unable to open it or even knocking it.

He then looked back at them. "I mean, someone has to do it, right, Hiccup? The Berserkers needed a leader!"

"Dagur, are you all right?" Hiccup asked.

Dagur then places hands on Hiccup's shoulders. "I mean, oh, uh, yeah, sure, maybe it was a bit of a power grab, taking over the tribe the moment Oswald went missing. It's crazy, but I never really regretted it until just now."

Hiccup placed a hand on his shoulder. "Dagur, open the door!"

Dagur began to shake uncontrollably as he made his way towards the door. "Okay, I can do this."

He then looked back at Hiccup and the others and they nodded. He then opened the door and entered the shack.

"Uh, Daddy?"

He then got to the floor, because he found his father lying on the floor dead.

* * *

Later that night, they buried what remained of Oswald. Sadly they didn't have materials for the Viking funeral and were forced to bury him under some stones. Dagur placed his helmet and shield onto the pile of rocks and knelt down beside it.

"This is all my fault," said Dagur shaking his head. "He was stranded, Hiccup. He died here… all alone."

"You had no idea where he was," said Hiccup trying to cheer him up.

"I never said a search party!" He then picked himself up. "I mean, I had a lot of going on back then, being evil all. But I should have tried."

"You feel guilty. That's totally normal," said Hiccup.

"I was a villain."

Hiccup placed a hand on his shoulder. "No, you were a kid—a misunderstood, diabolical, slightly maniacal…" He then started realising he was making things worse. "Yeah, okay, fine, so you were a bad kid. But none of that makes a difference. He was your dad. He loved you no matter what."

"I guess we'll never know," said Dagur looking at his father's grave sadly.

"Uh, guys? I think you need to see this," said Fishlegs' voice from inside the shack.

"It would seem as if Oswald has left the parting gift," Ragnar's voice added.

They made their way inside and found several sketching upon the wall of the shack. On the wall was the image of the dragons they met earlier today.

"Look, you were right, Hiccup," said Fishlegs. "They're hunters. Oswald named them Grim Gnashers."

"They prey on the sick dragons," said Hiccup reading the writing.

"And they seem to be able to regrow their teeth practically overnight," Ragnar added.

"And apparently, Oswald would help the Sentinels drive them off," said Fishlegs. He then looked at Dagur. "Your dad was a hero."

Dagur smiled and folded his arms. "Of course he was. He was a Berserker."

Toothless then sniffed the air and Hiccup took notice. "Bud? What is it?"

Toothless then jumped onto a desk and stood on his hind legs. He then reached the shelf and pulled out a chest before dropping it onto the ground. It fell open revealing to scrolls inside of it.

Dagur knelt down and picked them up. He then noticed that they had writing on them. "One for Heather, and this one is for… me?"

* * *

At the Edge, Tuffnut and the others had reached the bottom of the cliff in search of Chicken remains.

"This is the worst thing I've ever seen," said Tuffnut. "It's terrible. The horror!"

It turned out that the cliff was not as steep as everyone thought it was so Chicken was quite alive. However they discovered the reason why she had disappeared, she was at that very moment nuzzling a cockerel.

"Oh, look!" said Tuffnut. "There they are, doing all the things we used to do together."

Astrid stared at the cockerel began to preen Chicken's feathers and gave Tuffnut a weird look. "Um… you preened Chicken's feathers?"

"What does he give you that I can't? Huh? Huh?" Tuffnut demanded.

That question seemed is clear as day as one towards the two lovebirds were eight newly hatched chicks.

"Aw, Chicken has a family!" said Astrid putting on an adorable face.

She and Ruffnut then bent down and began to touch the cute little chicks.

"Okay. Yeah, other than that," said Tuffnut. "I can't lay an egg."

Snotlout was leaning against a tree and then put on his narrator's voice. "Chicken love life and her family, but the most dangerous thing she loved was having two of each."

"I don't understand why anyone would want a second family," said Ruffnut as he picked up the chicks. One of the chicks and picked her finger. "Ow! Stop it!" She then looked at the others. "I can barely handle having one brother."

Tuffnut then turned to Chicken who clucked at him. "Don't give me that look. I thought we agreed, if we were gonna lead secret double lives, we would tell each other!"

Snotlout then immediately grabbed Chicken and then spoke in his annoying narrator's voice. "Secrets. Passion. Poultry. Three things that had nothing in common until they did."

He then hanged chicken upside down released.

Then one of the chicks went up to Tuffnut and chirped. "No," he said folding his arms. The chick chirped at him once again and began packing at his boot. "Oh, yeah, right. No. No. I will not be swayed." He then picked up the chick. "Don't you think that just because you're the—the fluffiest, yellowest…" The chick then ruffled its feathers, "cutest, most adorable little thing ever…"

He then scratches under the chin. "I'm gonna read you bedtime stories, and I'll tuck you in at night. And I…" He then rubbed the chicken soft feathers against his cheek. "I shall call you Chicklet."

Snotlout then once again placed on his narrator's voice and placed a hand on Astrid shoulder. "It all seemed like it was a happy ending until…" Astrid then drives a powerful elbow right into his chest causing him to groaning pain. "Okay. Okay, fine, it was a happy ending." He then turned around. "Or was it?"

* * *

The next day, Dagur climbed onto the lookout tower that his father had created. It was so tall that he was able to see the entire forest and then he pulled out the scroll that was addressed to him.

He then opened it up and began to read, but not before taking a deep breath.

 _Dagur_

 _If you're reading this, it is likely too late. I most certainly have perished in pursuit of the answers to questions that may never be revealed. But I assure you, I rest peacefully._

 _I want you to understand that I always loved and missed you every day. You did what I would have done. You took care of our people. I'm proud of you for that._

Dagur looked at from the letter and was almost teary-eyed. "'Proud.' He said 'proud.'"

He then looked back down at the letter.

 _I can only hope you've outgrown your crazy destructive stage._

Dagur looked slightly uneasy upon reading that part.

 _As for me, this island has become my home. My only regret is that I didn't get to see you and Heather grow up together. But I'm confident you took good care of her and protected her from the evils that lurk with in the archipelago._

"Oh-oh, he got that one wrong," said Dagur.

 _Always remember, you are Berserkers. It's in your blood. I only hope you and Heather can find the same peace that I have here in Vannaheim and perhaps in Valhalla._

Dagur lowered the letter. "Whoa. That was heavily."

He then looked up and saw several dragons flying around Vannaheim and smiled, but then he heard a roar in the distance. He turned and found the Grim Gnashers had surrounded a Gronckle.

Dagur then whistled and then jumped off the lookout tower. He then landed directly on top of Sleuther and then flew down towards the Grim Gnashers.

"This is for you, Daddy!" Dagur yelled.

A Grim Gnasher then pounced on the Gronckle, but Dagur came out of nowhere and struck the dragon so hard that it was sent flying into the ocean. The other Grim Gnashers then turned their attention onto him and then fired their sharp teeth at him and the leader led the others in the pursuit.

However before they could get anywhere close to Dagur, Toothless fired a plasma blast from out of nowhere pushing them back. They all looked up and saw Hiccup and the others flying down towards them firing them by a breath attacks on top of the Grim Gnashers causing them to scatter.

"Dagur, aim for the leader!" Hiccup yelled pointing at the red scaled Grim Gnasher.

Dagur nodded. "On it!"

He then took off after the leader of the pack.

"Fishlegs, you cover the Gronckle!" said Hiccup looking at Fishlegs.

Fishlegs looked at Meatlug. "You heard him, girl."

They then flew down towards the Gronckle, who was surrounded by three Grim Gnashers. They then fired lava blasts at them scaring them, but then they noticed they scared look from the Gronckle. Fishlegs just in time to avoid several teeth being fired at a Grim Gnasher and then began to chase after it.

Dagur began to pursue the leader and started to fly towards the cliff and then stopped and turned to face him.

"Surprise!" Dagur yelled firing a fire blast at it.

It quickly flew down was to avoid the blast and Dagur began to chase after it, but two more Grim Gnashers were right on his tail and nearly struck him with their teeth. Fortunately Hiccup and Ragnar arrived in time to scare them off with their dragons by a breath attacks.

"Thanks," said Dagur appreciably as Hiccup and Ragnar joined him.

However they soon discovered that they were actually leading them to the rest of the pack.

"Oops," said Dagur.

"We need more dragon power!" Hiccup yelled.

"This is all we got!" Ragnar yelled.

The Grim Gnashers then fired a razor sharp teeth directly at them and probably would have been skewered to death if the Sentinels had appeared out of nowhere blocking the attacks. With a single roar the Grim Gnashers retreated and Dagur began to chase down the leader.

"Work from me, baby! Work for Daddy!" said Dagur. They then blasted the leader, who immediately retreated. "Yeah, that's right! This is Oswald's island, you shifty sky vermin!"

Hiccup and the others began to attack the remaining Grin Gnashers that try to retreat back to the island, but they were blocked by the Sentinels. They were forced to fly off and for good measure a Sentinel unleashed a powerful wing blast to scare them off.

"Whoa!" Dagur laughed triumphantly. "Whoo! Yes!" He then looked at the others. "Hey, for a battle with no fatalities, that was actually pretty fun!"

They then watched as the Gronckle find them before flying off.

"Hey, guys, it feels like it's probably time to go," said Hiccup looking up at the Sentinels flying around them.

They then began to fly off, but Dagur hand back for a second to look at his father's shack.

"Uh, Dagur?" said Hiccup.

Dagur looked at them and then back down to the island and closes eyes. "Yes, Hiccup. I believe you are right."

They began to fly off the shores of the island when suddenly they were blocked by the Sentinels.

"Uh, Hiccup?" said Fishlegs worriedly. "We might need to go back down for the fruit."

Hiccup looked at the Sentinels and realise that it won't work a second time. "I don't think it'll work this time."

Then the Sentinels did something completely surprising, they bowed and flew aside allowing them to pass.

"Uh, what are they doing?" Dagur frowned.

"Looks like it's they're way of thanking us," Hiccup assumed.

"Whoa," Fishlegs breathed.

"Let's go before they change their minds," said Ragnar.

They then carefully and gradually they flew past the Sentinels

"As you were!" Dagur saluted.

Hiccup looked at him. "Y-you know they're all blind, right?"

* * *

Soon they began flying back to the Edge and Fishlegs had gathered every piece of material that Oswald had left behind in his shack.

"Whoo-hoo-hoo! Look at this!" said Fishlegs gesturing to the collection of books and parchment he had collected. "Hundreds and hundreds of fruit recipes."

"You know, Fishie, your commitment to discovery is unparalleled," Dagur noted.

"I know."

Dagur then flew over to Hiccup and Ragnar holding the scroll address to Heather in his hand. "I need to get this to Heather."

"Well, maybe sometime you could bring her back here," Hiccup suggested. "Seems like we've burned the Sentinels' respect, which is pretty impressive."

"Yeah, and you were the one who led the attack," Ragnar reminded.

"Oh, wait, so I _earned_ respect?" Dagur blinked. "I'm so used to just demanding it. It's crazy."

"You know what, Dagur? Going in that may have been the bravest thing I've seen you do," said Hiccup.

"Well, I couldn't done it without your Hiccup-y guidance. And, you know, if you ever go on a seemingly impossible wild-goose chase and a little company…"

"Happens all the time."

"All too often," Ragnar sighed.

"…you can always count on this axe, brother."

"Hiccup," said Fishlegs holding out a piece of parchment. "Is this what I think it is?"

Hiccup looked at the parchment and then saw that sketch on it was the Dragon Eye lens.

"What?"

* * *

Heather meanwhile was on board Johann's shipas he had very important information to share with her.

"I have news that is precipitous, fortuitous, and most of all felicitous," said Johann. "I was just returning from a visit with the most highly exalted Sultan in Zim—"

"Get on with it, Johann," said Heather impatiently.

Johann then placed a gentle hand on her arm. "I met a man in the Northern Markets who's seeing your father… alive."

Heather's eyes widened.


	65. Sins of the Past

Snotlout was currently plying his way towards Northern Markets on an errand for the twins, much to his annoyance.

"Northern Markets again?" he groaned. "Thor! I'm sick of that place! I can't believe it. I have to go there for chicken feed? Chicken feed?"

Hookfang growled at him.

"I feel you looking at me," said Snotlout narrowing his eyes that at his dragon. "Just say it already. If I haven't uncovered Chicken's double life, someone would have. You can't live like that. At some point, the lies and the pressure, they build up. That chicken was ready to blow."

* * *

Eventually they reached the Northern Markets and Snotlout immediately went shopping for chicken feed. Eventually he found a store that was selling the stuff and judging from the wide range they looked very exotic.

"Ooh, this looks very interesting," said Snotlout rubbing his hands together. He then leaned over towards one of the barrels. "'Berk's Blend?' I'll try a…"

He then grabbed some of the feed and immediately ate it and probably started out again. "Nasty. Send that back to Berk." He then reached for another barrel. "'Rooster's Pride.' Oh, of course, you should have pride in your rooster." He then put a bit of it into his mouth and struck his head. "A two much salt."

He then leaned over towards a never barrel and then began to sniff it.

"Archipelago Gold," said a voice behind him.

Snotlout turned and saw the store's owner, holding out a spoonful of chicken feed from another barrel. He then raised the spoon towards Snotlout and he was about to take a pinch of it when the store's owner slapped his hand.

"Ow!" he yelled shaking it.

"Uh-uh-uh," said the store owner shaking his head. "This feed is untouched by human hands, p-picked and p-packed by Nordic howler monkeys," he said clucking like a hen. "This isn't just chicken feed, my friend. This is _cuisine du coque_. Now, that's French for—"

"I know what that means," said Snotlout placing his hands on his hips. "I know what 'cork la dork' means."

"Sir, clearly you are a Viking who p-p-prefers the finer things in life," he said clucking like a hen once again.

"I am?" Snotlout blinked. "Of course. Of course I am."

"I mean, surely a man of your station would demand only top of the line and would not think twice before p-p-paying accordingly," he said once again clucking like a hen. "Am I right?"

"No, I'm not afraid to put my money where my beak is," said Snotlout with a small chuckle. "Get it? Did you see what I did there?"

Hookfang grunted.

Snotlout then grabbed his money purse and pulled out a single gold coin. "Okay, so, uh, with this cover it?"

The store's owner just gave him a fixed glance.

* * *

Snotlout soon discover that his gold coin was not enough to pay for the chicken feed and a few moments later he emerged from the store wearing only the shirt off his back which was tied around his waist by a thick piece of rope so that is trousers wouldn't fall.

Hookfang laughed when he approached him.

"I know what you're thinking. I overpaid," Snotlout glared. "But a quality Viking deserves quality feed, period." He then soon realise that he was not the Viking was going to eat the feed, in fact it wasn't even supposed to be for Viking. "Wait, what am I doing? Why do I care how the twins' chickens eat?"

He then grabbed his bag of chicken feed and looked at Hookfang. "This stuff is going back. We're getting that cheap Berk crud, and they're gonna to live with it."

Unfortunately he was preoccupied by keeping his rope firmly wrapped around his chest so that he would reveal his underwear to everyone in the Northern Market. Unfortunately there was easier said than done and eventually Hookfang lifted him up into the air.

Then Snotlout saw Heather flying overhead with Johann riding behind her. "Uh, what are they doing here?"

* * *

Heather looked at Johann, who was feeling very uneasy being so high in the air with very little support. "Johann, I can't thank you enough, for all you've done in helping me, first to find Dagur and now my father. How can I ever repay you?"

"Ah, Miss Heather, payment is but a mere formality in the business transaction of life," he said nervously.

"Well, I know how fanatical I've been," said Heather. "Ask my brother. But we are close. I can feel it. And if this Viking you met is telling the truth about Oswald being alive, it will have been worth every moment."

"And every cent," Johann added nervously. "Metaphorically speaking, of course."

Eventually they landed at a tavern.

* * *

Dagur had return to Berserker Island with Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs so that they can inform Heather of what had happened to her father. They were currently the stables locking their dragons inside, but Dagur didn't appear to be in a cheery mood.

"Dagur, you okay?" Hiccup asked.

"Huh?" said Dagur looking up at them. "Sure. Fine. Never been better. I mean, how often do you get to tell your sister that the barber she's been maniacally looking for is dead? I'm just peachy."

"There is something to be said for closure," said Fishlegs. Hiccup, Ragnar and Dagur just looked at him. "Or maybe not."

Ragnar sighed. "Either way false hope is unhealthy and it would certainly prevent from getting into dangerous situations while looking for her father."

A Berserker then entered the stables. "Chief!"

Dagur chuckled slightly. "I love when they call me that. Ah, never gets old."

"So good to have you back," said a Berserker in a dried voice.

"And good to be back," Dagur nodded. "Where's Heather? I have news for her."

"You didn't hear? She left the Trader Johann for the Northern Markets. Apparently he found a man who says Oswald is alive."

Everyone immediately looked at each other in horror. Without wasting a single second they immediately open the stables, got onto their dragons and flew off leaving behind a Berserker guard in a dumbfounded situation.

"Not quite the reaction I was expecting," he said to himself.

In the air they immediately were rushing towards an open market with full speed.

Fishlegs looked at Hiccup. "Hiccup, Johann and Heather are walking—"

"Into a trap," Hiccup finished. "I know."

"And I have a strange feeling that Krogan is behind it," Ragnar added.

"Which is why we have to get there immediately! Come on!" Dagur yelled.

Dagur then led them towards the Northern Market as they flew as quickly as they could.

* * *

It was evening and Heather approach the tavern unaware that she was walking into a trap.

"This is unfortunately as far as I go, Miss Heather," said Johann regretfully. "I am what is commonly referred to as a persona non grata in this tavern. Re-entering this Thor-forsaken place could be injurious to my health."

"I understand, Johann," said Heather. "You've told me at least 15 times."

Johann just smiled. "Never can be too careful. The man you are seeking is Harek. The name sounds much bigger than the man himself, although he's not of small stature by any means—"

"I got it, Johann. I'll find him."

Heather then placed a hood over her head and made her way towards the tavern.

"Thro speed, Miss Heather," Johann called just as she entered. "I shall be waiting for you where I stand, or at least until a few hundred cart behind a crate to hide my skin. Hello?"

Heather then closed the door behind her.

"She's gone. Okay. Good."

Heather began to make her way through the tavern looking for the man named Harek and that's when she saw a loan Viking sitting at a table.

She approached him and he looked up and smiled. "Nice to finally meet you, Heather. I've heard so much about you."

Heather can help but notice the smile on his face and it looked pretty ominous. "Is everything all right?"

"Yes. It's just…" He then looked directly at her. "Well, the resemblance is remarkable."

Heather then sat down at the empty chair opposite him.

* * *

Johann was still hiding behind the cart observing the task in the sun had finally set and darkness was over the entire Northern Market. He then immediately sought to muscular Vikings exiting the tavern and immediately ducked behind the cart.

Once they were gone he looked over the cart and sighed with relief.

"What you looking at?" said a voice whispered behind him.

Johann immediately jumped with flight and knocked over the cart and turned to find that it was only Snotlout.

"Master Snotlout?" he said in surprise. "You mustn't sneak up on a weary traveller. It may crash an already weakened heart."

"Sorry, Johann," said Snotlout with no sign of apology in his voice. "Boo!"

Johann jumped in fright.

Snotlout laughed. "You're too easy. But seriously, what are you doing lurking out here by yourself?"

"If you must know, I'm covering for Miss Heather," said Johann trying to recover from the shock he experienced. "She's inside doing a bit of business." That's when he noticed the bag of chicken feed Snotlout was holding. "Hmm. Archipelago Gold. Quite the lofty purchase."

"Tell me about it," Snotlout grunted as he repositioned at the rope holding his trousers. "I got duped."

* * *

Heather was inside the tavern talking to Harek, who was telling her how he met her father.

"I was trapped, cold, injured, on my last leg, if you will," he said. "But your father, he…" He sighed. "Well, let's just say that I wouldn't be here today without his undying support and generosity."

"So what about now?" Heather asked.

"He vowed to spend his life building huts for homeless Vikings. He calls it 'Oswald's Huts for Humanity.' And that's where he is at this very moment."

"That's incredible," said Heather. "I can't wait to see him. To meet him, really. I was so young."

"And I will be honoured to expedite the reunion," said Harek gladly.

They then got up and Heather was about to make her way towards the front door when Harek stopped her.

"No. This way," he said gesturing to the back door.

"Uh, but the entrance is—"

"We mustn't be seen. Too dangerous."

"Dangerous?" Heather frowned. "I don't understand."

"Heather, I implore you to trust me. There are those who would rather not see a father-daughter reunion."

"But that makes no sense."

Harek then made his way towards the back door leaving Heather quite conflicted.

* * *

Johann was examining the chicken feed and is Snotlout bag and put a bit of it in his mouth.

"This… this is pure," he noted. "'Good as Gold,' one might say."

"Great," Snotlout groaned. "Those chickens will be eating than everyone."

Snotlout then saw the tavern door open and watch as the drug Viking exit. He then held out his tankard and then promptly fell face first into the ground.

* * *

Harek opened the back door and stepped outside and Heather carefully followed him. She instantly knew that something was up the moment he suggested using the back door.

"I have to tell you Harek, the thought of feeling my father's arms around me, it's indescribable," said Heather.

Harek was smirking with his back towards her. "I've assumed it would be."

"I just hope he doesn't jab me with that rusty old hook of his," said Heather. "That I do remember."

Harek chuckled while still smirking. "Yes, Oswald's hook has needed a good polishing since the day we met."

Heather then narrowed her eyes and drew her double bladed axes. "My father doesn't have a hook, Harek."

"No, he doesn't," said a voice.

Heather looked up and saw Krogan looking down at her with his mighty axe in hand and a couple of his Flyers beside him. Heather then immediately took up a fighting stance realising there's going to be a massive fight on her hands.

* * *

On the other side of the tavern, Johann was trying to calm an enraged Snotlout.

"I'm merely suggesting that had you come to me personally, I would have been able to use my far-reaching resources to get you the same feed while allowing you to keep your tunic intact, as it were," said Johann.

Strangely enough this didn't help calm Snotlout down. "Funny how everyone can help you after the fact, when you need them, no."

Snotlout then saw Johann approaching Windshear, who roared loudly.

"Master Snotlout, I suspect something is, shall we say, askew," said Johann.

Snotlout turned towards the tavern.

* * *

At the back of the town Heather was engaged with the Flyers blocking their swords with her axe. She managed to block the swing from one of the Flyers and then dealt a powerful elbow in the face knocking him out cold.

Then Krogan landed directly in front of her with his large axe in hand. He chuckled and took up a fighting stance and Heather realised she was another harder time finding him that his underlings. Heather immediately jumped at him and swung the first swing, but he blocked it along with every one of her other swings.

She then slammed down her blade right on top of him and he blocked it with the handle of his axe and looked increasingly bored. He then pushed back causing her to lose her balance slightly and then began to swing a mighty swing at her. The blows he dealt were very powerful and one of them actually not of the feet, but she was able to quickly recover and rolled to her feet.

The two of them looked at each other then suddenly appearing out of nowhere came a blast from Windshear. She then promptly landed on the ground with Johann riding on top of her, looking completely terrified.

"What took you so long?" Heather asked as he mounted Windshear.

Windshear then fired another blast at Krogan, and he quickly jumped out of the way to avoid the attack. A Flyer then charged towards then, but Snotlout appeared out of nowhere and Hookfang landed directly on top of him.

"Heads up!" he yelled.

"What are you doing here?" Heather stared. She then noticed his strange attire. "And what in the name of Thor are you wearing?"

The Flyer picked himself up and Snotlout immediately whacked him with a bag of chicken feed in his hand.

"Don't ask," he said.

They immediately took off leaving Krogan far behind.

* * *

"Miss Heather, please accept my most humble and sincere apologies," said Johann apologetically.

"I understand, Johann," said Heather. She sighed with disappointment. "He had me too. We got away. That's all that matters."

"Yeah, about that…" said Snotlout looking directly behind them.

They turned and saw flying towards them was Krogan on his Titan Wing Singetail and his squadron of Flyers.

Immediately they flew down towards the sea stacks in order to lose them, but one of them somehow managed to get ahead of Snotlout and headed straight towards Heather.

"Heather, behind you!" Snotlout yelled.

"I see him!" she yelled.

Heather then quickly pulled up just before the slammed into an arch, the Flyer was not as lucky and was instantly knocked off his Singetail. They kept on climbing but then Johann slipped out of the saddle began falling.

Luckily for him Snotlout was able to catch him and he was at the present moment screaming while in Hookfang's claws.

"Looks like it's you and me, Johann," said Snotlout. "Yay us."

Johann had finally stopped shrieking when he realised that he was relatively safe. "I think of no greater warrior I would rather—"

"Just shut up," Snotlout snapped.

That's when he noticed that Heather was now completely surrounded by Flyers. She was able to fend them off, but a Flyer and fired a fireball at which knocked her off her saddle. Instantly Snotlout flew down in order to rescue her, but Johann was cringing as they flew down.

"Uh, Johann? Care to help out?" Snotlout asked. "Grab her!"

"Oh!" said Johann extending her hand towards her.

He was able to grab and Snotlout pulled out of the dive barely striking the water.

"Quick! Get me to my dragon," said Heather.

Snotlout quickly turned around to make their way over towards Windshear, but unfortunately the Flyers had already caught her and he came to a sudden stop.

"Snotlout, keep going!" Heather cried.

"There's nothing we can do right now; there's too many of them, and there's too many of us on Hookfang," said Snotlout noting that Hookfang was getting tired from the weight he was carrying.

"So what? We just abandon her?" said Heather horrified.

"Look, we need to rest Hookfang and come up with a plan. So the sooner we set this bad boy down somewhere, the better chance your dragon has to survive."

Heather hated to admit it, but she knew that Snotlout was right. Even if Hookfang wasn't tired there was no way despite all the Flyers while he was holding onto them it would be far too dangerous.

With that they flew away as Krogan and the Flyers made off with Windshear. Then Heather noted they were flying faster than Hookfang normally could fly.

"Um, are we going really fast, or is it just me?" Heather asked.

"Nope. Coming in hot!" Snotlout yelled.

"Thor have mercy!" Johann cried as a particularly large sea stack came into view.

Hookfang was able to avoid the sea stack and they landed hard on the beach.

* * *

Hiccup and the others had arrived at the Northern Markets just as the sun began to rise. Dagur instantly began to question anyone that he got his hands on in a very threatening way.

"Are you listening to me?" Dagur yelled grabbing a man from a stand. "Am I speaking in some foreign tongue?" He then began babbling like an idiot. "Tell me where my sister is, or your head will end up on the end of a long pole attached to my ship!"

"I guess he didn't get the part about being discreet," said Hiccup looking at the others.

"Discreet isn't exactly his middle name," Ragnar reminded.

"Actually, that is pretty discreet for Dagur," Fishlegs pointed out.

"That's actually fair," said Hiccup as they made their way over towards him.

Dagur looked at them and dropped the merchant. "Hiccup! This one won't talk. What do you think we should do?"

"Dagur, call me old-fashioned, but I'm not sure that this is the way we want to go about getting people to help us," said Hiccup calmly.

"Oh, it's not?" said Dagur he then turned to the merchant with an apologetic look. "Oh, I'm sorry." He then tossed the merchant aside like he was a ragdoll. "Too soft, right? I should really work them over!"

He then marshes way towards a merchant selling chicken feed and immediately grabbed him.

Hiccup quickly rushed over towards him. "No! No, please," said Hiccup. Dagur then promptly stuck to the merchant's head into a barrel of chicken feed. "Do not work anyone over."

"Oh, all right, I'll tell you! I'll tell you!" the merchant cried in a muffled voice within the barrel.

"Huh. I guess you're right, Hiccup," said Dagur. He then saw the merchant out of the barrel. "Well, let's hear it."

The merchant then spouts and chicken feed directly at Hiccup.

"There was a fight," he said. "A short, stocky, loudmouthed Viking here to b-buy chicken feed was with a b-beautiful raven-haired woman and the merchant they call Johann."

"Tell me more about the girl," Dagur demanded as he lowered the merchant back onto the ground. "Was her hair truly like the raven or more like a crow? That's an important detail!"

"Dagur, he's clearly talking about Heather," said Hiccup. He then turned the merchant. "So what happened with a fight?"

"It ended with a stalemate, as far as I could tell. Then the three D-Dragon riders fled north, followed by a large group of Dragon F-Flyers. I hate to be them Riders, if they're found. They'll end up like… well…"

He then pulled some chicken feed the barrel and dropped it back in while making chicken impersonations.

"Please let me hurt him. Please?" said Dagur slowly making his way to the merchant and Hiccup quickly grabbed him. "Just—just a little?"

"No, no, not even a little," said Hiccup. "Not today, Dagur."

Dagur sighed. "This is all on me, Hiccup."

"Dagur, remember, Heather is a Berserker, and she has Windshear, so there's two amazing warriors we're talking about," Hiccup reminded.

"And Snotlout is there too," Fishlegs added.

"So we subtract one warrior?" Dagur asked.

"I hate to say this, but Snotlout can actually be pretty handy in an air battle," Fishlegs admitted.

"Fishlegs is right. We'll fine her," Hiccup assured. He then stroke Toothless on the head. "Won't we, bud?"

"I'm not so worried about Heather and Snotlout, but it's Johann I'm more concerned about," said Ragnar folding his arms. "Let's face it he's not exactly reliable when it comes to Riding Dragons, and I can't remember how many close calls we have had when he flew with us?"

* * *

Heather and the others were on an island as they were planning their next move and Johann was looking at Heather apologetically.

"I'm afraid the blame for this whole debacle can be traced back to yours truly," said Johann.

"Huh. No kidding," Snotlout muttered.

Johann narrowed his eyes at him.

Heather then approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Johann, I'm grateful you try to help me, but my brother was right all along. This obsession to find my father, it's gone way too far, and now it's cost me Windshear."

Then suddenly they heard a roar in the distance and immediately a fireball nearly struck Heather. They looked up and saw that Krogan was hovering above them on his Titan Wing.

"I have a one-time offer," he said looking down at them. "Your lives and your dragon for the Dragon Eye lens Heather carries on her belt. You have one hour."

He then flew off leaving everyone bewildered as they look towards the lens on Heather's belt. Naturally this caused a bit of an argument amongst them and no one was more outspoken than Snotlout.

"You have got to be kidding me," said Snotlout. "That thing has been there the whole time. And nobody, nobody saw it?"

"Snotlout, for the last time, yes, it's been there the whole time!" Heather snapped. "And, no, I didn't know it was a Dragon Eye lens."

"All right. You don't have to yell at me," said Snotlout gently.

Heather then removed the lens from her belt and looked at it. "My father gave this to me when I was little. I just thought it was…" She sighed. "Well, I didn't know what I thought."

"Look, if those guys want this thing so badly, we definitely cannot give it to them," said Snotlout. He then looked towards Johann who had been looking out to sea. "Right, Johann?"

"I truly wish I could support you, Master Snotlout, but I believe the prudent arms of our dilemma would be to give them the lens," said Johann turning to face them.

"What?" Snotlout yelled.

"Thor knows that I am a collector, a trader, a seller of great treasures. However, like your lens, they are all just things, things that can be replaced, whereas a dragon, and one as splendid as Windshear, that is another matter entirely."

Hookfang then nuzzled Snotlout and he realised that he could replace Hookfang even if he wanted to.

Johann then approached Heather. "You must give them what they ask for if it means saving Windshear's life. We'll worry about regaining the lens at a later date."

Heather sighed and then looked at Snotlout. "Johann's right. It's my fault Windshear is in this mess to begin with." She then looked up into the air. "We'll do it. We'll make the trade!"

* * *

A few moments later they flew off to the meeting point on Hookfang and found Krogan already waiting for them. Once they were close enough to the arch Heather jumped off and immediately narrowed her eyes at Krogan.

"All right, Krogan," said Heather. "Where's my Dragon?"

Krogan then jumped off his Titan Wing. "I'll need to see the lens first."

Heather remove the lens from her belt and showed it to Krogan. "Now show me her, or this goes into the ocean," she warned hovering her hand over the edge of the arch.

Krogan chuckled. "You wouldn't."

"Try me."

Krogan looked at her for a moment and then snapped his fingers. Then flying towards them was a Flyer carrying a cage which contained Windshear. He then dropped the cage next to Krogan and he held out the key.

Heather then slowly made her way towards him and Snotlout and Johann watched the transaction anxiously. Once they were just about a few feet from one another Krogan extended his hand. Heather looked at the lens and then held out her hands. With one she dropped the lens into Krogan's palm and with the other she grabbed the key.

"Oh, thank goodness," said Johann relieved and began clapping. "Bravo, Miss Heather. Bravo."

Snotlout immediately grabbed his hands. "Don't jinx it, Johann."

Krogan then mounted on his Titan Wing and waved goodbye, but then he purposely knocked Windshear's cage off the arch.

"Windshear!" Heather cried.

She immediately placed the keys between her teeth and dived into the sea after her dragon.

"What is she doing?" Snotlout stared.

Heather soon entered the sea and saw the cave sinking down towards the bottom, she then immediately swam down towards the cage as quickly as she could. She managed to reach the cage and saw the frightened Windshear inside of it. She then made her way towards the lock and inserted the key, only to find that it didn't fit.

She had no idea why she wasn't surprised about the doublecross, but knew that this was no time to play around. She immediately tried to pull the door of the cage open with all her strength but it wouldn't budge. Windshear looked at her and digested her head towards the surface telling her to leave her behind.

Heather knew she could hold her breath much longer and hugged Windshear's head not wanting to leave her. Then suddenly there was a rumbling sound and the cage began to float back up to the surface. She looked up and saw Dagur above her with Sleuther wrapping his tail around the chain of the cage and lifting it to the surface. Dagur smiled down at her and Heather couldn't help but do the same.

Soon they managed to reach the surface and Heather gasped for breath while still holding onto the cage.

"Sis, what did I tell you about swimming at this time of year?" Dagur smiled.

Snotlout then flew up to her. "I would have gotten you but I figured Dagur had it, so…"

Heather then climbed away to the top of the cage and saw Hiccup flying around it. Toothless then fired a plasma blast shooting the door open and Heather immediately jumped onto Windshear as he flew out of the cage.

She looked around and saw that Ragnar and Fishlegs were among them.

"Are you okay?" Hiccup asked.

"I'm fine, but they got my Dragon Eye lens," said Heather gesturing to her belt.

Hiccup stared at her. "You're what?" He then remembered the lens attached to Heather's belt. "That thing on your belt, that was a Dragon Eye lens? How did we miss that?"

"And how did they know that?" Fishlegs asked.

"Only one way to find out," said Hiccup.

* * *

Krogan was looking at the lens as he was flying back to the Dragon Hunter Island with his Flyers flying close behind him.

Hiccup and the others soon emerged from the crowds and instantly Toothless performed a barrel wall and fired several plasma blast directly at Krogan and his Flyers. Krogan did his best to dodge them, but one of them struck his Titan Wing on the side causing him to lose the lens.

"No!" he yelled.

The lens fell onto a sea stack.

Ragnar looked at Hiccup. "He's dropped it! Now's our chance!"

"I'm on it!" Hiccup yelled as he dived down towards the sea stack.

Krogan and his Flyers immediately turned direction and faced the sea stack.

"Fire!" Krogan commanded.

Immediately the Flyers began to fire fireballs directly at Hiccup, there were so many that he couldn't get close to the sea stack was forced to fall back.

"Brave? Perhaps. Successful? Not quite," Krogan mocked.

He then dived down towards the sea stack, but Snotlout was already flying down to intercept him.

"Hang on, Johann," said Snotlout. "And try not to—" Johann then screamed and cleaned on to Snotlout's shoulders. "Scream in my ear!"

Krogan had heard Johann's screams and immediately flew up towards them much to Johann's concern.

"Master Snotlout, what are you doing?" he panicked.

"Playing Chicken," Snotlout smirked. He then pulled out his bag of chicken feed. "For chicken feed."

He then immediately tossed the bag directly at Krogan just as his Titan Wing fired a fireball. The moment of the fireball struck the chicken feed and immediately expanded into a fluffy form. Some of it actually landed in Krogan's blinding him temporarily and allowing Snotlout to fly underneath him.

Snotlout laughed. "Archipelago Gold, baby—for the Viking who enjoys the finer things in life." He then immediately flew down and grabbed the lens. "Snotlout!"

Immediately the Flyers began to fire directly at him and he quickly tossed to the lens to Hiccup.

"Dagur! Heads up!" Hiccup yelled spinning around and knocking the lens with Toothless' wing.

The lens sored into the air and directly over Krogan and seconds later Dagur caught it in his hand. Dagur then tossed it over towards Fishlegs as Flyers flew after him and then he totted to Ragnar, who then immediately dropped it back to Snotlout.

Snotlout extended his hand ready to grab it, but Johann did the same knocking the lens of course.

"Oh, no!" Snotlout yelled.

"Oh, dear!" Johann cried.

The lens was falling from the sky before any of them could grab it, Krogan came out of nowhere and grabbed the lens.

"It appears as if I've mucked things all up once again," Johann noted.

"Of course you did, Johann," Snotlout yelled in frustration. "It's what you do!"

Hiccup tried to chase after them but Krogan and his Flyers fired fireballs from their Singetails' tails preventing him from chasing after them. They could only watch as they disappeared into the cloud bank knowing that there was no way they could chase after them now.

"It's gone. They have the lens," said Hiccup.

"Hey, Hiccup. We got Heather and Windshear," Fishlegs pointed out.

"You're right, Fishlegs," Hiccup nodded. "You're right. And given the choice, there is no choice."

* * *

They soon return to the air informed Astrid and the twins of everything that happened, though the twins were more annoyed that Snotlout wasted their chicken feed.

"So you just threw it at some random guy on a dragon, because things were getting a little toasty for you?" said Tuffnut. "Where's your gumption? Where is your chutzpah, eh?"

Ruffnut nodded. "Clearly, he's lost it. Look at him. He's chutzpah-less."

"Tragic and sad."

"Or maybe the best day ever," said Snotlout removing his helmet.

Inside his helmet and revealed some of popped up corn that he tossed at Krogan. The twins looked at one another and Tuffnut took a piece of it.

"Hmm. Okay, I'll bite," he said placing the corn in his mouth.

Ruffnut then took a piece. "It looks like little fluffy clouds."

"And it tastes like Valhalla itself," said Snotlout. The twins then immediately dig into the corn enthusiastically. "It's corn, but when it gets heated with your dragon fire, it pops open, and you get… this."

He then placed a bit of it into his mouth.

"Hold on. Hold on," said Tuffnut. "There is one final test we need to do to be sure." He then drops some of the corn in front of Chicken. "Go on, Chicken."

Chicken immediately pecked the corn and a few seconds later began to gobble up the rest of it.

"Brilliant," Tuffnut announced. "What shall we call it?"

Ruffnut rubbed her chin. "Popped, you say? Popped corn?"

Snotlout then made a popping sound with his fingers announced.

"Perfect," said Tuffnut getting to his feet. "We shall call it—wait for it—the clouds of corn."

"Rolls trippingly off the tongue," Ruffnut nodded.

"Yes. Yes," said Tuffnut taking a bit of the cloud corn. "But I still feel like it's missing something. Something salty."

"Mm. Something creamy."

"And yet at the same time, something sweet."

The twins looked at one another. "Yak butter!"

Astrid just shook her head at the twins walked away with the cloud corn in their hands.

"Those guys are terrible at naming things," said Ragnar rubbing his forehead.

Tuffnut then looked at them. "So none of you guys saw that right there on Heather's belt?"

"Hey, you didn't see it either," Snotlout pointed out placing his helmet back onto his head.

"So not the point." Tuffnut then walked off with his sister eating the cloud corn. "You know, you could put sugar on this too. Sweet. Sweet and savoury at the same time."

Hiccup then approached them. "Anyone see Dagur?"

Astrid pointed towards Fishlegs' hut and there they saw Heather was crying with Dagur trying to comfort her.

"He must have told," said Hiccup.

"Told her what?" Astrid asked.

"There we found Oswald," said Hiccup.

Ragnar closes eyes. "Unfortunately, we arrived a few years late."

"At least she can put it behind her," said Astrid.

"Let's hope," said Hiccup.

Dagur then handed her the scroll Oswald left for her. She began reading it and then hugged Dagur and cried into his shoulder.

"What was in the letter?" Astrid asked curiously.

"Closure," said Hiccup placing his arm around her waist.

Astrid then leaned in towards his chest and placed a hand on his chest.

Snotlout looked at the two of them. "Ew!"

He then backed away slowly.

* * *

Meanwhile on Dragon Hunter Island, Krogan had given Viggo the Dragon Eye lens and was now currently holding up towards the Dragon Eye.

"Carefully," Viggo warned as Krogan inserted it into the Dragon Eye. "It's a very old and unique lens. If we destroy it we will never find another."

"And I nearly risked revealing everything to get it," said a voice in the shadows.

Then stepping out of the shadows was known rather than Johann, but his expression had completely changed. His place was now as hard rock and there was no kindness in his eyes.

"My infiltration into the Berkain world, years of building trust, behaving as if I was some buffoonish fop," said Johann as he knocked a mug of the table in rage, "kissing the boots of Stoick the Vast and his scrawny heir to the throne, all in pursuit of one thing I could not obtain myself—" Krogan then handed in the Dragon Eye, "the King of Dragons."

Both Viggo and Krogan smiled at one another indicating that they have been waiting for this for quite some time as well.

"This lens may hold the key to finally finding it," said Johann, he then turned and looked at his cohorts. "Now let us see what my years have brought us. Let us look into the future, shall we?"

He then held the Dragon Eye to a Singetail and immediately it opened its mouth and produces flames. The Dragon Eye then began to glow and began to reveal its secrets to everyone.


End file.
